Details Report for:
19-3092.00 - Geographers
Study the nature and use of areas of the Earth's surface, relating and interpreting interactions of physical and cultural phenomena. Conduct research on physical aspects of a region, including land forms, climates, soils, plants, and animals, and conduct research on the spatial implications of human activities within a given area, including social characteristics, economic activities, and political organization, as well as researching interdependence between regions at scales ranging from local to global.
Sample of reported job titles: Earth Observations Chief Scientist (NASA), Environmental Affairs Corporate Director, Environmental Scientist, Geographic Information Systems Analyst (GIS Analyst), Geographic Information Systems Program Director (GIS Program Director), GIS Geographer (Geographic Information Systems Geographer), GIS Physical Scientist (Geographic Information Systems Physical Scientist), Research Coordinator, Scientist
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Detailed Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Credentials | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Job Openings | Additional Information
Tools used in this occupation:
- All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled — All terrain vehicles ATV; Four wheel drive 4WD vehicles
- Analytical balances — Laboratory analytical balances
- Anemometers — Sonic anemometers; Wind direction sensors
- Benchtop centrifuges — High-speed centrifuges
- Comparators — Optical comparators
- Conductivity meters
- Darkfield microscopes — Phase contrast microscopes
- Desktop computers
- Digital camcorders or video cameras — Digital video cameras
- Digital cameras
- Dissolved oxygen meters
- Dropping pipettes — Laboratory dropping pipettes
- Drying cabinets or ovens — Drying ovens
- Electromagnetic field meters — Electromagnetic current meters
- Electromagnetic geophysical instruments — Demagnetizing equipment
- Flow sensors — Flow meters
- Forestry increment borers — Tree increment borers
- Forestry saws — Crosscut saws
- Fume hoods or cupboards — Fume hoods; Portable fume hoods
- General purpose refrigerators or refrigerator freezers — Sample storage refrigerators
- Global positioning system GPS receiver — Global positioning system GPS receivers
- Hand held camcorders or video cameras — Video cameras
- Heat tracing equipment — Infrared IR thermometers
- Height gauges — Abney levels; Survey altimeters
- Hygrometers — Humidity sensors
- Inductively coupled plasma ICP spectrometers — Atomic emission spectroscopes
- Ion chromatographs
- Ion exchange apparatus — Deionizers
- Laboratory balances — Electronic precision balances
- Laboratory box furnaces — Gas-mixing furnaces; High temperature laboratory box furnaces; Muffle furnaces
- Laboratory crushers or pulverizers — Laboratory sample splitters
- Laboratory mechanical convection ovens — Gravity convection ovens
- Laboratory mixers — Soil mixers
- Laboratory sifting equipment — Sieve shakers; Sonic sifters
- Land drilling rigs — Truck-mounted drilling rigs
- Laser printers — Large format printers
- Levels — Automatic levels; Laser levels
- Magnetometer geophysical instruments — Spinner magnetometers
- Moisture meters — Soil moisture meters
- Notebook computers — Laptop computers
- Open stream current meters — Water current meters
- Particle size measuring apparatus — Laser particle sizers
- Permeability or porosity estimation apparatus — Pressure plate apparatus
- Personal computers
- Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers — Personal digital assistants PDA
- pH meters — pH analyzers
- Plotter printers — Plotters
- Pneumatic rock drills — Powered rock-coring drills
- Polarizing microscopes — Petrographic microscopes
- Portable data input terminals — Handheld data loggers; Portable data collectors
- Portable seismic apparatus — Seismic stations
- Power saws — Chain saws
- Precipitation or evaporation recorders — Lysimeters
- Pressure indicators — Submersible pressure sensors
- Radarbased surveillance systems — Ground penetrating radar GPR
- Recreational motorboats — Research motorboats
- Rock cutters — Rock saws
- Salinity meter — Salinity meters
- Scanners — Digitizers; Flatbed scanners
- Scanning electron microscopes — Scanning electron microscopes SEM
- Soil core sampling apparatus — Grab samplers; Russian corers; Sediment coring equipment; Soil samplers (see all 8 examples)
- Soil testing kits — Compaction meters
- Solar radiation surface observing apparatus — Photosynthetically active radiation PAR meters
- Stereo or dissecting light microscopes — Stereo light microscopes; Stereo zoom microscopes; Stereographic microscopes
- Tablet computers
- Temperature transmitters — Temperature sensors
- Test sieves — Ultrasonic sieving systems
- Theodolites — Total stations
- Transmission electron microscopes — Cathodoluminescence microscopes
- Turbidimeters — Turbidity probes
- Video attachments for microscopes — Video microscopes
- Videoscopes — Digital imaging microscopes
- Voltage or current meters — Mechanical current meters
- Water samplers — Sediment samplers; Sediment traps; Total dissolved solids TDS meters
- Weather stations — Portable weather stations
- X ray diffraction equipment — X ray diffractometers
Technology used in this occupation:
- Analytical or scientific software — Groundwater Vistas software; MODPATH *; SAS software; The MathWorks MATLAB (see all 11 examples)
- Computer aided design CAD software — Autodesk AutoCAD software
- Data base user interface and query software — Scientific Software Group RiverMorph
- Graphics or photo imaging software — Adobe Systems Adobe Photoshop software; Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite; Golden Software Grapher; Lemkesoft GraphicConverter (see all 5 examples)
- Internet browser software — Microsoft Internet Explorer *
- Map creation software — ESRI ArcView; ITT Visual Information Solutions ENVI; MapInfo MapMarker; Martin D Adamiker's TruFlite (see all 13 examples)
- Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel
- Web page creation and editing software — Adobe Systems Adobe Dreamweaver
- Word processing software — Microsoft Word
* Software developed by a government agency and/or distributed as freeware or shareware.
- Conduct anthropological or archaeological research.
- Prepare scientific or technical reports or presentations.
- Instruct college students in social sciences or humanities disciplines.
- Collect geographical or geological field data.
- Advise others on business or operational matters.
- Collect archival data.
- Develop software or applications for scientific or technical use.
- Prepare maps.
- Compile geographic or related data.
|Title||Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed|
|Education||Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).|
|Related Experience||Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.|
|Job Training||Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.|
|Job Zone Examples||These occupations often involve coordinating, training, supervising, or managing the activities of others to accomplish goals. Very advanced communication and organizational skills are required. Examples include librarians, lawyers, sports medicine physicians, wildlife biologists, school psychologists, surgeons, treasurers, and controllers.|
|SVP Range||(8.0 and above)|
Percentage of Respondents
|Education Level Required|
Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
|15-1199.04||Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists|
|19-2099.01||Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists Bright Outlook Green|
|25-1051.00||Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary|
|25-1061.00||Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary|
|25-1062.00||Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary|
|25-1064.00||Geography Teachers, Postsecondary|
Wages & Employment Trends
|Median wages (2014)||$36.74 hourly, $76,420 annual|
|Employment (2012)||2,000 employees|
|Projected growth (2012-2022)||Much faster than average (22% or higher)|
|Projected job openings (2012-2022)||800|
|Top industries (2012)||
Government (54% employed in this sector)
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2014 wage data and 2012-2022 employment projections . "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2012-2022). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
Job Openings on the Web
Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer: Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries. Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
- Geographers . Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2014-15 Edition.
- Association of American Geographers (AAG) , 1710 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20009-3198. Phone: (202) 234-1450. Fax: (202) 234-2744.