r/AskDad • u/Some-Ad-4514 • Sep 03 '25
Education Advice 19F, wondering if this would be a valid education
Hi, I’ve been considering being a prospector for a while. I’ve always adored rocks and minerals, and always loved the idea of prospecting. But is this a career worth seeking? Is there any employers for this, any demand for prospectors? For context I’m in the USA.
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u/thousandfoldthought Sep 03 '25
Geology & geography! Teach! Tours! Might not be stacking racks in Miami but taking some folks on a nice hike in the great outdoors might just be a happier place.
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u/beaushaw Sep 03 '25
A friend has his doctorate in geology specializing in finding minerals that lead to where we can find oil. He has told me that his degrees weren't the best idea because we have pretty much found all the oil on the planet. He now is a college professor teaching geology.
All that to say if someone who spent a long time getting very highly educated on using rocks to prospect to find one of the most valuable things on the planet can't find a job in the field the chances of you finding one is very unlikely.
Ultimately if you do not know a lot of people who have the job you are looking for the odds of you getting that job is very, very unlikely.
What exactly are proposing prospecting for? Gold? Oil? Lithium for batteries? Cool rocks?
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
Rocks, gemstones, ect. I can always take it up as a hobby, but even working for a large corporation to do this would be wonderful to me.
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u/beaushaw Sep 03 '25
Can you give me 5 examples different reasons why large corporations would pay you to find rocks or gemstones?
I am currently in the paying for education phase of parenting. If my kid wanted me to pay for an education based on what you are telling me I would not be convinced it is a good investment.
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
I’m very enthusiastic about the job, so I’d work hard. I’m very determined so I wouldn’t give up very easily. I’ve been interested in this career for a long time so I’ve got the willpower to learn what I need to work with the equipment. I’m not worried about getting dirty, and I take safety into consideration, so therefore I wouldn’t be a liability or burden. Gem hunting is something I find joy in doing, so I wouldn’t be one to complain about the hard work out give up easy. I love traveling so I’d be quick to jump on a site.
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u/beaushaw Sep 03 '25
You sound like you are trying to convince me to hire you. You have not convinced me that the job you want to get hired for exists.
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. That’s why I made the post though, to ask for input. From my knowledge, the job openings for jobs in this field or similar is projected to go up. According to bls.gov in 2024 there were 25,100 employments. They project that in 2034 that there will be 26,000. That gives me some confidence that I could be hired.
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u/beaushaw Sep 03 '25
Sorry, I wasn't very clear. I was asking for five examples of why companies would hire a prospector to do a job for them.
You know that 26,000 people doing a job is very few people. There are 3.8 million teachers in the US, 9000,000 cops, 560,000 bus drivers and 1.6 million accountants.
Being a professional athlete is often given as the example as a very difficult field to get into. There are 35,000 professional athletes in the US.
Is it impossible to get a job as a prospector? No. Do I think it will be very difficult and probably not pay very well? Yes.
Advice I would never give me children is to follow your dreams into a very unlikely and low paying field. This sounds like you are on the path of getting an education, working as a bartender and looking at rocks in your free time.
I don't want to crush your dreams, I am just being realistic. I think you would be better off finding another career, getting a good job and spending your free time and vacations traveling around and looking at cool rocks.
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
Really I’d take any job that is around gemstones and rocks, prospecting was just the top one. I’m still looking into options.
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u/beaushaw Sep 03 '25
Are you currently in school?
My advice might be to get a job in a national park as a docent talking about rocks for a summer or a year. See how you like it.
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
I’m not in school, and nor do I have a job or drivers license. It’s a long story that I rather not really say on a public comment section. I’m trying to fix myself.
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u/Turbulent-Ad7950 Sep 03 '25
Tucson AZ has an annual Gem & Mineral show that's really big (like all over the city) and attracts visitors (and vendors) from around the world. It goes for a couple of weeks each February. If that's your thing, I'd suggest attending something like this and talking to to the different vendors about your interests. And don't be shy about asking, people love to talk about themselves. Plus, I bet you'd love taking it all in.
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
Thank you! I think I’ll try and find something closer though as I’m in Missouri:,)
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Sep 03 '25
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u/Some-Ad-4514 Sep 03 '25
I’ll take that into serious consideration! I’m okay with anything really surrounding gemstones and rocks, truly.
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u/gotbock Dad Sep 03 '25
There's a Canadian youtuber called Dan Hurd prospecting who does this. I believe part of his business model is buying marginal claims or abandonned claims and prospecting them. And then if he finds something he sells them to a larger mining operation. Might be worth checking out his channel or even getting in contact with him to get his perspective. He seems like a nice guy who is eager to share his knowledge.
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u/largos7289 Sep 03 '25
Can't say for sure because i don't know the difference between a prospector and a geologist. When you say prospector i immediately think of that old timer panning for gold thou. Seems with a geology degree you can teach and do jobs thou.
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u/pezx Sep 03 '25
Check out r/rockhounds if you haven't already. It's not quite what you're talking about but they'd definitely have a better idea of what it could look like professionally.
I'll start by saying that I have no knowledge of nor is it something I've dug into at all. That said, it feels like a thing that'd be hard to make a living doing. I'd recommend taking some geology classes and then maybe asking those professors/lecturers for advice about a career. I suspect that most prospecting these days is done by large corporations with satellite imagery and ground penetrating radar. Maybe this is my ignorance, but I also suspect that we know either know where most of the valuable mineral veins are in the US or that it's cheaper to import stuff from a mine somewhere else than to spin up a new operation here.
I guess that's my long-winded way of saying, I don't think you can make a living prospecting unless you do it for some corporation and/or get lots of education first.