What you will find in these pages.....
- Links to more information about various occupations
- Information about the Current Situation for Geography and Geology graduates
- See what previous Edge Hill students have done
- What else can you do with a Geography and/or a Geology degree
- Useful links to jobs websites to search
- Advice from previous Edge Hill students
- How to contact the Careers team for more help
Some of these roles are typical graduate entry roles, others are more senior, requiring a few years’ experience
Read more about these careers on Prospects, Targetjobs, Royal Geographical Society, and Green Jobs, Geological society
Job titles vary in this sector so read job descriptions fully not just the title eg GIS Officer roles may also be called Mapping Technician or Application Specialist.
Travel, Tourism & Leisure
Roles within this area include Tourism Officer, Travel Agency Manager, and Tour Manager. Tour managers organise and accompany groups of holidaymakers on tours to a variety of locations, and an indepth knowledge of a particular area or region is essential. Read a case study about working as a Tour Manager
Business & Society
This is quite a vast sector, with a wide variety of roles available. Roles more closely related to business include Market Researcher and Sustainability Consultant. Roles in areas linked to society include Charity Officer and Charity Fundraiser. More generic roles such as Project Officer and Chief Executive exist within organisations and charities directly related to Geosciences, for example, Lake District National Park or the RSPB.
Physical Environment
Roles within this sector include Nature Conservation Officer, Emergency Planning Officer and Environmental Manager, as well as specialist roles such as Soil Mechanics Scientist and Air Pollution Specialist. You can read a case study about a recent graduate who works as an Environmental Consultant.
Built Environment
Roles within this sector include Town Planner, Planning and Development Surveyor, Building Surveyor and Facilities Manager. The role of a Land Surveyor crosses over between the Built and Physical Environment sectors, as they measure and collect data on specific areas of land, including information about boundaries, buildings and features, both natural and man-made.
Development and Global Issues
Positions within this area can often be based overseas, with roles including Community Development Worker and International Aid Worker, as well as Border Force Officer and Environmental Health Practitioner. Emergency Planning is another career area that crosses over into the Global Issues sector. Read more about Emergency Planning here. There are also a wide variety of other roles within public service settings such as Civil Service or HM Armed Forces, including Civil Service Administrator, Army Officer and Probation Officer.
GIS
Roles in Geographical Information Systems or ‘GIS’ all vary greatly, however all GIS officers are involved in the production of maps and the analysis of data. Opportunities are available within a variety of areas such as application development, sales and marketing, and information management. As the world becomes more mobile, the rising number of apps using GPS could lead to new uses for GIS and opportunities in the field.
The Current Situation
Did you know?..........
A number of Edge Hill Geography and Geology Graduates over the last few years have gone on to pursue a career in teaching and education. Roles such as Secondary School Teacher and Further Education Teacher are popular, however these require additional training. There are also roles such as Environmental Education Officer and Community Education Officer that do not require qualified teachers’ status
I
Salary
The average starting salary for Geography and Geology graduates is in the region of £22,200 depending on the industry and type of organisation you are employed by.
More Tips and Advice
The direction your career takes will depend on your interest in physical or human geography or geology. Try to get work experience in your chosen field to get an insight into the type of work available. You may wish to read our placements advice.
Useful general careers information can be found at:
Skills Required
Communication Skills - written & verbal
Organisation
Problem Solving
Ability to work under pressure
Self motivation
Time management
Ability to work as a team
Attention to detail
What have previous Edge HIll Graduates done?
Recent graduates have secured employment with larger organisations such as Anglian Water, United Utilities, Environment Agency, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Balfour Beatty
Job titles include:
Graduate Hydraulic Modeller
Environmental Consultant
Hydrology Technical Officer
GIS Technician
Transport Planner
Geotechnical engineer
Quantity Surveyor
What else can I do?
Approximately 86% of graduate vacancies are aimed at graduates of any degree subject. You can therefore use your degree to enter a wide range of sectors including:
- Accountancy &Finance.
- Recruitment & HR
- Retail and Sales.
- Hospitality & Events Management
- Journalism
- Research
- Marketing & Advertising
Some will require experience or further study. You can explore these career ideas further on Prospects.
Industry Vacancies and Information:
The listing of the following sites do not constitute any implied endorsement of the vacancies which may be advertised on them, an organisation, its website, its sponsor, its products or its services, nor should any views expressed by that organisation, partners or website, be taken to reflect the views of Edge Hill University.
Some careers require a postgraduate qualification e.g. a Masters. Read more about Further Study.
Are you interested in running your own business? Read more about Self Employment.
Advice from previous Edge Hill students
“Although I had an idea of the career options available, following the completion of my BSc, I decide to take advantage of help from Careers. They pointed out so many other exciting prospects that I could explore further and have suggested an improved career plan to follow.” – Rod, Geography Graduate
“In terms of the careers - I think do your research, speak to people in both careers and in the geography department to get advice and information, so you have a clear path to take. Everyone is really useful, but you need to ensure that you access the help and support that is on offer. Plus plan ahead early!” – Amy, Edge Hill Geography graduate currently Head of Geography at her local secondary school.
Need further information, advice or guidance?
Contact us via the Careers website to:
Credits:
Created with images by TheDigitalArtist - "rocks outcrop geology" • Efraimstochter - "detective magnifying glass viewing" • kvrkchowdari - "choose the right direction career direction direction" • Jacek Dylag - "Tourists on Main Market Square in Krakow, Poland." • Samson - "Tall skyscrapers in Calgary" • Robert Gramner - "untitled image" • jarmoluk - "building professional employee" • Daniel Schludi - "European Passport Control" • WikiImages - "egypt nile aerial view" • Colin Watts - "Money" • Waldemar Brandt - "untitled image" • Free To Use Sounds - "You can see these signs everywhere in Denver! So much work here!"