| Groundwater
in Further Education
Who employs groundwater specialists, what does the job entail
and what is the demand? These questions are addressed in this
section, and in addition, advice is given on the routes that
can be taken through further education to become a groundwater
specialist.
Employers, nature
of the work and the demand
Becoming a Hydrogeologist
Employers, nature of the work and the demand
Groundwater specialists (hydrogeologists) are employed by
a wide range of organisations, including:
Environment Regulators – the government organisations
(Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency,
local government, central government) who advise on, plan
and police water legislation;
Water supply companies – in some areas of the UK, groundwater provides
a major component of the water supplied. Many water supply companies employ groundwater
specialists, enabling them to identify and address groundwater-related issues
internally, gathering data, assessing options and implementing solutions;
Consultants – from companies employing a few
people, to departments of international companies with hundreds
of employees, consultancies work for private and governmental
clients in the UK and overseas; work may require a specialism
in certain fields (e.g. landfill, dewatering) or the capability
of dealing with many types of project;
Government research institutes – organisations,
e.g. the British Geological Survey and the Centre for Ecology
and Hydrology, who undertake fundamental research as well
as providing information and expertise to regulators and private
clients in the UK and overseas;
Universities – several universities undertake
specialist teaching and research in groundwater, employing
lecturers and researchers;
Other companies – groundwater is central to
a number of companies (e.g. bottled
water companies, waste disposal companies, radioactive waste
disposal concerns, civil and geotechnical engineering consultancies),
and as such they employ groundwater specialists. Large industries,
e.g. steel, chemical and pharmaceutical, with significant
contaminated land issues may also employ their own groundwater
related staff.
Many UK hydrogeologists work overseas, either for UK/International
companies including aid organisations or for overseas companies
and governments.
The type of work undertaken by hydrogeologists is wide-ranging,
including:
- water resources (regional water supply, irrigation);
- water quality (groundwater protection, contaminated
land, clean-up);
- waste disposal (landfills, radioactive waste disposal);
and
- engineering (dewatering, consolidation, reservoirs,
barrages).
The work often involves a mixture of field and computer-based
tasks, but can also include laboratory work. Some hydrogeologists
get involved with all aspects of the subject, but others concentrate
on a specific aspect, for example modelling, chemistry,
drilling or environmental impact assessment.
Whatever the employer, the job of a hydrogeologist requires
an advanced level of understanding across several fields –
geology, hydraulics, environmental chemistry, technology,
and computer modelling. Hence it is usual for hydrogeologists
to have some sort of specialist graduate training, and often,
but not always, this involves completing an MSc course.
At present, there is a shortage of hydrogeologists in the
UK, as has been made very clear by evidence
presented by various bodies to the House of Commons Select
Committee on Science and Technology in 2003. For many years,
all those graduating from MSc Hydrogeology courses who wanted
jobs in the industry (almost all graduates!), obtained jobs.
Current job vacancies can be found at Earthworks-jobs.com.
Becoming a Hydrogeologist
The Non-MSc route
The MSc route
The PhD route
The usual route to employment in hydrogeology is to obtain
an MSc or PhD qualification, but other routes are possible
as indicated below. Most students undertaking MSc courses
have geology or environmental science first degrees, but a
significant minority have engineering, geophysics, mathematics,
physics, or chemistry degrees (and there is a major role for
specialists from other disciplines in groundwater work). Entry
to PhD programmes requires at least an upper second class
degree or equivalent.
The non-MSc Route
Currently, there are no hydrogeology BSc degree courses offered
within the UK. Some geology, environmental science, and engineering
degrees do contain some training in groundwater, but many
have very little.
In recent years, four-year undergraduate geology degrees
have been offered by some English universities (most Scottish
BSc courses have always been four years long). These are called
by various names, but two of the more popular are MSci and
MGeol; though called masters, they are classed as “undergraduate”
degrees. Some allow a significant amount of specialisation,
and it is possible at some universities to take a series of
modules in the fourth year which will all be relevant to groundwater
studies: however, these degrees are not at the level of MSc
courses, and do not offer the very focussed training of MSc
courses.
