A geologist studies the dynamics, structure and evolution of the earth. Hydro-geology, geo-physics, marine geology etc. are the allied disciplines of geology. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts examination of Geologists annually. The rules for the examination have been framed by the Ministry of Mines. 

            The UPSC would hold the Geologists’ Examination, 2010, from December 4, 2010, for a period of three days. The last date for filling online applications is July 12, 2010, and offline application is July 19, 2010. For those residing in remote areas and abroad, the UPSC has extended the deadline till July 26, 2010.

The fee for offline application for the exam is Rs.100/ and Rs. 50 for online applications. Online applicants can remit the money in any branch of SBI by cash, or by using net banking facility of SBI or by using any Visa/Master Credit/ Debit Card. The UPSC is not charging any fee for women/SC/ST/OBC category students.

Any citizen of India, a subject of Nepal, or a subject of Bhutan can take the exam. The age requirement as on 1/1/2010 is minimum 21 years and maximum 32 years.

Any student having any of the following qualifications is eligible to take the exam:

• Master’s degree in Geology or Applied Geology or Marine Geology from a recognised University

• Diploma of Associateship in Applied Geology of the Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad

• Master’s degree in Mineral Exploration from a recognised University (for posts in the Geological Survery of India only)

• Master’s degree in Hydrogeology from a recognised University (for posts in the Central Ground Water Board only)

All students must keep the following points in mind before filling in the application form:

• The form has been purchased from the Post Office only

• The name and year of the examination applying for has been written carefully

• All relevant columns have been filled correctly All changes have been done neatly

• Photograph has been pasted in the space provided

• The single Central Recruitment Fee Stamp has been pasted firmly

• UPSC Notice No. and date published in the Employment News/Rozgar Samachar has been mentioned correctly

• Clearly mentioned the declaration, date and place the form is being mailed

• Have noted the eight digit form number printed under the bar-code for future reference

• With the application form don’t send any certificates, only acknowledgement card is necessary, if the application has been sent by post

The application form should be sent to Secretary, Union Public Service Commission,     Dholpur House, Shahjahan Road, New Delhi – 110069.

A student can take the exam at any of the following centers: Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cuttack, Delhi, Dispur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, Shillong, Shimla and Thiruvananthapuram.
         
According to UPSC, the Geologists Exam consists of two stages. The first stage is the written examination and the second is an interview, which carries a total of 200 marks. In the written exam, a student is first tested for General English, which is for 100 marks and the duration of the exam is two hours. The second exam would be in Geology paper I for three hours. The third exam would be in Geology paper II, the fourth in Geology Paper III and the fifth in
Hydro-geology. All papers would be of three hours each. Except for English, all other papers carry 200 marks each.

Only those candidates who clear the written exam would be called for an interview. At the interview the candidate would be evaluated for the post.

This year the UPSC is holding the examination to fill up the following vacancies:

• Category I: There are 277 posts as Junior Geologist in the Geological Survey of India, Ministry of Mines.

• Category II: There are four posts in Group A for Jr. Hydro-geologists (Scientist B), and 12 posts in Group B for ) Assistant Hydro-geologists in the Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources.

The UPSC has reserved 17 posts of Junior Geologist and one post of Junior Hydro-geologist for Physically Challenged candidates belonging to the Hearing Impairment Category having Functional Classification Partially Deaf (PD).