Best Geological Technician programs in Virginia, ranked by enrollment
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.
8 schools in Virginia run programs that feed this job, graduating 118 people a year. The job pays a median of $59,290 in Virginia across about — jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in Virginia that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in Virginia that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in Virginia (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Virginia page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 40.0601In Virginia → | 114 | 96.6% | 6 | $39,678 | $24,864 |
| 2 | Mining Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 15.0901In Virginia → | 4 | 3.4% | 2 | $59,357 | $18,848 |
Top 8 schools in Virginia
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 1 of the 8 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 43 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 86% | — | 55% |
| 2 | William & Mary Williamsburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 25 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 89% | — | 34% |
| 3 | James Madison University Harrisonburg, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 24 | Geology/Earth Science, General | $48,118 | 80% | — | 72% |
| 4 | George Mason University Fairfax, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 68% | — | 87% |
| 5 | Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 6 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 94% | $11,983 | 14% |
| 6 | Mountain Empire Community College Big Stone Gap, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Mining Technology/Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 7 | Radford University Radford, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 3 | Geology/Earth Science, General | — | 49% | — | 90% |
| 8 | Southwest Virginia Community College Cedar Bluff, VA Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Mining Technology/Technician | — | 46% | — | — |
All 8 schools in Virginia
Every school in Virginia with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | Blacksburg | Public | 43 | 1 |
| William & Mary | Williamsburg | Public | 25 | 1 |
| James Madison University | Harrisonburg | Public | 24 | 1 |
| George Mason University | Fairfax | Public | 13 | 1 |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 1 |
| Mountain Empire Community College | Big Stone Gap | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Radford University | Radford | Public | 3 | 1 |
| Southwest Virginia Community College | Cedar Bluff | Public | 1 | 1 |
What geological technicians earn in Virginia
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $53,350. Virginia pays above the national figure.
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Geological Technicians page.
How to become a Geological Technician
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Associate's degree
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
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.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in Virginia
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 8 majors mapped to Geological Technicians7 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 15.0901Mining Technology/Technician
- 15.0903Petroleum Technology/Technician
- 15.0999Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians, Other(no graduates reported)
- 40.0601Geology/Earth Science, General
- 41.0000Science Technologies/Technicians, General
- 41.0303Chemical Process Technology
- 41.0399Physical Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
- 41.9999Science Technologies/Technicians, Other
Common questions
Answers for people weighing geological technicians programs in Virginia.
What degree do you need to become a Geological Technician?+
Associate's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Geology/Earth Science, General, which awarded 114 degrees in Virginia in 2024-25, 96.6% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Geological Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences, Mining and Petroleum Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 118 people a year in Virginia.
How much do geological technicians earn in Virginia?+
The median is $59,290 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 11.1% above the U.S. median of $53,350. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for geological technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +1.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, little or no change, with roughly 1,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in Virginia?+
8 institutions in Virginia reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do geological technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Geotechnician, Materials Technician, Geological Technician, Physical Science Technician among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 19-4043.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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