Geographers - Jacks of all trades, masters of none?

SeaFields

Just wanted to get some opinion on this. I spent considerable time studying geography, having an MA and an MPhil in the subject. Both of these are in different areas of the subject. One of the silver linings of the subject in every undergraduate prospectus is its diversity

The hunt for related employment has dragged on for more than I care to mention and the frustration is growing accordingly, like many other graduates unfortunately. In my relentless job hunt I notice that many subject areas that are extensively studied by geographers are filled (from a professional employment point of view) by other specialist degrees. We study renewable energies which seemingly are the remit of the engineer. We study climate and weather which are the subjects of the physicist and mathematician. We study biodiversity and conservation which its seems is the ecologists/ environmental scientists territory. I could provide other examples.

I am not trying to be overly defeatist on this matter, or playing a blame game. I am neither trying to be overly critical of a subject that I very, very much enjoyed and still do. We have "our" areas - GIS and planning off the top of my head among others I suspect. Maybe this is something that is more noticeable in the current employers market? Maybe it is a construction of my own making?

Opinions and advice most welcome.

ninjasurfer1

Geography : An obsolete science since the New World was discovered.
:D

ninjasurfer1

Geography : An obsolete science since the New World was discovered.

Only joking, Geography Rocks!


Wait - that's Geology! :D

El Siglo

SeaFields wrote: »

Just wanted to get some opinion on this. I spent considerable time studying geography, having an MA and an MPhil in the subject. Both of these are in different areas of the subject. One of the silver linings of the subject in every undergraduate prospectus is its diversity

The hunt for related employment has dragged on for more than I care to mention and the frustration is growing accordingly, like many other graduates unfortunately. In my relentless job hunt I notice that many subject areas that are extensively studied by geographers are filled (from a professional employment point of view) by other specialist degrees. We study renewable energies which seemingly are the remit of the engineer. We study climate and weather which are the subjects of the physicist and mathematician. We study biodiversity and conservation which its seems is the ecologists/ environmental scientists territory. I could provide other examples.

I am not trying to be overly defeatist on this matter, or playing a blame game. I am neither trying to be overly critical of a subject that I very, very much enjoyed and still do. We have "our" areas - GIS and planning off the top of my head among others I suspect. Maybe this is something that is more noticeable in the current employers market? Maybe it is a construction of my own making?

Opinions and advice most welcome.

Our area is every area. That's what Geographers do, take other ideas and apply them to the landscape. You can be a Sedimentologist looking at coastal erosion or a Cultural Geographer, the "Geography" comes in when it happens over an area, a space, a place. As vague as that sounds it's the only thing that keeps me sane!;)

SeaFields

El Siglo wrote: »

Our area is every area. That's what Geographers do, take other ideas and apply them to the landscape. You can be a Sedimentologist looking at coastal erosion or a Cultural Geographer, the "Geography" comes in when it happens over an area, a space, a place. As vague as that sounds it's the only thing that keeps me sane!;)

Definitely the best part to keep you sane while studying the subject is it diversity in academia - going from a lecture on politics and society to one on microclimatology (slept through the former so as to be nice and fresh for the latter )


....but from the point of view of gaining employment at the end of it all are we bit too diverse?

El Siglo

SeaFields wrote: »

Definitely the best part to keep you sane while studying the subject is it diversity in academia - going from a lecture on politics and society to one on microclimatology (slept through the former so as to be nice and fresh for the latter )


....but from the point of view of gaining employment at the end of it all are we bit too diverse?

Well that's what a masters is for, I did a BA in Geography and then specialised with an MSc in Environmental Science. But to some extent it's all dependent on how the department runs it, i.e. some departments are more human than physical and vice versa and this can skew ones' perception of Geography. It's a subject that has built on applying theoretical paradigms from other disciplines to physical and conceptual 'areas'.

The best way to think of Geography is that you know about the earth like a Geologist, but it's how humans are related to the earth. This is the key difference, Geologists et al., are more concerned with the purely physical whereas Geographers are (all things being equal) look at the earth with respect to humans (this goes back to Mackinder, Ratzel, Von Humboldt etc...). And as a skill, this is pretty useful for a lot of a jobs in the Environmental sector.

SeaFields

El Siglo wrote: »

It's a subject that has built on applying theoretical paradigms from other disciplines to physical and conceptual 'areas'.

...... And as a skill, this is pretty useful for a lot of a jobs in the Environmental sector.

Yes, all and good. As geographers we know this. But what I am asking is do the HR people in various companies know this?! Do you know what I mean?