CAREERS IN GEOGRAPHY
GEOGRAPHY: THE SCIENCE OF SPACE AND PLACE
Are you curious about places beyond your front door? Do you want to learn about different cultures, environments, and countries? Would you like to discover why people and places interact as they do? Do you want an understanding of globalization that goes well beyond economic interactions? Do you like maps? Are you concerned about our natural resources and environmental problems? Do revolutionary computer technologies interest you? How about a career that is truly enjoyable? Consider geography. It is the only major that studies both cultural and environmental diversity from a global perspective. Everything happens somewhere ... for reasons ... and with consequences; so geography matters!
"Everything happens somewhere...for reasons...and with consequences. Geography matters!"
Geography involves far more than knowing where places are and what places are like. Today’s global citizen must understand the relationships between places in our interconnected world. Only geography provides the essential conceptual link between home and the world beyond. As each year passes Earth becomes more crowded, the environment more threatened, resources more depleted, the global economy more competitive, and world events more interconnected and disturbing. Geography is rich in material vital to understanding international trends. More than ever before, the United States needs citizens who can intelligently analyze regional and global relationships and make informed decisions about policies that affect us and the environment.
SKILLS NEEDED BY A GEOGRAPHER
- Ability to analyze data from maps, tables, graphs, texts, and field work.
- Capacity to assess locational information in order to detect and explain spatial patterns and processes.
- Potential to integrate concepts from both natural and social sciences.
- Aptitude for critical analysis and understanding of current issues of local, regional, and international importance.
- Facility to communicate geographic knowledge effectively both orally and in writing to the public and to other professionals.
TYPES OF CAREERS IN GEOGRAPHY
All levels of government and an increasing array of private sector firms hire geographers. They may work for local and state economic development agencies, conduct research in land use options using Geographic Information Systems, engage in urban planning or historic preservation, or analyze and map environmental impacts using satellite images. At the federal level, geographers are employed by many agencies including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Census Bureau, National Park Service, Library of Congress, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA, formerly the National Imaging and Mapping Agency), US Geological Survey (USGS), Natural Resources Conservation Service, all branches of the armed forces, Corps of Engineers, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Private sector firms hire geographers to conduct marketing studies, plan transportation routes, analyze international markets, investigate site selection, manage utility networks, and assess environmental risks. Real-time mobile interactive geographic technologies and databases are increasingly important for large-scale corporate and industrial operations management systems. Education is also an important career path for geographers. All states have recently implemented higher standards for geographic education and require teachers with solid backgrounds in geography.
GRADUATES OF THE GEOGRAPHY PROGRAM AT NSU
The women and men who leave NSU with a degree in geography find themselves interesting, varied, and fulfilling employment. Here are samples from some of our recent graduates whose annual salaries range from $27,000 to $75,000 (1994-2003 graduates). Here are a few examples:
- Cartographer, Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, Springdale, AR: “I love my job and the people I work with. We always have some interesting project going. The geographers at NSU taught me more about geography than I got in two years of graduate work at the University of Arkansas.”
- Environmental specialist, Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK: “I work with the EPA Clear Air and Clean Water Programs. We monitor streams and air quality. Our air monitoring stations are scattered across Oklahoma and New Mexico, and we travel to each once every two weeks.”
- Systems integration administrator, Sho-Me Power (utilities company) of Marshfield, Missouri: “It is my job to keep all of our computer networks and systems working in an efficient manner. I continue to learn new things everyday.”
- International accounts manager, Site-Specific Technology Development Group, Inc., in Stillwater, OK: “I coordinate international sales of GIS (geographic information systems) software and administer our domestic and international distributor network.”
- GIS technician, Lowrance Electronics, Inc., in Tulsa, OK: “I use GIS on a daily basis to view, edit and convert both raster and vector data. In addition, I run various processes that ultimately result in converting this data into a special format that is readable by all of the Mapping/WAAS-enabled GPS units of Lowrance Electronics, Inc."
Links to General Geography Career InformationAAG Online Career Guide by the Association of American GeographersCareers in Geography by the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University
Geography: Careers For the Real World by University of Washington Geography Department
Careers in Geosciences by the Department of Geology & Geography at Northwest Missouri State University
Careers and Further Study from the Royal Geographical Society and the Institute of British Geographers
Online Videos about Careers in Geography
Going Places with Geography: Progression and Careers with Geography, Part 1 from The Royal Geographical Society and the Institute of British Geographers (view on YouTube)
Going Places with Geography: Progression and Careers with Geography, Part 2 from The Royal Geographical Society and the Institute of British Geographers (view on YouTube)
Links to Specific Job Opportunities
Earthworks -- Worldwide employment opportunities in the geosciences (oil, mining, geoscience, environmental, agriculture, forestry, ecology, meteorology, oceanography, hydrology, soil, GIS and related subjects)GeoCareers -- from GEOPlace.com and careerbuilders.com
GeoSearch, Inc. -- Recruiters in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Image Processing, Computer Science and Related Technologies and Sciences
GIScareers.com -- worldwide GIS employment opportunities
GIS Jobs Clearinghouse -- GIS and remote sensing jobs
GISjobs.com -- GISjobs.com classified ads
GIS-Related Job Postings in Texas -- by the Texas Department of Information Resources
GISuser Jobs -- GIS job listings from GISuser.com
Monster.com -- major website for employment opportunity (all types of jobs)
Oklahoma Marketplace -- a free career services website provided by the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education
Urban & Regional Planning Jobs (APA Jobs Online) -- online listing of jobs in planning and allied professional fields.
Last revised January 30, 2010.