I have my Google news page to show stories related to my interests. I have been running across stories like this and this
I am currently majoring in Geology. How hard is it to look for work and get a permit to stay/work in Australia?
Check out the Australian Immigration Department
Australia is pretty interested in keeping up their levels of educated or skilled immigrants. I think as long as you have some marketable skills, are young enough to have kids and speak decent English, you have a pretty reasonable shot of getting a residency visa. I toyed around with the idea a couple of years ago and an Australian colleague of mine led me to believe that it was more or less a slam dunk if I became serious about it.
Check out the list of professions they have. Obviously from the article, geologists are in need. Go expunge any convictions you have and call the embassy.
If you’ve got a skill that’s on the required list, can speak English and don’t have any criminal convictions then you wouldn’t have much trouble, particularly if you can find an employer who will sponsor you. If you bring lots of money with you then you’re almost a certainty. 
I want to be The Toecutter.
Marry Nicole Kidman.
Or Keith Urban.
The laws have changed since I got in, but it does work.
Good luck!
Hehehe.
A major in Geology will get you a bonza job…in the middle of the Simpson Desert or some such place. You might earn $80k a year as a new graduate, but be sure that you will not be within 800km of anywhere to spend it. 
Have fun. 
Of course, you could always come out an pose as a Doctor in a Queensland Hospital!
Of course, that is in no way funny.
mm
Boscibo, I actually met the woman mentioned in your first link on my last trip to Australia, in 2001. I remember her telling me that were it not for her husband’s company insisting on his presence there (he’s a geophysicist of some stripe, IIRC), they wouldn’t have been able to immigrate. Geology grads were having a terrifically tough time getting jobs then, too. Clearly things have changed a great deal in 5 years!
Are you an undergrad or a master’s student? Are you currently studying econ geology? What are your interests? If you weren’t already aware, Australian undergrads typically have nearly the American equivalent of a master’s by the time they finish, because the emphasis there is heavy on the science and very light on anything else (like liberal arts requirements). You’ll need to keep that in mind when evaluating your competitiveness in applying for jobs, although if the situation is that tight it may not matter.
kambucta is spot on in saying that you WILL be a very long way from anywhere, in all likelihood, especially if you are doing exploration. As someone who spent a grand total of nearly a year’s worth of time mostly alone in the bush (spread over four field seasons) as a grad student, I’d say you have to be confident in your ability to find ways to amuse yourself when the external opportunities are very few, and your choice of companions limited. I was told that when the US Air Force still had its base at Woomera (a remote setting on par with the mine at Olympic Dam), the personnel were given hardship pay… and I can believe that.
All that said, Australia has some absolutely stunning geology, and if I were at the point now of finishing my grad degree I would seriously consider staying in Oz, at least for a while. I grew very fond of the place, and if it weren’t for the fact that I’m getting old and set in my ways I’d seriously consider going back for a stretch.
You know, mining companies used to sponsor all sorts of internships for students, partly to give the students practical experience and partly to get some cheap labor. Why not see if one of them will hire you over nothern hemisphere summer, so that you can get a taste and see how much you like it?
If you have specific questions about doing geology in Australia, feel free to ask here or send me an email, and I’ll do my best to answer.
Thanks for all the info. I am currently a sophomore, but am always looking to the future. I am, at this point, planning on getting my Master’s. My GPA in my major is 4.0/4.0. My main interests - I always hate that question! Honestly, every course I have taken in geology has interested me greatly. I have many of the general geology classes done - petrology, mineralogy, sedimentation and stratigraphy, historical geol., environmental geol., oceanography and am taking geomorph/glacial geology and hydrogeology this semester. My favorite so far…probably a tie between sed strat and oceanography. If I had to choose today I would probably say petroleum exploration.
I pass the other criteria, the only thing is I am 40 years old (I started college late). I am hoping to graduate either fall of 2007 or spring 2008. I would still pass the application age restriction, but grad school would add a few years on. I still have to do field camp, too.
As far as internships, that sounds great. How could I find those positions in Australia?
Isn’t it annoying, having to decide on one thing you like? Looking ahead is always good, but that evil question - what are your interests - is always going to come up. As you’re in your sophomore year, I’d say it’s probably a bit early to be considering an internship for this summer, but that’s not to say you can’t do something constructive with that time.