Because of the difficulty of filling posts with MSc-qualified
personnel in recent years, some employers have taken on staff
without postgraduate training. The work undertaken tends to
be at a fairly junior/technician level (e.g. drilling supervision,
basic pumping licence processing). Sometimes such employment
leads on to sponsorship to undertake an MSc course full- or
part-time. Sometimes a company will not be able to sponsor
an employee, but will be willing to guarantee employment on
completion of the MSc. On return, the newly-qualified employee
can expect to be given more responsibilities and further promotion
opportunities usually become available.
A new diploma course in Hydrogeology
and Groundwater Resources started in September 2004 at
University College, London (UCL). This is for postgraduate
students with a first degree in Earth Sciences, Natural Sciences,
Environmental Sciences, Engineering or Geography, and comprises
three taught modules (Physical Hydrogeology, Chemical Hydrogeology,
and Applied Hydrogeology) and an 8 week project. It can be
undertaken full time over 9 months, or by day or block release
over 2 to 5 years.
Other diploma courses are available attached to MSc courses,
including at Queen’s
University Belfast, Sheffield
University and Birmingham
University.
The University of Newcastle upon Tyne offers a flexible learning option for a diploma in
Applied Hydrogeology.
The MSc Route
Introduction
There are two MSc routes available – via mainstream
dedicated hydrogeology MSc courses and via MSc courses which
have significant groundwater training but which also cover
a significant amount of other material. The former route is the most common.
Mainstream Hydrogeology MSc Courses
The following are full-time MSc courses currently available in the UK:
Since 2005, the University of Sheffield has offered an MSc in Contaminant Hydrogeology.
This course offers both full-time and part-time study and is aligned with the other mainstream UK hydrogeology courses in providing integrated training in contaminated hydrogeology.
The University of Newcastle upon Tyne offers a flexible learning option for a MSc in
Applied Hydrogeology.
Other MSc Courses
There are many other MSc courses which include some groundwater
training – too many to list here (MSc
courses with NERC studentships, http://www.postgrad.hobsons.com/,
http://www.findamasters.com/firstmain.asp).
Most are environmental science courses with only a module
or two covering groundwater. However, there are a few courses
which allow significantly more groundwater modules to be taken.
Examples of such courses are given below. The list is by no
means comprehensive, and we would welcome feedback and suggestions
for additional courses to include.
As is the case for the mainstream MSc courses, applicants
will need a first or second class degree in a relevant subject
area, sometimes with evidence of mathematics training usually
to A level or equivalent, and usually with evidence of an
adequate standard of English for those not from the UK.
University of Sheffield: Environmental
Management of Urban Land and Water
University of East Anglia: Environmental
Sciences
Queens University, Belfast: Environmental
Engineering
Imperial College, London: Hydrology
for Environmental Management
The PhD Route
PhD research can be very exciting and fulfilling, and can
help with career progression in the long run. However, it
does take longer to become qualified, and, unless you have
a strong interest in research for its own sake, the other
routes are probably better. PhD research requires a considerable
amount of self-motivation. Some universities offer a new sort
of PhD – ‘PhD with integrated studies’ –
which includes a taught component as well as a research component.
A number of universities undertake research in hydrogeology,
though PhD funding may not be available in every year at all
universities. Funding is often from the Natural Environment
Research Council or the Engineering and Physical Sciences
Research Council, but industrially-funded and university-funded
studentships are also often available.
Most advertisements appear in the autumn for studentships
available from the autumn of the following year. However,
it is not unusual for studentships to become available at
other times of year. Advertisement locations include the websites
of the universities concerned and www.findaphd.com.
In addition, a very important window for advertisement is
the Geological
Society careers fair, held in November each year.
Funding by the UK Research Councils usually covers the fees
and a contribution towards maintenance. University and industrial
scholarships provide varying amounts of support. Sometimes
it is possible to obtain a research post which allows a part-time
registration for a research degree: thus payment is higher,
but the time available to undertake the research used in the
MSc/MPhil/PhD may be less.
|
