GEOGRAPHY@UNIVERSITY:

POSTER 4 What’s the story with...

future careers?
Future Careers and useful activities for Geographers can play to both strengths as needed -
getting a job high technical skills in specific areas and/or flexibility.

Time spent at university is valuable for making your- In the past the six major career areas for geogra-
self more employable. You will gain skills and experi- phers have been:
ences that will be recognised by potential employers • administration and management
as likely to make you a more effective worker. • teaching and lecturing
• financial sector
Studying at university is not just purely subject-cen- • marketing
tred it is also skills-centred as employers are now • research
looking for a more complex set of abilities and expe- • industry and manufacturing
riences among graduates. You will need to be:
• able to solve problems and to apply ideas and
skills to new areas;
• able to work with others and be able and willing
to learn;
• able to master a wide range of complex topics;
• able to cope with uncertainty and change;
• self confident, self-reliant and self reflective.

It is these high level qualities which are most impor-

tant for your personal career progress.

Geographers have one of the highest rates of gradu-

ate employment. This is because they can take all
geography@lancaster

kinds of jobs in the public and private sectors. They

can be both:
• specialists - many specialise in their final year
in technical areas and use those skills in their
career - e.g. conservation, land management or
computing skills,
• generalists - good communicators in writing and
orally, numerate and computer literate, with a
wide understanding of how the world works and
how people influence the physical environment.
A geography degree should not take up all your
time at university. A fair balance of study, sport,
paid work and leisure will be beneficial as well
as fun. There should be time outside the formal
structure of your degree to broaden your hori-
zons and help you get a job. There are six ways
you can do this:

1. Acquiring new skills

You will be taught a wide range of skills as part of
your geography degree and this is a clear strength of
geography as a subject. Computer skills are impor-
tant and the more you can acquire the better. Other
useful skills include driving, first aid, foreign lan-
guages, certificates in leadership, which can be
acquired through various schemes in the community.
 GEOGRAPHY@UNIVERSITY:
POSTER 4
2. Jobs
You will probably take vacation or term-time jobs
to earn money and it is worthwhile thinking about
how you can use these jobs to improve you career
prospects.
3. Active citizenship
Employers are usually impressed by people who
have given something back to society, such as volun-
tary or charity work.
geography@lancaster
4. Networking and contacts
Gaining contacts can be an important way to help
your future career. You could choose a dissertation
topic that puts you in touch with people in your
career area or through part time or summer work.
5. Leadership and teamwork
There are a number of ways you can gain experi-
ence of being a leader or organiser. For example
your role in college or student society, a sports club,
religious organisation or social society. Being good at
teamwork is a respected skill.
6. Using your university careers service
An invaluable source of advice. They can help you in
a variety of ways:
• tell you the types of jobs and specific employers;
• train you in specific job-search skills;
• provide counselling on your career choices;
• arrange careers fairs and interviews with poten-
tial employers;
• help you decide on the type of job you are look-
ing for.
At times your geography degree may seem to domi-
nate your life at university, but it will provide only a
modest part of the profile you will present to recruit-
ers. You need to take the rest of your life and person-
ality just as seriously, not least because they are
what make you a whole person and they will add so
much fun to your time at university.
© Lancaster University November 2005
Department of Geography
Lancaster University
Lancaster
LA1 4YB
Telephone: (01524) 593736
Fax: (01524) 847099
e-mail: geography@lancaster.ac.uk
web: http://geography.lancs.ac.uk/