Careers in geography
Graduate employability is a vital consideration in planning this programme. Information Technology and other transferable skills are fully integrated within the programme at all levels and these help to enhance the employability of our students.
BSc / BA Geography plus PGCE - the flexible route into teaching
If you want to become a secondary school geography teacher, you must first take a geography degree. But the BSc / BA geography degree also provides a flexible route for those students who wish to qualify as primary school teachers, by taking the PGCE (Postgraduate Certificate in Education) after completion of their geography degree.
Students who are interested in teaching as a possible career can also gain practical experience in schools under the Student Associates Scheme, while taking their geography degree, thereby earning credits towards the award of qualified teacher status. But there is no obligation to become a teacher after graduation, and choosing the BSc / BA geography degree will enable you to keep all your career options open.
Careers in Town Planning, GIS and Environmental Management
Geography graduates have pursued a wide range of careers in fields such as cartography, aerial survey, countryside and environmental management, meteorology and surveying - as well as embarking on other careers not directly connected with geography. Several of our recent graduates have gained positions in local authority planning departments and have followed their geography degree with a postgraduate qualification in Town and Country Planning. The opportunity to develop GIS skills through the geography degree has proved to be especially useful, both in Town and Country planning and also in fields such as environmental consultancy.
Data collected by the University's Careers Advisory Service show that geography graduates are very successful in finding employment and further study placements. This demonstrates that employers value the wide range of knowledge and skills that can be gained through a geography degree.
Below are comments from just a few of our graduates, illustrating the career paths that they have chosen to follow.
Tony Beck, Contracting & Procurement, Shell International
I now live in The Netherlands and for the past 3 years I have been working for Shell International within their global HQ in The Hague. I am working within Projects & Technology, Contracting & Procurement (C&P) supporting their global communications activities and work closely with a lot of Shell's senior leaders and manage the global C&P intranet site for Shell. My job involves dealing with a lot of different stakeholders and I often have to present in meetings to Shell colleagues across the globe (both face-to-face and virtually), so the skills I learned in presentation assignments are now proving extremely useful!
Within Shell, physical and human geographers alike are helping shape and develop the energy future of the planet.
For example, the project to begin drilling for oil in the Northern Caspian Sea off the coast of Kazakhstan and the challenges surrounding this. Due to the shallowness of the Caspian Sea (only 5 metres deep) and due to the extremities of temperature (+40 degrees in summer and -40 degrees in winter) it is not suitable to use conventional oil rigs. So the solution was to build islands in the sea to allow for production to continue all year round!
A second example is about the planning for eventually drilling in the Arctic and the challenges related to physical environment, public acceptance, geopolitics and environmental & societal sensitivities faced by companies like Shell to even consider drilling in a pristine environment.
When I graduated from university I never imagined or even thought of working for an oil and gas multinational company like Shell, but would definitely recommend this as a possible career for geography students. There are a lot of jobs within this industry that require geographical skills, not only drilling and mapping, but also sustainable development, new technologies, working with government agencies, NGO's, etc.
Jonathan Smith, GIS Technician
After completing my geography degree I was offered an interview with Jacobs, one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of professional technical services. Jacobs has over 46,000 employees in over 15 countries offering full-spectrum support to industrial, commercial and governmental clients across multiple markets.
I was offered a position working as a GIS Technician updating the Kent Street Gazetteer. The National Street Gazetteer is the definitive GIS dataset of streets within England and Wales, used for street works, highways maintenance and traffic management. My job is to digitise each street, giving it a spatial location through a national grid reference to its start and end points, and to link additional street data such as ownership details, height, weight and width restrictions, road centre lines and direction of travel. The names of the locality, town and administrative area within which the street is located are also provided. This work also contributes to the Kent Permit Scheme which gives Kent Highway Services the capability to control road works. By issuing permits to utility providers and highway contractors, the scheme coordinates road works to reduce traffic disruption. For me personally, the great advantage of studying Geography and particularly the Advanced GIS module was that I was already a competent user of ArcMap and this gave me the edge in securing my present position.
Kathryn Pike, Environment Agency Development Control Officer
I graduated from the Canterbury Christ Church University Geography programme and now work in the field of flood risk management as a Development Control Officer for the Environment Agency. I use a series of Government Guidelines and technical knowledge to advise Local Planning Authorities on whether specific planning applications would increase flood risk. I also advise on mitigation measures to reduce the flood risk of new developments, such as setting appropriate floor levels within buildings and introducing sustainable surface water management schemes.
There are close links between my work and topics studied for my degree. I use GIS to help analyse flooding data and draw on my technical knowledge of the interaction between climate, the hydrological cycle and the built environment. My understanding of planning legislation and environmental impact assessments is also very useful.
Various generic skills gained through my degree have also been valuable. Team- working assignments have helped me to approach the controversial areas of my job with confidence; research methods have given me the skills needed to analyse and question the information in planning applications; and essay assignments provided an excellent training in presenting an argument and supporting it with technical information. And finally, as I need to visit development sites as part of my work, the field working skills developed through the degree have given me the confidence to undertake the dynamic risk assessments that are needed for every site visit.
Robert Hartley,, Statistical Officer
I currently work for the Department of Communities and Local Government as a Statistical Officer. My work involves providing statistical and GIS analysis and support for my division. I also publish statistical analyses and data on the departmental and Neighbourhood Statistics websites. I regularly use the ArcGIS suite and the IT and methodological training provided at Canterbury Christ Church University have been invaluable in my present career.
Giselle de Pierre, Secondary School Teacher
I teach Geography at the Ursuline College, Westgate. I graduated 3 years ago with a BSc Honours Geography degree from Canterbury Christ Church University. During my second year, alongside my academic studies in geography, I completed a Credits for QTS course run by Christ Church. After finishing my degree I achieved Qualified Teacher Status through the Graduate Teacher Programme - an employment based route into teaching. I am now Head of Department. My training as a geographer at Canterbury Christ Church University provided me with a sound foundation for teaching and the balance of physical and human geography covered within the degree programme gave me excellent subject knowledge.
Adam Tomasewski, Planning Officer
I work for Kent County Council as a Planning Officer within Development Control. My work involves the processing of planning applications from the validation stage through to the completion of the development. I regularly make use of GIS systems such as ArcMap and MVM 20/20 and my training as a geographer at Canterbury Christ Church University provided the launching pad for my present career. I am due to commence an MA in Planning, Policy and Practice at London South Bank University, and upon completion, I will gain chartership of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Stewart Anandappa, MSc Prize Winner
After graduating with a First Class Honours degree at Canterbury Christ Church University, Stewart studied for a Masters degree at Royal Holloway, University of London. He was awarded a Distinction in the MSc in Practising Sustainable Development and also received the Alan Mountjoy Prize for the best MSc dissertation within the Developing Areas Department.
The Canterbury Christ Church Geography programme provided me with a plethora of skills, tools and knowledge which enabled me to successfully complete my chosen Masters degree. The teachers within the Department are very friendly and approachable enabling students to develop a close relationship with their lecturers, encouraging learning and progression. The wide-ranging course provides an essential background knowledge of a variety of themes enabling progression to a postgraduate course. I owe my success in the Practising Sustainable Development MSc to the geography teachers of Canterbury Christ Church University.
Rachel Page, Urban Traffic Control
I graduated at Canterbury Christ Church University with a BSc (Honours) in Geography. I am currently working for Transport for London as a Trainee Traffic Control Engineer within the Urban Traffic Control Department. My work involves designing and implementing developments to provide network management, as well as undertaking site surveys in relation to traffic control strategies to develop new techniques. I also implement revised traffic signal timings to ensure efficient operation of the traffic network. I regularly make use of geographical modelling systems such as Paramics and Vissim, and regularly incorporate GIS into my work. My geographical training provided the starting blocks for my current career and I feel that geography has given me the knowledge and confidence to progress in this area of work.
