Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
societies
A.1 Training
Thanks are due to professional colleagues worldwide who kindly
found the time to advise on current situations re training and profes-
sional matters. Apologies for gaps in coverage
information on prac-
tice elsewhere can probably be gained from contacting the
international society secretariats (IAEG, ISRM, ISSMGE), details of
which are given later.
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Most engineering geologists from the UK begin their careers with an
undergraduate degree in geology or some closely related subject, and
there is no real shortcut for gaining an adequate understanding of
geological processes. Portsmouth University has for many years
offered a practical undergraduate course in engineering geology,
which provides graduates with a suitable entry level of training for
the profession but inevitably some of the basic geology teaching has to
be omitted in such a course. Furthermore, as indicated in
Table 1.1,
there is considerably more fundamental geology to learn, even for
graduates whose undergraduate courses offer a much higher modular
content in geology.
Generally, the best way to gain the next level of knowledge is
through formal training via an MSc course but even after that it will
take some years of experience before the engineering geologist
becomes a person that can contribute fully to a geotechnical team.
Geotechnical engineers would normally follow a similar career path,
starting with a degree in civil engineering and then taking a specialist
MSc course. ManyMSc engineering geology courses will ful
l the need
for specialist training for both geologists and civil engineers
but the
career route for the MSc graduate will really follow from his initial
training as a geologist or engineer. In the case of a geologist graduating
with an MSc in engineering geology, he will still know that he is out of
his depth if asked in his
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first year in employment to check the structural
