NOC 2021 · 21102 · TEER 1
Geoscientists and oceanographers
Unit group 21102 of the National Occupational Classification, 2021 Version 1.0.
Check which category draws this code qualifies for
What this group covers
Geoscientists include geologists, geochemists and geophysicists who conduct programs of exploration and research to extend knowledge of the structure, composition and processes of the earth, to locate, identify and extract hydrocarbon, mineral and groundwater resources and to assess and mitigate the effects of development and waste disposal projects on the environment. Oceanographers conduct programs of exploration and research on ocean processes and phenomena, biological, chemical and physical characteristics of oceans, interactions with atmospheric and geological environments and impacts of human activity on oceans and marine ecosystems. Geoscientists are employed by petroleum and mining companies, consulting geology, geophysics and engineering firms and by governments and educational institutions, or they may be self-employed. Oceanographers are employed by governments, educational institutions and private companies engaged in exploration of seafloor deposits and seafarming areas, or they may be self-employed.
Example job titles
As Statistics Canada publishes them. Yours may be worded differently and still belong here.
- biological oceanographer
- biostratigrapher
- chemical oceanographer
- coal geologist
- consulting geologist
- consulting geophysicist
- development geologist
- environmental geologist
- exploration geologist
- exploration geophysicist
- fisheries oceanographer
- geochemist
- geodesist
- geological oceanographer
- geologist
- geomorphologist
- geophysicist
- glaciologist
- groundwater geologist
- hydrogeologist
- hydrographic surveyor - geology
- hydrologist
- ice specialist - oceanography
- marine geologist
- marine geophysicist
- micropaleontologist
- mine geologist
- mineralogist
- mining geologist
- oceanographer
- oil geologist
- paleobotanist
- paleoecologist
- paleontologist
- palynologist
- petrographer
- petroleum geologist
- petrologist
- petrophysicist
- photogeologist
- physical oceanographer
- placer geologist
- prospecting geologist
- quaternarist
- quaternary scientist
- quaternary specialist
- remote sensing geologist
- sedimentary geologist
- sedimentologist
- seismologist
- stratigrapher
- structural geologist
- volcanologist
- wellsite coordinator - geology
What it pays, and where it is hiring
Job Bank publishes a wage estimate and a three-year employment outlook for each occupation, region by region. Both are below as published — where an estimate is missing from the source it is missing here too, because the alternative is inventing one.
Across Canada
$50.00 an hour
Low $30.77, high $100.00
Where it pays most
- Ottawa · Ontario$57.69
- Toronto · Ontario$57.69
- Hamilton--Niagara Peninsula · Ontario$57.69
- Northwest · Ontario$57.69
- Lower Mainland · British Columbia$54.95
Economic regions only. A province’s figure is an average over the regions inside it, so including one would rank a province above its own best region and read as a finding.
By province and territory
| Where | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $50.00 | $27.47 – $96.15 | Good |
| Prince Edward Island | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Nova Scotia | $48.72 | $30.67 – $76.92 | Moderate |
| New Brunswick | $48.72 | $30.67 – $76.92 | Undetermined |
| Quebec | $48.08 | $31.25 – $66.67 | Good |
| Ontario | $57.69 | $33.65 – $79.49 | Moderate |
| Manitoba | $44.23 | $23.17 – $51.92 | Moderate |
| Saskatchewan | $52.20 | $27.50 – $77.88 | Good |
| Alberta | $44.43 | $28.85 – $117.95 | Moderate |
| British Columbia | $51.28 | $30.77 – $87.18 | Moderate |
| Yukon Territory | $45.55 | $33.96 – $66.56 | Moderate |
| Northwest Territories | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
| Nunavut | Not published | Not published | Undetermined |
By economic region
The 29 economic regions where Job Bank publishes a wage or a rated outlook, of 72.
| Where | Province | Median hourly | Low to high | Outlook 2025–2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avalon Peninsula | Newfoundland and Labrador | $50.00 | $22.89 – $102.16 | Good |
| Halifax | Nova Scotia | $45.45 | $30.53 – $65.79 | Moderate |
| Bas-Saint-Laurent | Quebec | $47.23 | $32.58 – $69.55 | Good |
| Capitale-Nationale | Quebec | $49.97 | $33.82 – $73.59 | Good |
| Montérégie | Quebec | $49.28 | $32.44 – $73.70 | Very good |
| Montréal | Quebec | $45.86 | $31.26 – $65.79 | Very good |
| Laval | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Very good |
| Laurentides | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Very good |
| Outaouais | Quebec | $52.00 | $33.84 – $75.23 | Good |
| Abitibi-Témiscamingue | Quebec | $49.73 | $32.72 – $73.89 | Good |
| Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean | Quebec | Not published | Not published | Very good |
| Ottawa | Ontario | $57.69 | $33.65 – $79.49 | Moderate |
| Toronto | Ontario | $57.69 | $33.65 – $79.49 | Moderate |
| Kitchener--Waterloo--Barrie | Ontario | Not published | Not published | Good |
| Hamilton--Niagara Peninsula | Ontario | $57.69 | $33.65 – $79.49 | Moderate |
| Northeast | Ontario | $48.08 | $33.65 – $105.00 | Limited |
| Northwest | Ontario | $57.69 | $33.65 – $79.49 | Limited |
| Winnipeg | Manitoba | $48.12 | $33.70 – $70.04 | Good |
| Regina--Moose Mountain | Saskatchewan | Not published | Not published | Very good |
| Saskatoon--Biggar | Saskatchewan | $52.20 | $27.50 – $77.88 | Good |
| Calgary | Alberta | $44.43 | $28.85 – $117.95 | Moderate |
| Banff--Jasper--Rocky Mountain House | Alberta | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Edmonton | Alberta | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Athabasca--Grande Prairie--Peace River | Alberta | Not published | Not published | Moderate |
| Vancouver Island and Coast | British Columbia | $51.28 | $30.77 – $87.18 | Moderate |
| Lower Mainland | British Columbia | $54.95 | $36.06 – $108.17 | Moderate |
| Thompson--Okanagan | British Columbia | $52.15 | $34.34 – $82.07 | Good |
| Kootenay | British Columbia | $52.76 | $32.29 – $83.97 | Limited |
| Cariboo | British Columbia | $51.41 | $34.66 – $82.61 | Undetermined |
Job Bank rates employment prospects for each occupation in each economic region from very good to very limited over 2025–2027, and says “undetermined” where it has not got enough to rate. It is an assessment of prospects, not a count of vacancies.
The estimates on this page come from Labour Force Survey (2023-2024) · Small Area Estimation (2024).
Job Bank publishes an estimate for 24,364 of the 44,376 occupation-and-place pairs in this release. The rest are suppressed rather than modelled, and appear here as not published.
Wage estimates from the 2025 Wages release, revised 19 November 2025; employment outlooks from 2025-2027 Employment Outlooks - NOC 2021, released 8 December 2025. Both are updated annually. Estimates for different regions come from different surveys, so comparing two regions is exactly as sound as Job Bank’s own regional comparison and no more.
Source: Statistics Canada — National Occupational Classification 2021 V1.0; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank wages; Employment and Social Development Canada — Job Bank 3-year employment outlooks. Data current as of 13 August 2026. NOC 2021 Version 1.0. The classification is versioned rather than dated — IRCC moved to it in November 2022, and a new version would be a new classification rather than an update.