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GEOGRAPHY CAREER GUIDE 2020/2021 Geography2 Success at School is a national careers website for students aged 11-19, as well as their teachers, careers advisors, parents and other influencers. Young people can learn about their future career options through no-nonsense careers advice related to their own experiences. As well as covering topics such as career paths, industries, apprenticeships, university and employability skills, we connect schools and students to employers and universities through opportunities on our site and our interactive forums. Millions of young people and their influencers have visited our site for advice and information to help them plan for the future. Go to successatschool.org for more information. Copyright Success at School Ltd 2020 AboutSuccess at School3 GEOGRAPHY CAREER GUIDE 05 What is geography? 06 How will geography prepare me for work? 10 Should I choose geography? Contents 12 T-levels 15 Why work experience matters 18 How to future-proof your career 14 Job roles 30 Everything you need to know about gap years 20 Spotlight job 32 University 22 Interviews 26 Apprenticeships 34 Your action plan4 There has never been a more important time to use geography. Many contemporary challenges, such as climate change or Britain’s role in the world post-Brexit, require understanding of the way in which human and physical systems interact to create diverse communities and environments worldwide. In the 21 st century, knowing how places are interdependent is becoming just as important, as the Covid-19 pandemic has illustrated, to deadly effect. Studying geography helps you develop valuable skills. Geographers are confident users of graphical data and geographic information systems and they communicate fluently in writing and presentations. Through studying complex systems and controversial issues, you’ll become a critical thinker and data analyst. Through fieldwork and investigation, you’ll gain experience in practical problem solving and team working. Geography opens up a range of choices for future studies and careers. A level geographers progress to university courses as diverse as medicine, law, architecture and business – as well as geography of course! Geography graduates earn above-average graduate salaries and enjoy some of the most varied careers in government, business and management, public services, the media and in the environmental and geospatial sectors. As the discipline that connects the natural and human, the local and global, geography enables us to plan sustainably for the future. Perhaps it will be the subject to help your future, too. Alan Kinder Chief executive officer Geographical Association Foreword5 Geography helps us understand the people, environment and physical features of the world. It enables us to study current issues such as climate change and how different places and communities will be affected by it. Geography encourages us to think about how our world will change in the future, such as the impact of ageing populations in the west and deforestation in the developing world. It also helps us think about what we can do to reduce these impacts. It’s a fascinating subject because it’s where the social and natural sciences cross over. Geography is as much about humans and how we interact with the world around us as it is about physical features like volcanoes and rivers. It also explores economics, politics and different cultures. Engineering and construction are examples of sectors where your geography skills and knowledge will be put to good use. Structural engineers need to consider geographical features when designing the likes of bridges or buildings. Planning officers assess the environmental impact of developments, as well as look at how they might affect local communities. The skills you develop by studying geography, like data and spatial analysis, organisation and critical thinking are useful in many jobs. Meteorologists analyse data about the weather to develop their short and long-range forecasts. Being highly organised is essential if you’re a logistics manager. UX designers solve problems with websites to make them easier to use. What is geography?6 5 workplace skills you’ll learn in geography Critical thinking In school: You’ll be encouraged to critically examine and analyse field data and other information to decide if it’s accurate and can support your hypothesis. You’ll also explore real-world issues and take an objective and critical view of the solutions that are being recommended, using your geographical knowledge to support your findings. At work: Critical thinking helps you put information from different sources in context. If you’re an environmental consultant, you need to weigh up environmental factors alongside business and economic demands. An intelligence analyst assesses information from various sources to draw conclusions that support decision making in relation to matters of national security. How will geography prepare me for work? Data analysis In school: Analysing data is essential if you’re going to make accurate judgements about geographical issues. You’ll learn to use qualitative and quantitative data that can be in the form of images, factual text, numerical or spatial data. You’ll learn how to analyse this data, as well as how to present and report your findings. At work: Astronomers gather and interpret vast amounts of data from space to help improve our understanding of the universe. If you become a marine biologist, you’ll use data from fieldwork and laboratory experiments to help you understand changes to marine ecosystems. Organisation In school: You’ll learn to plan and carry out fieldwork to help you investigate different aspects of geography. To collect relevant and accurate data, you need to be organised. That means having the right equipment, following correct procedures and going to suitable sites. At work: Being organised is important in every job. Environmental engineers need to be highly organised to manage every stage of a project. A museum or gallery curator has to organise all the pieces on display into logical categories to create engaging exhibits. Research In school: You’ll learn how to carry out your own research through fieldwork, as well as how to use secondary data and relevant studies or reports to help with your investigations. You’ll also learn how to develop research questions for your field investigations. At work: Geologists use different research techniques to better understand the composition of rocks, both on Earth and in space. Building control surveyors carry out their own investigations and use plans, specifications and other documents to make sure that buildings are safe and fit for purpose. Debating In school: There can be differing opinions about