Geography - using your degree
From CareersWiki
Contents |
Introduction
Geographers look at wide range of issues spanning the social and physical sciences. By doing so, they develop a breadth of skills which are attractive to a very diverse range of future employers. Research highlights that geography graduates have a better than average chance of finding work and that they are amongst the least likely to be unemployed. One of the reasons for this is the flexibility a geography degree offers in terms of future career paths. As a recent article in the Guardian highlighted, “if you're not sure what to do, you can't go wrong with geography […] Geography doesn't have a set career path like the disciplines showing the highest levels of unemployment”. As Michel Palin has commented: “[Geography] is a subject that helps young people into work. Many employers prize the knowledge and skills that studying geography can provide and geography in higher education is thriving”.
Many of society’s current issues – at both the local and global scale – require an understanding of geography. Global warming, food and energy security, and the uneven impact of economic and social change, are just some of the high profile policy challenges that geographers must help solve. Crucial here, is geography’s role as an integrative discipline that seeks to understand relationships between people, and between people and their physical environment.
Specific technical skills directly relevant to geography-related careers include: field work; research and report writing; preparing maps and diagrams; using social survey and interpretative methods; collecting and analysing information using various technical and laboratory-based methods for the collection and analysis of spatial and environmental information (e.g. GIS, remote sensing and mathematical modelling); and recognising the moral and ethical issues involved in debates and enquiries.
In addition to subject specific skills, geographers also develop other personal and intellectual skills which are required by all employers, whether they are employing graduates in careers related to, or unrelated to, geography. These skills can be developed through your experience at university as a whole but also through your degree programme, as geography is very diverse and includes lots of hands-on, practical application work. Skills you develop include: analysing and problem-solving; decision-making; critically interpreting data and text; developing a reasoned argument; numerical skills - interpreting and presenting relevant numerical information; team-working; planning skills; presenting oral and written arguments and information; and communication and technology skills (ICT) - including word processing, databases, internet communications, information retrieval and online searches.
Careers which particularly utilise the skills developed by Geographers include:
- Physical Systems - hydrologist, weather forecaster, flood protection manager, earth scientist, geomorphologist
- Geographical Techniques - GIS specialist, location analyst, surveyor, aerial surveyor, cartographer
- Development & Global Issues - civil servant for DFID, economic adviser and analyst, NGO worker
- Travel, Tourism, Leisure and Culture - expedition leader, leisure centre management, heritage site manager, travel writer
- Environment & Sustainability- civil servant for DEFRA, conservation worker, estate management, environmental consultant
- Place Policies - housing manager, town planner, transport officer, urban regeneration, local government officer
The Careers Centre can provide information on a comprehensive range of careers including those detailed above. There are specialist advisers for different occupational areas. We offer 20 minute drop-in sessions on a first come, first served basis. Drop-in is available for all students and recent graduates of the University of St Andrews on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 2.00pm - 4.00pm.
Students who are in their penultimate or final year and those studying for a Masters or Phd, can book an appointment with a careers adviser. Booked appointments generally last up to 30 minutes. Visit Careers advice for further details.
Student / Alumni Profiles
More specific information about the career pathways of our geography graduates can be found here
Celebrating our Graduates' Success
Travel Bursary
Jonny Hawkins was the winner of the 2011 Travel Bursary, organised by the Careers Centre and the University Travel Service. He took part in a British Universities Kayak Expedition (BUKE) to Venezuela. He graduates in 2012. Read his report.
Environmental Placement Programme 2012
Geography student Christine McKenna was the National Winner of the Environmental Placement Programme 2012. She was presented with an award, plus a cash prize and the title of Most Enterprising Green Student 2012. She was placed with Glasgow Housing Association, calculated their Carbon Footprint and identified savings of around £38,000pa for the business. Louise Evison, Programme Manager for the Environmental Placement Programme said: This is the second time in two years our winning student has been from St Andrews University. It is a reflection on the academic skill and practical approach of both students that they have done so well.
