Chapter 1, Student Web Activities, Glencoe World Geography, Glencoe, 2003

Chapter 1: How Geographers Look at the World
"Careers in Geography"

Introduction
Each day many different workers use geography to help them do their jobs. Geographers work as television meteorologists, planners for city water departments, and National Park Service rangers, to name a few. Geographers help businesses and governments provide vital human services, maintain a healthy environment, design effective industrial and agricultural practices, and develop workable plans for the future. In this activity, you will learn about numerous careers that are possible with a degree in geography.

Destination Title: The Association of American Geographers: Careers in Geography

Note: Clicking on the link above will launch a new browser window.
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Directions
Start at the "Careers in Geography" page of The Association of American Geographers Web site.

Click on What is geography? Read this page, and then click back to return to the first screen.
Click on Geographic Fields, and then click on the topics Cartography & Geographic Information Systems and Urban & Regional Planning. Read through the material, taking notes as you read.
Return to the main page, and under Geographers At Work click on and read the following profiles: "Tom Edwards," "Christina Hallenbeck," and "John Kelmelis."

Using the information you gathered from this site, answer the following questions.

1. Provide two examples of work that physical geographers can do. Then provide two examples for human geographers.

2. Describe some of the ways computers are used in cartography.

3. What is the educational background of most urban planners?

4. How might a multinational company benefit from hiring geographers?

5. From the main page, click on Geographer Contact List for North America. This list provides names of individuals who have had formal geographic training and have agreed to answer inquiries regarding their organizations' purpose, type of geographic work, and available job opportunities. Click on a region on the map, and find a contact in a career you would like to learn more about. Send this person a concise, polite e-mail: introduce yourself, and ask questions to find out his or her educational background, how he or she became interested in geography, what his or her organization does, and how he or she uses geography in everyday life. Conduct a 5-minute presentation to your class sharing what you learned from this person.