Geologist Family
Career series with 12 positions across 4 levels
Geologist is a career-ladder family in New Jersey civil service, with 12 titles spanning 4 levels.
Entry is typically through Geologist 1, advancing through the ladder toward Geologist 4. Pay across the family spans $60,876 to $141,386, around the 70th percentile of all civil service job families by top pay. State payroll records show 63 people across the family's titles, most concentrated at Environmental Protection.
Specializations
Positions in This Family
- GEOLOGIST 1 (03042) $63,663 - $92,953/year
- GEOLOGIST 3 (03045) $83,582 - $122,832/year
- GEOLOGIST 1 (03052) $60,876 - $88,743/year
- GEOLOGIST 2 (03053) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- GEOLOGIST 2, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (03053C) $69,668 - $101,951/year
- GEOLOGIST 3 (03054) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- GEOLOGIST 3, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (03054C) $79,844 - $117,228/year
- GEOLOGIST 4 (03055) $95,955 - $141,386/year
- GEOLOGIST 4, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (03055C) $91,628 - $134,900/year
- GEOLOGIST 4 (08075) $91,628 - $134,900/year
- GEOLOGIST 4, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (08075C) $91,628 - $134,900/year
- GEOLOGIST 2 (10058) $72,896 - $106,798/year
What the Geologist family covers
New Jersey classifies Geologist as a 4-level series holding 12 separate title codes. Every title in it is a state title, so the employer is a state department, commission or authority rather than a county or municipality.
The state runs working laboratories rather than research institutes, so scientific titles are tied to a statutory job: testing water and air, screening newborns, analysing evidence, monitoring pesticides, mapping geology. Degrees in a named field do the qualifying, and the exam is often an evaluation of education and experience rather than a written test. Because each laboratory is small, these families tend to be short ladders inside one agency instead of broad classifications spread across government.
The ladder, ordered by pay
Sorted by pay instead of by title number, the Geologist family stacks up as follows. Here the numbering happens to agree with the pay order, which is not guaranteed elsewhere in New Jersey's plan.
- Geologist 4 — $95,955 to $141,386 (a master's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Geologist 4 — $91,628 to $134,900 (a master's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Geologist 4, Environmental Protection — $91,628 to $134,900 (a bachelor's degree and 4 years of experience)
- Geologist 3 — $83,582 to $122,832 (a master's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Geologist 3, Environmental Protection — $79,844 to $117,228 (a bachelor's degree and 3 years of experience)
- Geologist 3 — $79,844 to $117,228 (a master's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Geologist 2 — $72,896 to $106,798 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Geologist 2, Environmental Protection — $69,668 to $101,951 (a bachelor's degree and 2 years of experience)
- Geologist 2 — $69,668 to $101,951 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Geologist 1 — $63,663 to $92,953 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
- Geologist 1 — $60,876 to $88,743 (a master's degree and 1 year of experience)
The distance from the bottom of Geologist 1 to the top of Geologist 4 is $80,510, an increase of about 132% over the entry minimum.
What each title does
The specifications themselves are the clearest guide to what separates these titles. Here is how each one opens.
- Geologist 1: Under the close supervision of a Geologist 3 or other supervisory official in a State department or agency, conducts field and office work…
- Geologist 3: Under the general supervision of a Geologist 4 or other supervisory official in a State department or agency, supervises the performance of field and office work pertaining…
- Geologist 2: Under the limited supervision of a Geologist 3 or other supervisory official in a State department or agency, takes the lead and/or conducts complex field and office work…
- Geologist 2, Environmental Protection: Under the limited supervision of a Geologist 3, Environmental Protection, or other supervisory official in the Department of Environmental…
- Geologist 3, Environmental Protection: Under the general supervision of a Geologist 4, Environmental Protection, or other supervisory official in the Department of Environmental…
- Geologist 4: Under the direction of a supervisory official in a State department or agency, supervises the performance of professional staff engaged in the highly complex field and office…
- Geologist 4, Environmental Protection: Under the direction of a supervisory official in the Department of Environmental Protection, supervises professional staff engaged in the resolution…
Getting in: the stated requirements
Across the 12 titles we have parsed, the education requirements read as a master's degree on 8 of them and a bachelor's degree on 4 of them. Stated experience runs from 1 year at the lowest rung to 4 at the highest, which is the main thing separating one level from the next.
On how the jobs are filled: 10 are competitive, filled from an eligible list after an open competitive or promotional examination and 2 are non-competitive, appointed on proof of the stated qualifications rather than by examination. 2 titles in this family are covered by the compendium's special incentive program, which lets an appointing authority hire a qualified candidate above the bottom step instead of starting them at step one. See the full list of incentive titles.
Who actually employs these titles
State payroll records show 63 people working under 6 of this family's titles, spread across 2 agencies. Environmental Protection alone accounts for about 78% of them.
- Environmental Protection — 49 employees
- Transportation — 14 employees
Median actual pay varies across the family, from $69,587 for Geologist 1 up to $130,339 for Geologist 4, Environmental Protection. Those are medians of what people are really paid, not schedule minimums and maximums.
State payroll only, deduplicated by payroll title; local employers file separately, so a family with local codes looks smaller here than it is. How this is counted.
How the pay is set
Titles in this family are paid on the A-P-R-S salary schedule. See every step in that schedule. Bargaining is handled by CWA. Union contracts and rights are collected here.
Where these jobs exist
These are state titles, hired by New Jersey departments, commissions and boards through the Civil Service Commission's announcement and eligible list process rather than by an ordinary job posting. How state hiring works, and which agencies employ what.
Related titles elsewhere in the plan
Nearby in the plan, ranked by how distinctive the shared terms are rather than by how many words happen to match.
- Geologist Trainee (state jurisdiction)
- Geologist Trainee ($69,521 to $72,450, state jurisdiction)
- State Geologist, Geological Survey ($83,210 to $116,477, state jurisdiction)
Common questions about Geologist jobs
How many Geologist titles are there in New Jersey civil service?
The Geologist family holds 12 title codes arranged across 4 levels. Each code is a separate classification with its own published specification, requirements and salary treatment.
What does a Geologist earn in New Jersey?
Published salary data for this family runs from $60,876 at the bottom of Geologist 1 to $141,386 at the top of Geologist 4. Those are schedule figures. Where the title appears on the state payroll, actual median pay is listed on the page above.
Do you need to take an exam to become a Geologist?
Yes for most of the family. 10 of the 12 titles are in the competitive division, which means appointment comes from an eligible list built by an open competitive or promotional examination.
What qualifications does a Geologist need?
The most common education requirement in this family is a master's degree, named on 8 of the 12 titles. Stated experience ranges from 1 to 4 years depending on the rung. Read the individual specification for the exact wording, including any experience substitution.
Which agencies employ Geologist staff?
State payroll records show 63 people in this family across 2 agencies, with Environmental Protection the largest at 49. Local government employers are not covered by that extract.