Going places with Geography

Do you want a progression pathway that opens doors to the widest range of careers, keeps you informed and puts you in the ‘highly employable’ category? Why not think of taking geography further?

Choices at 14+

With GCSE choices the key thing is to keep your options open for the future and choose a variety of subjects that you enjoy. Geography is a mixture of both arts and science content so it compliments, overlaps and extends core subjects such as science and English whilst giving you a fascinating breadth of subject matter presented through photographs, maps, graphs, video, reports, newspaper articles and internet sources. The ability to synthesise all this information is a skill which geographers are rightly proud of and impresses potential employers. Needless to say no two lessons are the same with such a variety of ways of learning.

Geography is very ‘hands on’, involving practical skills and of course the experience of learning outside the classroom. Fieldwork can be local or take place far away from school and involve staying in a residential centre which of course is great fun. Seeing geographical features such as coasts or volcanoes or a city which is different to where you live really opens your eyes and often gives a taste for travel which continues throughout your life.

‘Geography at GCSE was great fun. We had a great teacher who really brought the subject to life. There was a real variety of how we learnt too including plenty of visual stuff and of course the fieldwork which I loved.’ Gemma, Yorkshire.

Gemma has recently finished a degree in Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London based in Surrey. Gemma is applying to take a masters degree in ‘Practicing sustainable development’. In the future she plans to work for a Non Governmental organisation on development issues.

‘Geography has really benefited me in my understanding of the world in which we live. The geographers of the future will be taking important decisions on issues such as climate change.’
Anup, Essex.

Anup is now studying BSc Geography with economics at LSE, London. His project covers the effect of the current economic conditions on commercial rents in the city of London.

Geography at 16+

Geography is a popular choice at A Level. Over 30,000 students took the A level last year. Everyone in the A Level geography class will have combined geography with different A level subjects from psychology and media to maths and chemistry. This makes for interesting discussions and debates on geographical topics such as poverty, health, conflict, and global warming. The theme for your lesson could be the headline of today’s newspaper – this gives a sharp and relevant edge. Geographers need to be well informed about current affairs, a fact which always impresses potential employers.
 
Choices at 18+

Beyond A level the world is your oyster! Geographers are more likely to take a gap year to travel, work and save up some money to help with supporting yourself at university. If taking a gap year is something you would like to do but you don’t have the money or know how to go about it then there is help available. A new project from the Royal Geographical Society called ‘Learning and Leading’ could provide you with funds, training and a mentor to make your gap year dreams come true. See www.rgs.org/OurWork/LandL/LandL.htm for more information.

Taking geography at university is great fun and very rewarding. Most universities offer geography at degree level. You can specialise in the science based physical side and opt for a BSc  course or choose the human geography content to get a BA degree. Other courses with related content include environmental science, urban studies, sustainability and Geographical information Science.

Fieldwork abroad to places such as Los Angeles and Barcelona, lots of group work and a long research project called a dissertation are just some of the experiences included in most geography degrees. All this, together with the knowledge you get from studying and the skills gained make geographers highly employable in the widest range of careers by a wide range of private and public sector employers. Here is a brief summary of where geography can take you.

Geography jobs can be found in these sectors

• Environment & Sustainability
• Physical Systems
• Society
• The Business World
• Geographical Techniques
• Development & Global Issues
• Settlement
• Travel, Tourism, Leisure and Culture

The Royal Geographical Society with IBG is the learned society and professional body for geography. For further information see our website www.rgs.org. There is a careers section from
where you can also request the careers brochure called ‘Going places with Geography.’

Kate Amis
Manager, The geography ambassador project, RGS – IBG