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About studying
The oil resources in the country is depleting, will there be jobs in oil companies?
Currently, Thailand continues to explore for more fossil fuel resources, however, while there are no new oil fields, the current oil fields are depleting rapidly, therefore, recruitment into oil companies is much less compared to that in the past. Nonetheless, many new employees at PTTEP have the opportunity to work overseas since the company have exploration and development concessions in many countries.
Is the starting salary good?
​Jobs in the field of geology and engineering geology have been ranked as one of the top ten jobs with the highest salary by Manager Online (read more) with the average income of 3,032,124 Baht per year.
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The salary for those with a bachelor's degree can vary a lot depending on the employing organization which can be roughly estimated as follows:
  • Oil exploration and production companies give approximately 40,000 Baht/month
  • Oil Field Service companies give approximately 22,000 Baht/month plus offshore wages of about  700-900 Baht/day
  • Private companies may give approximately 15,000 Baht/month (plus field wages of 500 Baht/day if field work is required)
  • Government organizations may give 13,000 Baht/month
What type of jobs can geotechnologists do after graduation
There are various jobs related to geology or engineering geology which can be classified by types of organizations as follows:
Government:
Government Enterprise:
Private Sectors:
Academic and Research:
About jobs and employment
What is it like to work as a geologist or an engineering geologist?
  • Exploration work requires working in the field periodically which could be as long as 15-20 days (depending on the organization) and writing reports in the office before going back to work in the field again. For some organizations, working in the field is continuous without any office work.
  • Oil field service work requires being on an offshore oil rig for periods of about 20-30 days (without permission to leave) and taking a break for 20-30 days.
  • Working for oil companies require working in front of a computer most of the time and cooperating with team members from various fields.
  • Consulting work varies greatly depending on the project. Some projects require field investigation but most of the time the work is in the office using computer software to run models or analyze data.
  • Mining work can differ from being in the mine to working in the office or laboratory.
  • High school level teaching involves teaching subjects related to geology as well as other physical sciences.
Is it difficult for women to find employment?
Not at all, especially those with good grades. However, no matter how well the grades are, there are certain jobs that are not available for women due to safety reasons. For example, field work which require camping in remote areas and working with labor and technicians that are all male; oil field services which require working on an offshore oil rig surrounded by hundreds of male.
What are the characters suitable for this occupation?
Simple and easy, not particular about eating and living, flexible, adjustable in various situations, gets along with people easily, likes to work in teams, observant, likes to think analytically, healthy, strong, not afraid of heights, not color blind, and most importantly...loves to do what we do.
How much does it cost to complete a bachelor's degree
The estimated expenditure (not including accommodation, food, commute, and student activities) is about 120,000 Baht (referring to Khon Kaen University Bachelor's Degree Tuition Fees (Announcement No.963/2555) which can be categorized into:
  • 96,000 Baht for tuition fees for the first and the second semesters through out the four years of study (a total of 8 semesters)
  • 12,000 Baht for tuition fees for the summer semester of the second year and the third year (a total of 2 semesters)
  • 3,000 Baht for accommodation during the excursion in the second year
  • 9,000 Baht for field equipment, stationary, textbooks, and photocopies throughout the 4 years of study. Important field equipment include a good pair of hiking shoes and a sturdy backpack.
About studying
Does the department offer any scholarship for students?
For bachelor's level students, the department does not offer any scholarships. However, each year, 2 students will be selected by Mitsui Oil Exploration Company Limited (MOECO) to receive a scholarship of 30,000 Baht per year starting from the second year until graduation without any obligations. Please note that this scholarship is highly competitive.
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For graduate students, the department offers a remuneration for teaching assistants, while some advisors may offer research assistant fees.
What is the difference between the geotechnology programme at Khon Kaen University and the geology programme at Chulalongkorn University or Chiang Mai University?
At the Chulalongkorn or Chiang Mai University, the curriculum focuses on studying the pure science of geology, but at Khon Kaen, we focus on applying the knowledge in geology for engineering and environmental work. Therefore, we take a greater number of mandatory classes related to engineering and environment such as Engineering geology or Hydrogeology and Geophysics.
What is the Field Work course like?
​In the summer semester of the second and third year, all students have to take the Field Work course which is mandatory in the B.Sc. curriculum. The Field Work is very unlike joining a nature camp and hiking in a national park which is beautiful, safe, and comfortable.

 

Our field work requires all students to stay over at local schools in a rural area for 25-30 days (sometimes female and male have to share the same room). While being in the field, the students are not allowed to go back home. We have to wash our own clothes, cook our own 3 meals (lunch has to be prepared in advance and eaten in the wild). Each day, we have to wake up at 5 am, cook, have breakfast, prepare lunch, and commute to our study area (sometimes a car is available to drive us there, but sometimes we have to trek by foot). Everyday, our work requires us to hike in the wilderness and climb up and down mountains until about 4 or 5 pm and then return to the camp. The average hiking distance is about 15-20 kilometers each day (less if climbing high mountains are involved). The trail in the woods are usually not to difficult to hike because we follow the trails used by local people, but sometimes we need to chop our way through the thickets when there are no trails to follow. While we are hiking, we have to be observant and collect data about soil and rocks. We have to constantly write down information, sketch pictures, take photos, and collect rock samples to do further studies in the laboratory. On average, each person would usually collect about 20 kilograms of rocks per day.

 

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While hiking in the wilderness, the temperature would be extremely hot, we will be surrounded by mosquitoes that are not afraid of mosquito repellents, sometimes there are heavy rain showers, but no matter the situation, we still have continue our work. The dangers that we encounter, if we are not careful, include forest fires, illegal wood cutting, snakes and poisonous insects, guard dogs, and even the danger from falling or loosing our footing while climbing the mountains. When we arrive back at the camp in the evening, our work is not yet done until we have summarized our findings for the day and plan our next day's work.
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Both the second year and third year students have to work in the field similarly as described above, the only difference is the application of the geological knowledge.
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Therefore, students studying geology will have to have high endurance, be dauntless of the heat or rain, unafraid of heights, not scared of ghosts (sometimes we have to trek through a graveyard), unafraid of danger (but careful and able to avoid them), be strong, healthy without any illnesses that could be be a threat while working in the wild, and able to take care of themselves in terms of cooking and living.
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