Side-by-side distribution
Geologist
$87,500
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 27.5%
- Live roles
- 109
Researcher
$110,142
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 34.9%
- Live roles
- 3,302
Highest-paying jobs
Project Geologist
Principal Resource Geologist
Geologist / Hydrogeologist Project Manager
Sr. Professional Geologist
Lead Geologist - Land
Senior Exploration Geologist
Managing Consultant, Engineer/Geologist/Scientist Project Manager
Managing Consultant, Project Manager, Engineer/Geologist/Scientist
Senior Geologist
Engineering Geologist - Mi-Tech Services, Inc.
Highest-paying jobs
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Post Doctoral Research Fellow
Research Fellow
Researcher, Training
Researcher, Training - London
Vice President, Quantitative Researcher, Infrastructure & Real Assets
Researcher, Alignment Interpretability
Researcher, Frontier Risk Mitigations
Researcher, Robustness & Safety Training
Researcher, Multimodal Safety
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Barr Engineering
|
$70,000 | 6 |
| MC Michels Corporation | $84,240 | 3 |
|
Fugro
|
$142,870 | 2 |
| SC SLR Consulting | $137,500 | 2 |
|
ERM
|
$124,149 | 2 |
| TE True Environmental | $75,000 | 2 |
| VE Verdantas | $68,750 | 2 |
|
SpaceX
|
$160,000 | 1 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
The University of Texas at Austin
|
$47,500 | 39 |
| NU Northeastern University | $72,754 | 34 |
| WC Worldwide Clinical Trials | $145,000 | 28 |
IQVIA
|
$128,250 | 27 |
ICON plc
|
$124,335 | 26 |
USC
|
$71,892 | 25 |
| MG Mass General Brigham | $70,875 | 21 |
| BN Brookhaven National Laboratory | $81,175 | 18 |
Geologist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| New York | $70,000 | 3 |
Geologist vs Researcher: which pays more?
The median for Geologist is $87,500 per year (typically $70,000–$124,150), versus $110,142 for Researcher ($74,500–$175,000). That puts Researcher about 26% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Geologist and Researcher are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.