What companies hire geographers?

Companies in education, government, and cartography hire geographers. Typically, geographers hold at least a bachelor's degree. There are some careers where they may need more education. Those who are interested in working in research and education can choose to get a doctorate in geography and teach at universities.

How To Become A Geographer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a geographer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Mark Revell

Geographers are responsible for studying nature and the use of areas of earth's surface, relating and interpreting physical and cultural phenomena. They research physical aspects of a region, including landforms, climates, soils, plants and animals, and conduct research on human activities' spatial implications within a given area. These include social characteristics, economic activities, and political organization and research interdependence between regions at scales ranging from local to global.

Geographers earn an average salary of $80,000 annually or $39 per hour. Their duties include gathering geographic data through field observations, maps, photographs, satellite imagery, and censuses. They conduct research via surveys, interviews, and focus groups and assist, advise, or lead others in using GIS and geographic data. They also use geographic data with data pertaining to a particular speciality, such as economics, the environment, health, or politics.

In terms of academic qualifications, geographers typically hold a bachelor's or master's degree in physical and human geography, statistics, or other related fields. They are expected to have some years of proven work experience in a similar role. Some employers prefer candidates with excellent analytical and interpersonal skills.

What general advice would you give to a geographer?

Mark Revell

Manager, American Association of Geographers

Geography is an extremely broad, interdisciplinary field with a wide range of career paths. Geography graduates can be found in all sectors of the workforce in diverse areas such as transportation, city planning, business and marketing, environmental conservation, foreign intelligence, academia, and a host of other industries. Because our field is so diverse, the career prospects for some geographers are very different than others. For example, with budgets tightening there may temporarily be some challenging times ahead for those pursuing work in state and local government, or other industries that have been highly impacted by the pandemic. However, the overall job prospects for geographers are excellent. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has only highlighted the essential contributions of geographers working as data analysts at the state level, as well as NIH and other federal agencies and private firms where they have produced maps depicting the virus’ spread. There are so many current social and environmental issues that have spatial components, geographers trained in the use of geospatial technologies are very likely to be in high demand through the foreseeable future and beyond.

ScoreGeographerUS Average

Salary

5.1

Avg. Salary $65,339

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

6.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.09%

Asian 8.12%

Black or African American 6.17%

Hispanic or Latino 14.48%

Unknown 6.44%

White 63.71%

Gender

female 25.76%

male 74.24%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

3.8

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a geographer

Explore geographer education requirements

Most common geographer degrees

Bachelor's

78.5 %

Master's

15.7 %

Associate

4.1 %

Start to develop specific geographer skills

Skills	Percentages
Spatial Data	18.57%
ArcGIS	14.08%
Remote Sensing	13.94%
Python	7.14%
Data Collection	6.81%

Complete relevant geographer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New geographers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a geographer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real geographer resumes.

Research geographer duties and responsibilities

Manage client data and perform database extraction regularly to make timely data updates.
Experience in obtaining and applying GPS data with ArcGIS.
Assist with elements of USGS NAQWA program, including data analysis and fieldwork.
Use ArcMap, ArcCatalog, ArcScene, ArcINFO, RockWorks, and prepare files for EarthVision.

Prepare your geographer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your geographer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a geographer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable geographer resume templates

Build a professional geographer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your geographer resume.