Olcott began his engineering career as a chemist in charge of a Hunt and Douglas plant in North Carolina.
[4] He later became superintendent of gold mines in Venezuela and held a similar role in San Juan County, Colorado.
He also explored the Sandia and Carrabaya gold regions of Peru and the Huantajaya silver mines of Chile among his missions to South America.
[4][7] He also pursued a career in banking, serving as a vice president of Lincoln Safe Deposit Company and was a member of the advisory board of Irving Trust and director of Catskill Evening Line.
[11] His nephew was Van Santvoord Merle-Smith, who served as Third Assistant Secretary of State under President Woodrow Wilson.