What skills should a Geological Technician put on a resume?

O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Time Management, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Geological Technician list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk AutoCAD, Clark Labs IDRISI Andes, Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite, and Database software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Geological Technician work?

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians, Geotechnician, Materials Technician, and Physical Science Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Geological Technician role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Geological Technician resume example

A resume for a Geological Technician needs to show the work itself: assist scientists or engineers in the use of electronic, sonic, or nuclear measuring instruments in laboratory, exploration, and production activities to obtain data indicating resources such as metallic ore, minerals, gas, coal, or petroleum. Day to day that means work like this: test and analyze samples to determine their content and characteristics, using laboratory apparatus or testing equipment; collect or prepare solid or fluid samples for analysis. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians
Geotechnician
Materials Technician
Physical Science Technician
Core Inspector
Environmental Field Services Technician
Environmental Sampling Technician
Geological E-Logger
Geoscience Technician
Soils Technician
Construction Materials Field Tech
Construction Materials Testing Tech
Geotechnical Field Tech
QC Technician
SLS Logger
Acid Tester
Chalk Tester
Construction Material Technician

O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Test and analyze samples to determine their content and characteristics, using laboratory apparatus or testing equipment.
Collect or prepare solid or fluid samples for analysis.
Compile, log, or record testing or operational data for review and further analysis.
Prepare notes, sketches, geological maps, or cross-sections.
Participate in geological, geophysical, geochemical, hydrographic, or oceanographic surveys, prospecting field trips, exploratory drilling, well logging, or underground mine survey programs.
Prepare or review professional, technical, or other reports regarding sampling, testing, or recommendations of data analysis.
Adjust or repair testing, electrical, or mechanical equipment or devices.
Read and study reports in order to compile information and data for geological and geophysical prospecting.
Interview individuals, and research public databases in order to obtain information.
Plot information from aerial photographs, well logs, section descriptions, or other databases.
Assemble, maintain, or distribute information for library or record systems.
Operate or adjust equipment or apparatus used to obtain geological data.

29 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Test and analyze samples to determine their content and characteristics, using laboratory apparatus or testing equipment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Collect or prepare solid or fluid samples for analysis, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Compile, log, or record testing or operational data for review and further analysis, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Prepare notes, sketches, geological maps, or cross-sections, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Illustrator
Autodesk AutoCAD
Clark Labs IDRISI Andes
Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite
Database software
Dynamic Graphics EarthVision
ESRI ArcGIS software
Geographic information system GIS software
Geographic information system GIS systems
Geographic resources analysis support system GRASS
Global positioning system GPS software
Golden Software Surfer
Halliburton ProMAX
IHS Petra

36 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

35 millimeter cameras
Abney levels
Automatic burets
Binocular polarizing microscopes
Calorimeters
Carbon hydrogen nitrogen CHN analyzers
Chipmunk crushers
Clinometers
Conductivity indicators
Cryogenic magnetometers
Desktop computers
Digital cameras

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

prepare maps

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Reading Comprehension
02Critical Thinking
03Monitoring
04Time Management
05Writing
06Active Listening
07Complex Problem Solving
08Judgment and Decision Making
09Coordination
10Operations Monitoring

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Computers and Electronics
Engineering and Technology
Mathematics
English Language
Chemistry
Physics
Geography

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Considerable Preparation Needed”. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

Common questions

What does a Geological Technician do?: Assist scientists or engineers in the use of electronic, sonic, or nuclear measuring instruments in laboratory, exploration, and production activities to obtain data indicating resources such as metallic ore, minerals, gas, coal, or petroleum. Day to day that includes work like test and analyze samples to determine their content and characteristics, using laboratory apparatus or testing equipment and Collect or prepare solid or fluid samples for analysis.
What skills should a Geological Technician put on a resume?: O*NET rates Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Monitoring, Time Management, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Geological Technician list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk AutoCAD, Clark Labs IDRISI Andes, Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite, and Database software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Geological Technician work?: O*NET records 40 titles for this occupation, including Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians, Geotechnician, Materials Technician, and Physical Science Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Geological Technician role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.