Career Opportunities

Employment for geography majors (BA, BS) is varied and strong particularly for students with good computer and computer mapping skills. Geography graduates (BA) are employed as market analysts locating a variety of retailing establishments (branch banks, discount stores, restaurants), demographers (U.S. Bureau of the Census), area specialist for the tourist industry and for federal agencies (CIA, Agency for International Development), and socio-economic impact analysts for environmental consulting companies. Physical geography (BS) graduates have employment opportunities with NPO's (Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club), environmental consulting companies (GIS, remote sensing, environmental impact analysis), and numerous federal agencies as exemplified by the Bureau of Land Management (GIS, remote sensing). The undergraduate program also provides an educational background for students interested in graduate school in geography and related disciplines.

  • Environmental impact analyst
  • Industrial location
  • Urban/regional planning
  • Weather forecasting
  • Market research (mapping demographic trends)
  • Retailing site selection, store location
  • Geographic Information Systems (GIS), (data base acquisition/mapping)
  • Cartographer/computer mapping
  • Remote sensing analyst
  • Teaching/elementary, secondary, college
  • Travel industry, tourism
  • Geographic software programming/technical support
  • NPO's—Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club (environmental assessment & advocacy )
  • State, county, city government agencies-computer mapping/GIS
    • Federal Government
    • CIA (area specialist, remote sensing analyst)
    • Bureau of Land Management (physical geography, GIS/remote sensing)
    • Corps of Engineers (physical geography, GIS/remote sensing)
    • National Imagery and Mapping Agency (Cartography, GIS/remote sensing)
    • Agency for International Development (area specialist)
    • Department of Agriculture (physical geography, soils, GIS/remote sensing)
    • Environmental Protection Agency (physical geography, GIS)
    • Forest Service (GIS/remote sensing)
    • Bureau of the Census (demography, GIS)
    • NASA (remote sensing)

For jobs in geography and related fields, check out these websites: