Geography Careers
Careers in geography offer graduates the best of all worlds--a career that can combine travel, society, environment, technology, and lifelong exploration of our changing world. In addition to teaching, geographers are hired for a surprisingly wide variety jobs in education, government, industry, and private consulting:
- Environmental Impact Specialist
- Emergency and Disaster Planner
- Historic Preservation Consultant
- News Media Cartographer or Analyst
- Demographer for the IRS, CIA, CDC and other agencies
- Climate Change Specialist
- Real Estate Analyst
- Wildlife Protection Agent
- Ecotourism and Outdoor Tourism Manager
- Computer Applications Developer
AAG
A good first resource to explore all kinds of geography careers is the Association of American Geographers website. Also read the article "Mapping Opportunities" on why scientists who can combine geographic information systems with satellite data are in demand in a variety of disciplines.
What is geography?
Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment.
There are two main branches of geography: human geography and physical geography. Human geography is concerned with the spatial aspects of human existence - how people and their activity are distributed in space, how they use and perceive space, and how they create and sustain the places that make up the earth's surface. Human geographers work in the fields of urban and regional planning, transportation, marketing, real estate, tourism, and international business.
Physical geographers study patterns of climates, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Many human and physical geographers have skills in cartography and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Geographers also study the linkages between human activity and natural systems. Geographers were, in fact, among the first scientists to sound the alarm that human-induced changes to the environment were beginning to threaten the balance of life itself. They are active in the study of global warming, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, groundwater pollution, and flooding. --from the AAG website
Local resources
Job announcements and sources of job information are posted on the bulletin board on the third floor of Science Hall. The Geography Club also maintains a shelf of materials in the Geography Library on finding jobs in geography and related fields.
- See the careers of UW Geography grads >
- See what students are working on now >
- Find out more about Cartography >
GIWIS
Make sure to visit the Geospatial Industry Workforce Information System (GIWIS) for career videos, job boards, and opportunities in this growing field. "The geospatial industry acquires, integrates, manages, analyzes, maps, distributes, and uses geographic, temporal, and spatial information and knowledge. The industry includes basic and applied research, technology development, education, and applications to address the plannng, decision-making, and operational needs of people and organizations of all types. --GIWIS"