Careers in Geography
Geography Graduates from the University of Melbourne have found various careers in a wide variety of sectors. Many work for government departs such as housing, planning, conservation, natural resource management and transport. Social Policy agencies, like urban housing and social welfare hire graduates, as do non-government organisations like international aid, community development, environmental development and environmental advocacy. Geography alumni are also in demand from private sector consultants in the environment and planning field, as well as from private sector industries like mining, recycling, banking and tourism. Other sectors that employee Geography graduates are: retailing, marketing, human management, public relations, teaching and various forms of postgraduate studies and research.
Skills developed throughout our subjects, which are attractive to prospective employers, include: analytical and technical skills in the physical and social sciences, survey skills, writing and information synthesis, communication, group work skills, computing skills and knowledge of social and environmental interactions.
More specifically, in the workforce geographers are skilled in the following tasks:
- observe, measure and collect data and compile maps on climate, vegetation and animals, soils, land surface features and distributions, populations and social, economic, political and land use activities
- analyse and interpret a range of statistical data, maps, charts and other geographic information
- interpret satellite imagery for assessing and mapping natural resources, land uses and human activities
- advise on such issues as industrial and commercial site locations, environmental management, and placement of public facilities and services
- advise or act as consultants to governments and organisations on urban and rural land use, regional economic development, resource planning and management, tourism, land degradation and erosion, environmental quality and boundary demarcations
- edit and assist in the preparation of maps, atlases, reports and other geographic information for analytical, administrative and cartographic purposes
- develop appropriate geographic information systems including information acquisition, coding, geographic database development management and applications
- analyse population data and forecast population trends
- develop, plan and execute regional and international development assistance projects, analyse and advise on military intelligence
- apply remote sensing, computer cartography and geographic information technologies
- prepare and write reports and scientific papers.
Geographers may perform a variety of tasks depending on their area of specialisation.
- Economic Geographer works in commercial, trading, banking and industrial organisations, analysing and planning the location of firms or branches of institutions, and documenting the ways labour markets and economic production vary between locations and regions.
- Environmental Geographer deals with land and water management, urban and regional planning and natural hazards such as floods, drought and bush fires.
- Human Geographer analyses the forces influencing distribution and changes in the patterns of populations, and social, cultural and economic activities.
- Physical Geographer studies the physical environment and the forces which shape it. They are concerned with things like climatic variability, land degradation, river quality and coastal erosion; how environmental conditions have changed through time and what they will be like in the future. They often undertake fieldwork to collect primary information.