Environmental Placement Programme 2011
Geography graduate Charlotte Owen, who spent the summer working for James Donaldson and Sons in Leven, was announced Most Enterprising Environmental Student 2011. Charlotte spent eight weeks tracking the timber company’s energy use, and found ways to save 25% of the annual electricity bills amounting to £47,000 plus a reduction of 210 tonnes of carbon emissions. The project was arranged through the Environmental Placement Programme (EPP) and she fought off competition from Scotland’s brightest students and graduates to win the National Awards Ceremony held at, and hosted by, the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Where Our Graduates Go
A 2010 HESA study of 2009 graduates show that six months after graduating just over half of geography graduates had entered paid work, with a further 8% combing work with study. Geography graduates entered into a wide range of jobs in a variety of sectors. Initially, around 30% of those employed went into non-graduate roles, such as clerical/secretarial positions, retail, catering or bar work. Of those who entered graduate-level jobs, roles in private and public management were the most popular with 13% of graduates entering this type of work. A further 12% went into business and financial occupations, while 9% started work in the marketing and sales sector.
| Year | Organisation/Company | Position | Geography Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | University of Cambridge | MPhil Polar Studies Student (continuing to a PhD in October 2012) case study | Yes |
| 2009 | University of St Andrews | Research Assistant | Yes |
| 2009 | Oxfordshire Wild Trust | Media Research Assistant | Not directly |
| 2009 | VT Group | Contract Administrator | No |
| 2009 | University of Reading | MSc Real Estate Property | Not directly |
| 2009 | PricewaterhouseCoopers | Assurance Associate | No |
| 2009 | Army | Officer Cadet | No |
| 2009 | NHS | Administration | No |
| 2009 | Ocado | Operational Graduate Trainee | No |
| 2009 | University of Stirling | MSc River Basin Management | Yes |
| 2009 | University of Birmingham | PGCE Geography | Yes |
| 2007 | University of Glasgow, Dumfries Campus | Student Recruitment Officer case study | Not directly |
| 2007 (CAN) | Met Office | Operational Forecaster | Yes |
| 2005 (CAN) | Rampage Event Management | Event Management | Not directly |
| 2003 (CAN) | Ironside Farrar Ltd | Environmental Scientist | Yes |
| 1999 | Convention of Scottish Local Authorities | Team Leader – Environment and Regeneration case study | Not directly |
| 1998 (CAN) | St Leonards School Durham | Head of Geography | Yes |
| 1997 | Scottish Natural Heritage | Geomorphologist case study | Yes |
| 1992 (CAN) | Central Office of Information | Director of Interactive Services | Not directly |
| 1983 | University of Stirling | University Professor case study | Yes |
| 1976 (CAN) | Pennington Marketing & Creativity LLC , Sugal Land, USA | President | Not directly |
| 1967 | North Island College, BC (until 2005) - now retired | Campus Principal case study | Yes
|
Careers Alumni Network (CAN) indicates these alumni are willing and keen to be contacted to help St Andrews students with their careers search.
Where Our Postgraduates Go
| Year | Organisation/Company | Position | Geography Required |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | MRC - Medical Research Council | Postdoctoral Researcher | Yes |
| 2009 | NHS | Chief Operating Officer | Not directly |
| 2007 | Natural Environment Research Council | Science Programme Officer | Yes |
| 2006 | SEPA | Environmental Protection Enforcement Officer | Yes |
| 2006 | Children in Scotland | Research Officer | Not directly |
| 2006 | Central Scotland Forest Trust | Heritage Officer | Not directly |
Summer Internships & Work Experience
It can be very valuable to gain experience of work in various areas, but particularly in those areas that you are considering as a future career.
- The University Careers Centre has information on vacation jobs and internships in the US
- If you'd like to stay in St Andrews over the summer, you might want to apply for the St Andrews Summer Internship Scheme.
- Remember to network with students in more senior years, tutors, family and friends they may have suggestions and contacts.
- The Undergraduate Research Internship Programme (URIP) was launched in 2008 by the University of St Andrews. Under the URIP scheme, the University funds 20 undergraduates to carry out research over ten weeks during the summer vacation. The students work on independent projects under the guidance and supervision of a member of academic staff. Look out on the website for application forms which normally have to be returned by the end of April.
- Talent Scotland TalentScotland offer summer internships and graduate placements in a range of areas including IT, market research, marketing, international expansion, human resources and environmental management, all with small Scottish firms.
- Several penultimate year students have been successful in getting a paid summer internship with the Saltire Foundation. These are global experiences in USA, Japan, Cayman Islands and others.
- If you are interested in teaching or other work with children the University runs schemes in partnerships with local education authorities which give students access to school pupils. To find out more contact the staff involved by e-mail, schools.access@st-andrews.ac.uk .More Schools are offering the UK Undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme, which requires students to spend up to 25 hours working within a Primary or Secondary school or Science centre. The module is assessed and contributes towards the final degree outcome.
Organisations which have taken St Andrews students:
- Met Office - advertise a varitty of summer placements (25 +) - flood and ocean forecasting, air turbulence, climate monitoring . You apply through their website the deadline is Nov/Dec
- Transport - Scotland TranServhave previously offered internships to students, e-mail lynne.mooney@scotland.transerv.co.uk for information
- Natural Power - this company often offer summer placements in areas such as hydrology and ecology
- Bright Business Partnership are an organisation which provides paid summer placements to 2nd and 3rd year students. They have two main programmes
- Step - which is nationwide and places students in small businesses in a variety of roles - marketing, PR, etc
- Environmental Placement Programme - this places students in Scottish businesses where they have a professional supervisor and covers areas such as waste minimisation, energy efficiency and product development. Community Recycling Networking for Scotland offer placements in 3rd sector Social Enterprises
- Lucy, a St Andrews student, shares her experiences of a Step internship
- Joining a society and/or a professional body, particularly if you take on a role of responsibility, can impress future employers and also enhance employability skills such as - team working, negotiation, event management, controlling budgets, leadership etc. Have a look at the case study from a student who made the most of his time at St Andrews through involvement in societies. At St Andrews you have a wealth of societies to choose from. Here are a few relevant examples:
- Geography Society They offer: guest speakers, weekend outdoor trips, adopting an animal, society clothing, STAG newsletter, overseas summer volunteering trip and much more. Email: geogsoc@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Habitat for Humanity It is a global leader in addressing substandard housing allowing people to have a simple, decent place to live and has built or renovated over 200,000 homes world wide. Email: habitat@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Sustainable Development Aims to show how the ‘big’ challenges concern us all- the environmental crisis, global social problems, the nature of ‘development’. Email: sdsoc@st-andrews.ac.uk
- Royal Geographical Society Worth joining if you have an interest in climate change, international development or globalisation. They do a special rate for students.
- To find out more about vacancies, internships, events and other subject related items please follow the University's Career Service on Twitter @careerscentre. There is a specific hashtag #EnvironCC for environmental/sustainable development related posts.
The table below aims to give some examples of the experiences of Geography students:
| Year | Organisation/Company | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ||
| 2007 | Barclays Capital | Summer Internship/Graduate Scheme - case study |
Employability Profile
Over the course of your degree you develop a good mix of subject specific and transferable core skills (communication, team work, time management, presentation etc). Consider these alongside your other activities, such as paid work, volunteering, family responsibilities, sport, membership of societies, leadership roles, etc. Think about how these can be used as evidence of your skills and personal attributes. Then you can start to market and sell who you really are, identify what you may be lacking and consider how to improve your profile.
Skills
The profile below identifies the skills that can be developed through the study of your discipline based on subject benchmark statements developed by UK higher education academic communities.
More specifically a typical geographer can offer advanced knowledge and skills in many or all of the following;
| A graduate in Geography typically will have: | Evidence: |
|---|---|
| Knowledge of cultural, political, economic and environmental issues in incorporating local, regionla and international perspectives. | |
| Knowledge of moral and ethical issues arising from an understanding of diversity in people an dplaces. | |
| Knowledge of issues in globalisation, environmental sustainability, multiculturalism and citizenship | |
| Expertise in integrating, analysing and synthesising information from a range of sources, gained by working with complex environments and issues. | |
| By routinely working in teams on laboratory, desk and field-based research, geographers are versed in project management including planning, execution and evaluation; this involves skills such as time management, risk- assessment, problem solving and analysis. | |
| Skills relating to formulating complex problems of optimisation and interpreting the solutions in the original contexts of the problems | |
| Geography requires the generation and use of a diversity of data types (text, numbers, images and maps). They therefore have well-developed literacy, numeracy and graphicacy skills and are accustomed to manipulating and presenting these various data using a range of ICT formats, including geographical information systems (GIS). | |
| The complex 'real-world' nature of geographical requires geographers to be flexible and adaptable - they must have teh confidence and initiative to be able to deal with the unexpected. |
Geography Careers/Employability Link
Each School has a Careers/Employability Link who "champions" employability. Yours is Dr Charles Warren. If you have any information you consider important for your fellow students please let him know. Alternatively you can contact the Employability Coordinator for the University, Pamela Andrew,at pea1.