If I can backtrack for a minute - there’s no chance you could take structure this coming semester, is there? If you could, I would have recommended doing that so that you could do field camp this summer (trying to do field camp without structure is really not feasible). Good reasons for doing field camp earlier rather than later include:
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your first real chance to integrate all the stuff you’ve been learning in various classes - and it really makes a difference in how you view all the geology you learn after that
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you get the chance to see if you truly enjoy doing field work, especially after being forced to do it for several weeks non-stop
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it frees up the last summer before you graduate (if you finish in fall 2007) to do a summer internship somewhere
If field camp definitely has to wait until summer 2007, consider trying to hook up with a scientist for a summer research project this year. (Various institutions run summer intern programs you can apply for, in case your home institution does not.) I recommend this route mostly because I don’t think you’ll quite have enough knowledge and experience yet to fit well with a paid internship, either here in the US or in Australia. As to what sort of research project you might aim for, well, that comes back around to your interests…
From the articles you linked to, I’d say that Australia is mainly feeling the crunch for economic geologists to do mineral exploration, and those folks will have a somewhat different skill set from folks doing petroleum exploration. If you’re interested in sed/strat, developing your correlation and interpretive skills and getting to work with seismic sections should be useful for either field, but then the differences start to come in. For example, things useful to econ geologists include hand sample and thin section ID of ore mineralogy, structural geology, and “hard rock” geochemistry; things useful to petroleum geologists these days could include sequence stratigraphy, seismic stratigraphy, organic geochemistry, marine geology/geophysics, or borehole geophysics. Getting good with either direction takes time, so unfortunately you have to make some decisions up front and take the plunge.
If you think that petroleum geology might be your one true love, I strongly recommend that you go to the annual AAPG meeting in Houston (this year it’s April 9-12). You won’t have a better opportunity to rub elbows with people in industry, and really get a feel for what’s new and exciting in the field. AAPG would also be the place to go if you’re looking for an internship in the petroleum biz, because there are not many schools that get on-site visits from recruiters these days, and it’s nigh-impossible to get an internship without an interview. The folks there will tell you whether you’d qualify for a position as early as this summer, and if not, what classes you’d need under your belt to consider an internship in summer 2007 or 2008.
If ringo is reading, maybe he can pop in with a word or two of advice as well.
On the other hand, if the idea of doing field work and mineral exploration appeals to you (and not just living in Australia), you should angle for a summer project that would let you get some experience in that area. The Colorado School of Mines should be a good potential source of information about the kinds of summer projects available in the US to undergrad students (maybe lab work, or maybe acting as field assistant). If you like, I can also try emailing a few people I know in Oz to get a better sense of the minimum qualifications mining companies would be looking for, so that you can get the prep work you need under your belt before applying for an internship or job there.
In either case, using this spring and summer to explore your interests would be good. Once you have a better feel for what you want to specialize in, you can really dive into classes and/or independent studies that will set you up well for the career you want, wherever you want to be.
Now, if living in and working in Australia is the ultimate goal and it doesn’t matter to you quite how you manage it, 
then you might consider heading down there for grad school (I suspect that getting an internship is easier if you are a student down there already, anyway). Australian National University (ANU) has the best overall reputation, but you can also consider James Cook University, the University of Western Australia (UWA), or the University of Adelaide (which is home to the National Centre for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics).
Sorry to be so long-winded, hope that helps.
Thanks for all the advice! I haven’t had structural yet because a) at my university it is taught fall semester only, and b) prior to this last semseter, I hadn’t had trig yet (a pre-req). I’m twenty years out of high school so I had to start at the very beginning with math.
This summer I plan on taking a 5 credit class (Chem II) I couldn’t fit into my schedule this spring. So that pretty much rules out anything like a research project or internship for me, along with the fact I’m taking a two-week (required) regional geology field trip after finals this spring. That makes my ‘free’ summer awfully short, probably only a month and a half long. And I’ll more than likely take another class during that time.
I am not dead set on Australia, I’d take Costa Rica, too.
Good for you for taking the plunge, Boscibo. I didn’t head straight into a scientific career myself, so I can appreciate the business of juggling pre-reqs and getting your major done. Your summer may be already accounted for, but if you can swing it you really ought to try AAPG this year anyway… it’ll be a good experience, and can help you come to a few decisions about what to do next.
Oh, and unless there’s a class you desperately need being offered in that 6-week time slot you still have open, I’d kick back and enjoy a little break from the work. You’re supposed to wait until grad school to get burnt out.