Seismologist - How to become a Seismologist

A seismologist is a professional who is an expert in forecasting earthquakes and its reasons thereby reducing the risk loss of material and life. He is the one, responsible to find out the disturbance happening in the plates deep under the earth crust and possible factors responsible for these disturbances which can cause a massive earthquake in the near future. Although it is next to impossible to know exactly about the time and magnitude of the possible earth shake yet they can be predicted to nearest possible level and this task is done by an expert Seismologist.

Seismologist Eligibility

The minimum educational qualification for becoming a Seismologist is the 12^th class with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics followed by UG and PG degrees in the field of seismology or related fields.

Seismologist Required Skills

• Prospective Seismologist requires dedicated attention, ability to work tirelessly for hours that too in odd hours and the capacity to concentrate irrespective of unfavourable conditions and surroundings.
• Problem-solving skills are must in the prospective seismologist.
• Seismologists must require the ability to work independently as well as in team as they have to work for months without any break.
• As seismologist have to work for months with much success sometime thus they should be self-motivated and have the ability to keep persevering.
• Seismologist must also possess a great enthusiasm for their subject, presentation skills, team working, computing skills, time management/ organizing skills and people skills.

How to become a Seismologist?

 A prospective Seismologist has to follow below given steps to become a Seismologist: -

Step 1
The first step towards becoming a Seismologist is to opt for Non-Medical subjects i.e. Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics after Matric. After completing +2 with these subjects the aspiring candidate has to go for a Bachelor’s degree in Geophysics.

One can also go for Degree course in Geology, Geophysics, Physics or in applied science and go for specialization in Seismology.

Candidates may have to take some kind of admission test to get admission to this course. However, some institutes provide admission on the basis of marks in Class 12^th.

Step 2
After getting Bachelor’s degree in Geophysics or related field one can go for Master’s degree in Geophysics like M.Sc (Geophysics) or M.Tech (Geophysics).

One can also opt for a Masters degree in Earthquake i.e M.Tech (Earthquake). To get admission to M.Tech( Earth Quake) the prospective Seismologist has to take GATE Exam.

Step 3
With master’s degree in hand, one can Look for employment in various Government departments working in the field or Go for PhD (Geophysics) to become a specialist in the field of Seismology.

List of Some of the Institute Providing Courses related to Seismology

1. IIT Kanpur
2. IIT Roorkee
3. IIT Kharagpur
4. BHU, Varanasi
5. Anna University, Chennai
6. Osmania University, Hyderabad
7. Mumbai University, Mumbai
8. Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra

Seismologist Job Description

• The job description of Seismologist includes getting information about disturbances in the tectonic plates under the earth, especially in the earthquake-prone areas.
• The seismologist is responsible to forecast earthquake like situation and try to minimize the material and human losses due to earthquakes.
• His job also includes studying the event before and after the earthquake, their effect on the environment and possible after effect of that particular event. 
• They are supposed to draw the conclusion from the data collected by them during these situations and draw strategy for the future course of action.
• The seismologist is also responsible to create such structure that can withstand the effect of the earthquake in future. For this, they interact with the people of the earthquake-prone areas and get the in-depth knowledge to create earthquake-proof structures.
• To get the insight of expansion in earthquake-prone area and forecasting is also the job of a Seismologist.

Seismologist Career Prospects

 A budding Seismologist can make his career in both the Private as well as Government Sectors. One can go for the Government job and join the Government organizations working in the field of Seismology like Indian Metrological Department, National Centre of Seismology and Institute of Seismological Research. Besides joining as researcher or Assistant professor in the institutes of higher studies.

There is no dearth of jobs for Seismologist in the private sector either. Now a day’s flat culture is expanding across the country. Multi-story building and high rising bridges are coming up in Urban India. In such a scenario, there are ample job opportunities for Seismologists. As they are the experts who can help erect multi-story building that can withstand the jerks of the possible earthquake and minimize the damage to the building and their residents.

Thus one can say that there is unlimited career prospected in the field of Seismology in the coming times.

Seismologist Salary
Salary of a Seismologist depends largely upon their academic qualification, institute or university from which the degree is attained and the level of work experience they have achieved.

To start with the budding Seismologist from prestigious institutes like IIT’s, IISc’s etc can get anything between Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000 per month. There is no upper limit for salary or other remunerations for the Seismologist once they have gained experience in their field of research.