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JOB/CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDYING GEOGRAPHY

JOB/CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDYING GEOGRAPHY. By Kwabena Barima Antwi Department of Geography and Regional Planning University of Cape Coast, Ghana [Email: k_bantwi@yahoo.co.uk : 0246-143986] August 5, 2011. Learning Objectives.

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JOB/CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDYING GEOGRAPHY

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  1. JOB/CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDYING GEOGRAPHY By Kwabena Barima Antwi Department of Geography and Regional Planning University of Cape Coast, Ghana [Email: k_bantwi@yahoo.co.uk: 0246-143986] August 5, 2011 WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  2. Learning Objectives • After going through this session participants should be able to: • Appreciate Geography as an inter-disciplinary subject that has multiple pathways to career and professional development; • Recognise that Geography is among the leading Social Scientific subjects that can open more job or career opportunities for those who study it with interest and commitment; and • Utilize the insight gained to educate or inform others, including students and parents and policy makers about the need to perhaps make Geography a compulsory for all. WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  3. Outline of Presentation • Introduction • Skill and Attributes of Geographers • What can or do Geographers do • Some Subject Combinations and Possible Career Outcomes • What can Geographers do with their Degrees • Type of Training in Geography and Regional Planning @UCC • What Job opportunities are out there for Geographers • Some Empirical Evidence of job opportunities for Geographers • Conclusion WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  4. Introduction • Compared to other subjects, Geography graduates are among the most employable; • They possess the skills that employers look for; • In part this is because the subject combines knowledge of science and an understanding of the arts; WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  5. Skills & Attributes Of Geographers(Adapted from Pauline, 1999) • GEOGRAPHY–Understand and interpret geographic information: • Recognise inter and intra-subject relationships • Understand the conceptual basis of geography • Understand methods for geographical investigations and their limitations PERSONAL SKILLS: -Career management -Self motivation -Prioritize activities -Innovation and adaptability -Self evaluation -Time planning and management -Independent work -Enterprising • INTELLECTUAL SKILLS: • -Research abilities • -Reason critically • -Create imaginative solutions • -Synthesize diverse materials • -Reflect and evaluate • -Originality • Flexible in thinking and debating issues • -Criticize analytical approaches PRACTICAL SKILLS: -IT & GIS -Field Investigations -Computer-based analysis -Laboratory investigations -Data analysis -Devise imaginative research methodologies -Professional presentations INTERPERSONAL SKILLS: -Negotiation -Ethical and professional behaviour -Networking and teamwork -Oral communication -Written communication -Empathy -Listening abilities -Manage meetings WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  6. What do Geographers do Conti… GEOGRAPHERS CAN: GEOGRAPHERS CAN BE: Good communicators Spatially aware Socially and environmentally aware Problem solvers Good team players Computer literate Well rounded, flexible thinkers • Make a concise report • Handle analyse and interprete data • Ask questions and find answers to societal problems • Make decisions about an issue of development concern • Analyse multi-disciplinary material • Organise themselves • Think creatively and independently WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  7. Some Subject Combinations & Possible Career Outcomes  WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  8. Some Subject Combinations & Possible Career Outcomes  WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  9. What Can I do With my Geography Degree? WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  10. What Can I do With my Geography Degree? WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  11. Type of Training in Geography & Planning • The Department of Geography and Regional Planning, University of Cape Coast currently offers two types of degree programmes (i.e. BA Social Science (Geography) & Bsc. (Geography & Regional Planning) • BA Social Science (Geography) major can lead one to three (3) areas of choice depending on interest and capability • Physical Geography; • Human Geography; and • Quantitative Geography. • Bsc. (Geography & Regional Planning) can lead one to exploring urban or rural issues of human development. WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  12.  What Job opportunities are out there? • What do these courses offer to the geographer in terms of job opportunities? • It must be admitted that unlike such professional disciplines as: • ENGINEERING, • MEDICINE, • LAW OR • PHARMACY: • Some of the modules do not lead directly into any specific profession apart from teaching at the secondary school level; WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  13. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography • According to a research carried out between 1990 and 2000; • There are three (3) main areas where it should be worthwhile for Geography or Planning Graduates to hunt for jobs: • Business, Commerce and Industry; • The public service, including the Armed Forces; and • Politics. WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  14. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography Conti… • The research further categorized careers under the above three major groups into three: 1)Those into which a Geographical training can lead directly, e.g. secondary school teaching, general administration and politics; 2) Those into which a Geographical training requires additional training, e.g. Estate Management, Urban and Regional Planning; Survey; Cartography; GIS & Remote Sensing, Hydrology and University Teaching and Research; WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  15. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography Conti… 3)Finally those in which the premium is not on the specific qualification of the applicant, but on general intellectual ability and on qualities of character and personality, e.g. the Armed Forces Pilot; • From a survey carried out on 269 Geography Graduates of the three modules, the following career characteristics were observed: WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  16. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography Conti… WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  17. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography Conti… WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  18. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography Conti… • Between 1990 and 2000, another career, Hydrology, was added to the job areas; • It was also observed that the percentage for the Teaching Profession dropped from 49.4% to 43.2%; and • Urban and Regional Planning increased from 15.7% to 33.0%; • Land surveying increased from 2.0% to 3.2%; • However, general administration dropped from 17.3% to 7.3. WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  19. Research Findings & Job Opportunities in Geography Conti… • The most important conclusions from the above statistics are: • The high percentage for the teaching profession generally but its decline between 1990 and 2000; • The sharp decrease in general administration as a profession; • Significant increases in the percentages for Urban and Regional Planning, Land Surveying, Armed Forces and the emergence of Hydrology as a profession for a geographer; WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

  20. Conclusion • Thank You; • ADAM & EVE; • For Your Attention and Participation; WA-GGA-201-EDUCATIONAL-SEMINAR

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