Geographical careers

Introduction

Many subjects you may study at A-Level and University have ‘obvious’ career pathways – you study Law to get on track to be a Solicitor or Barrister, or Medicine/Nursing to work in the healthcare sector. Geography is not really one of these subjects, so many naturally ask the question – where can geography take me? What does a “geographer” do as a job?

These are important questions as employability prospects post A-Level and University study should be something you consider when selecting your subjects to specialise in. Even though there is no ‘obvious’ job at the end of a geography course, it is often cited as being one of the most employable subjects out there. Geographers are highly employable due to our varied specialist and transferable skills, such as our ability to carry out independent research and strong communication and organisation skills (exactly what many employers look for).

At the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE) we have been following our graduates from our BSc Geography and BA Geography undergraduate courses to see where geography has taken them.

You can download a PDF guide that contains over 100 geography graduate profiles below.

UWE has also produced accompanying worksheets for use in the classroom to inspire our young geographers to continue to study our brilliant and diverse (and employable!) subject. This can also be downloaded below.

Resources produced by Dr Chris Parker (BSc Geography Lead @ UWE Bristol). Article written by Harry West (UWE Bristol).