Ben Young, Planning Officer
I am currently working for Ashford Borough Council working in Development Control as a Planning Officer. My work involves processing planning applications for various types of development including householder development, advertisement consent, listed building consent and changes of use of premises. I regularly make use of GIS systems such as ArcView and DigiMap, and these are a key tool in the development process. The skills gained as a geographer at Canterbury Christ Church University form the core of my day-to-day work and have provided the launch pad for my present career. My degree has also provided the foundation for the Masters degree which I am currently undertaking.
James Ferne, Ministry of Defence
After graduating I joined the Defence Geographic Centre (part of the Ministry of Defence). After three years working on cartographic products (predominantly using Erdas Imagine and SocetSet) I transferred to JARIC (also part of the MOD) working as a Geospatial Analyst in the Analytical Development Team. I now hope to take a part-time MSc in Geographical Information Science at University College, London."
Anna Livesey, Rural Transport Partnership Information Officer
I work for the East Surrey Rural Transport Partnership as a Rural Transport Partnership Information Officer. Initially my post involved several projects including producing a transport directory and a website. I am still involved with the day-to-day management of these projects as well as the general management of a community bus service and related projects. This involves the planning of bus routes, dealing with customer enquiries and the collection and distribution of information. I also represent the Partnership at meetings, produce statistics and reports and provide training for passenger assistants.
My training as a geographer at Canterbury Christ Church University gave me an excellent start as I was already experienced in giving presentations, managing small projects and producing reports. My knowledge of GIS has also been beneficial and I have worked with a local council GIS Officer to produce representational maps of users of our services. I have also embarked on further study with the Open University. I recently completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Environmental Decision Making and, after completion of a research project, I will gain an MSc. Having a good foundation in study techniques and time management has enabled me to work through these courses effectively.
Pat Rickerby, GIS Graduate Engineer
I am working within the Ecology department of Jacobs Engineering as a GIS Graduate Engineer. Jacobs is one of the world's largest and most diverse providers of professional and technical services. I am currently making use of ESRI GIS systems to locate possible sites for wind farms within Northern Ireland. This is an extensive project requiring a full range of GIS applications. Not only are GIS skills important but, in order to understand the full extent of the project's impact, I also need to be aware of a wide range of environmental and political factors. The skills and techniques learnt through the geography course at Canterbury Christ Church University have given me a sound base knowledge on which to build my career.
Richard Hardy, Planning Officer
I work for Aylesbury Vale District Council as a Career Grade Planning Officer. I work in the Forward Plans Department which deals with policy issues and 'master-plans' for the district. My work can vary significantly from day to day. In my first month I used GIS analysis (for example, clipping shape files and using the buffer tool) to look at sustainability issues. I have also written a report on Planning for Green Infrastructure in the district, to which I applied many of the research and analysis techniques learnt at Canterbury Christ Church University. Financial support provided by my employer has also enabled me to embark on a Masters degree in Spatial Planning at Oxford Brookes University.
The work of a planner is essentially founded upon the analysis of social, economic and environmental issues in relation to space. Therefore, my degree in geography at Canterbury Christ Church University has provided me with the necessary skills to succeed in this role. In particular, the strong applied nature of the course has provided me with the mindset to solve complex issues.
Victoria Lawson, Rural Community Council for Kent and Medway
I work for the Rural Community Council for Kent and Medway, a voluntary organisation supporting sustainable rural communities through a variety of projects. My main role is to assist rural communities to undertake an appraisal to identify community issues and produce an action plan for the next 5 to 10 years. The geography course at Canterbury Christ Church University has provided a number of essential skills which have been useful in my time since graduating. I regularly make use of presentation skills, team working and research techniques such as questionnaire design and analysis. I have also drawn upon key communication skills and general cartographic techniques to support my current role.
Overall, the course equipped me to deal with a wide range of rural issues across Kent and gave me the confidence to question information and evidence. The course also provided a sound basis in skills such as Information Technology and GIS and encouraged me to develop my investigative skills. My time as a geography student was also most enjoyable and interesting. I appreciated the academic support provided by the geography staff and would not hesitate in recommending Canterbury Christ Church University to anyone considering a geography degree programme.