how humans are affecting the planet and its environment. You’ll learn how to use evidence to support your point of view and how to share your opinions in a clear and logical way. You’ll also listen to other points of view and may alter your opinion based on what you learn. At work: Backing up your opinions or recommendations with evidence is important if you work as a climate scientist who is trying to encourage policy changes at a national or international level. Barristers also need strong debating skills to put cases across in court.7 GEOGRAPHY CAREER GUIDE ...and 2 you may not have thought of Big picture thinking In school: Interactions between people and the environment are complex. You’ll look at how to analyse these interactions and see them in the wider context of what’s happening in the world. You’ll also gain an understanding of how values, attitudes and circumstances affect how people interact with places and the environment. At work: Being able to zoom out and see how many elements are connected is useful if you’re a policy officer who will need to understand how a change in government policy could affect different groups of people or organisations. Transport planners need to understand how their project connects to wider transport networks, sometimes on a national or international level. Problem solving In school: You’ll explore environmental, economic and social problems in the context of human and physical geography and look at what is being done to solve them. You’ll be encouraged to look for solutions to various problems, both on your own and with your classmates. At work: Many geography-related careers involve problem solving. As a waste management officer, you’ll look for the most suitable way to manage and dispose of our waste. Conservation ecologists monitor animal populations and look for ways to protect them and their habitat. 8 Gain knowledge of the carbon cycle, including the sizes of major carbon stores and how carbon is distributed around the world. The major carbon stores you’ll study are the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and cryosphere biosphere. Learn about how these change over time and space and how small changes can greatly affect the stores. Understand how natural variation and human impacts have led to changes in the Earth’s carbon cycle. Learn how to spot links and understand how feedback mechanisms can greatly affect the stores. We know that understanding the fragility of the carbon cycle is crucial for managing climate change. The ability to see how things can be interconnected is key. You could become an academic researcher to help develop our understanding of the carbon cycle and how carbon capture technology could help reduce global emissions. Or you might work as an engineer who develops carbon capture technology and installs it in places like power plants or factories. KnowledgeHow will it help me at work? Learn about human health and how this is affected by our environment. Get an overview of national and international patterns of health and life expectancy and see how these are connected to factors such as access to education, clean water, sanitation, a reliable food supply and air quality. Understand how the prevalence of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer and heart disease, is linked to physical and socio-economic environments. Within the UK, you could work as a health improvement practitioner, where you encourage people to make healthy lifestyle choices and educate communities about healthy behaviours and habits. Or you could work as a public health advisor to develop health promotion policies on a national scale. As an international aid worker, you’ll travel around the world to help communities and countries cope with public health crises, such as the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Or you may work on introducing sanitation systems or providing access to clean water to prevent a health crisis from starting. Understand how coastal landscapes develop due to the interaction of waves, wind and currents. Learn about the different coastal landscapes that can be found in the UK and around the world. These include estuarine environments, beaches, sand dunes, cliffs and fjords. Explore the threats to different coastal environments and how they can be managed sustainably. The ability to see the big picture when studying holistic coastal management and its knock-on impacts is essential. Flood and coastal risk management officers work to find the most suitable ways of protecting communities from flooding either due to extreme weather or gradual changes to a coastal environment due to erosion. Or you could use your knowledge of coastal landscapes as a wave energy engineer, where you’re developing systems that can generate electricity using the power of the ocean’s movement. 5 ways your geography know-how will help you at work9 GEOGRAPHY CAREER GUIDE Develop your knowledge of the concepts of globalisation and global interdependence. Understand how globalisation creates different opportunities and challenges for both businesses and people. Explore the cultural impacts of globalisation and look at how inequalities are caused both within and between countries as wealth patterns shift. There’s no escaping the fact that we live in a global economy. Understanding globalisation and how it affects different places and people can be useful if you become an economist. In this job you’ll predict the economic performance of different industries or countries. Being aware of the social issues that globalisation can cause is also important if you’re a retail buyer working for a company that wants to source its products as sustainably as possible. KnowledgeHow will it help me at work? Explore the concept of hazards in a geographical context. Learn about the different types of natural hazards people encounter and how humans respond to hazards. You’ll cover volcanoes, earthquakes, storms and fires, understanding how these natural events happen and what communities can do to prepare for them and reduce the damage they cause. Natural hazards are becoming more damaging, mainly due to population increase and the fact that the most vulnerable people in the world end up living in the most vulnerable places. Natural disasters can have a devastating effect on communities and even entire countries or regions. Being able to predict the likes of tsunamis or volcanic eruptions can save thousands of lives. A seismologist studies earthquakes and activity in the Earth’s crust. One way in which they use this data is to help develop tsunami early warning systems. An insurance underwriter assesses the risk of providing insurance cover to businesses or individuals. They need to be aware of potential natural disasters when deciding what level of cover to offer.Next >