Studying geography at university

Simon Oakes

Studying geography at university

Presentation outline

• Key facts about geography degrees • Fairly famous geographers quiz• The T-shaped geographer • The geography knowledge base• The geography skills base• Geography career snapshots• Geography degree pathways

Studying geography at university

Key facts

• Geography-related degrees are offered by 80 UK universities.

• 30,000 people study geography at university (full or part-time).

• Nearly 3,000 people study geography at postgraduate level.

• Geography graduates are less likely to be unemployed after their degree

course than those studying any other social science subject including

economics.

• The Labour Force Survey reports geography graduates earing an above-

average starting salary compared with all graduates.

Source: RGS-IBG website

Studying geography at university

Fairly famous geographers quiz

Briefly discuss how the study of geography supports these roles.Briefly discuss how the study of geography supports these roles.

Studying geography at university

Geography is a broad discipline

• Most geography degrees include a core of environmental management and

human geography (societies and governance).

• Optional specialist areas are shown to the far left and right.

Studying geography at university

The geography knowledge base

• From an employer’s perspective, geography students are well-informed

about a range of contemporary topics.

• Geography students know what the big issues and challenges are for

societies and businesses and are well-equipped to help manage an

organisation.

• The next slide shows a Wordle analysis of the top news stories that featured

in the Financial Times newspaper in 2014. What geography topics can you

see? What does this tell you about the usefulness of geography?

Studying geography at university

Content analysis of Financial Times 18 December 2018http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/cf2036b8-86e6-11e4-8a51-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3TP3D64KL

Studying geography at university

The geography skills base

• Information handling (working quickly with new information)

• Analytical prowess (making use of graphs and statistics)

• Critical thinking and decision making (management contexts)

• Structuring arguments (from extended essay writing)

• ‘Cultural agility’ (having experience of fieldwork in different settings and

contexts)

• Team work (during fieldwork investigations)

• Technology skills (using GIS and a range of software apps)

• Project management (individual dissertation at university)

Studying geography at university

The T-shaped geographer

• A geography graduate has ‘T-shaped’ capabilities.

• ‘You'll have strong analytical skills, knowing how

to interpret conceptual and data-based

information. In a rapidly changing world your

understanding of how human environments

function globally and locally is highly marketable.

A knowledge of how to read future socioeconomic

trends and use computer modelling tools will be of

interest to many employers.’ (Geography Review

Vol. 28, No. 4)

• Find out more about T-shaped people here

Studying geography at university

Is he talking about geographers?

Google’s chief economist, Hal Varian

The ability to take data – to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it –that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades... Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it…. I do think those skills—of being able to access, understand, and communicate the insights you get from data analysis – are going to be extremely important. Managers need to be able to access and understand the data themselves.

The ability to take data – to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualize it, to communicate it –that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades... Because now we really do have essentially free and ubiquitous data. So the scarce factor is the ability to understand that data and extract value from it…. I do think those skills—of being able to access, understand, and communicate the insights you get from data analysis – are going to be extremely important. Managers need to be able to access and understand the data themselves.

Studying geography at university

Career snapshot 1

• Many well-paid geographers work in finance, banking and insurance.

• These industries rely on applied understanding of the geographical concepts of

connectivity and risk.

• See ‘Globalisation: a risky business’ (Geography Review Vol. 25, No. 4).

Studying geography at university

Career snapshot 2

• Geography graduates occupy

managerial positions with companies,

NGOs and government departments

that havesocial or environmental foci.

• Geography graduates bring a valuable

mixture of knowledge and skills to the

role.

• See: ‘What can you do with a

geography degree’ (Geography

Review Vol. 28, No. 4).

Student perspective

Tom gained a BSc in geography from Oxford Brookes University and an MSc in environmental science from King’s College London. In 2010, Tom joined Thames Water on its graduate scheme. Today, he leads its Commercial Metering programme. Tom says:

‘Having the skill to concisely present complex situations into bite-size nuggets of knowledge — that you can pass over to an audience in a digestible manner — willset you out from the crowd. My geography degree focused on getting this right.’

Studying geography at university

Plenty of possibilities

Sectors Job titles

Advertising and artsCivil serviceEnergyEnvironmentFinance and insuranceLawLeisure and tourismMarketing and mediaOverseas developmentPlanning or public serviceRecruitmentVoluntary sectorWater resource management

Aid workerCartographerClimate-change officerCommercial surveyorEmergency managerFundraiserGIS analystHazard modellerManagement consultantMarket researcherNature conservation officerTechnicianTown or transport planner

Studying geography at university

Geography degree pathways to work

Higher Education provides several pathways towards work: which might you consider?

Higher Education provides several pathways towards work: which might you consider?

Studying geography at university

Further links

• More about the employment rate for geography graduates:

http://www.hecsu.ac.uk

/assets/assets/documents/wdgd_social_science_2014.pdf

• An amusing look at life as a geographer: http://

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

/2014/03/24/why-geography-best-subject-study-university_n_5020334.html

• A newspaper’s view: http://

www.theguardian.com/money/2010/jun/19/human-

geography-graduate-careers

Studying geography at university

This resource is part of Geography Review, a magazine written for A-level students by

subject experts. To subscribe to the full magazine go to:

 http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/geographyreview