Study geography in college

Absolute Zero

Hi, I am studying an arts degree in Nui maynooth, in second year I want to try and get into single honours geography, can any body tell me what I can do from studying geography?

I'm kind of worries that there won't be any jobs for a person with my degree after college?

El Siglo

Absolute Zero wrote: »

Hi, I am studying an arts degree in Nui maynooth, in second year I want to try and get into single honours geography, can any body tell me what I can do from studying geography?

I'm kind of worries that there won't be any jobs for a person with my degree after college?

Listen, there's 90,000 graduates from 2009 who can't get jobs here. There are men in their 50s going to America (again) to work. There's nearly half a million people on the dole as it is.

And you're worried you wont get a job in Geography?

I have a BA in Geography, it's a great course to do. It's a great degree to have, but let me put things like this: You don't do an arts degree if you want to get a job. That's the plain simple truth, but look at it like this you could have a degree in architecture/science/engineering etc... and still be unemployed/unemployable.

So, study what you enjoy and not what you think you might get a job in. There are no jobs here, accept that fact now.

On the plus side a degree in Geography can get you into a lot of courses (I did an MSc in Environmental Science, some of my friends did the MRUP, another chap is training to be a solicitor etc... there are a lot options with Geography because it's a very eclectic subject, in that you cover the natural and human sciences).

Fol20

El Siglo wrote: »

So, study what you enjoy and not what you think you might get a job in. There are no jobs here, accept that fact now.

Thats all well and good,but the in the real world,people study so that they can get a job at the end of it.Its best if it is in something you like but at the end of the day theres no point doing a degree which the tax man is paying for,if you cant get a job.Learn a topic out of your own pocket but dont waste at least 40k of tax payers money.

El Siglo

Fol20 wrote: »

Thats all well and good,but the in the real world,people study so that they can get a job at the end of it.Its best if it is in something you like but at the end of the day theres no point doing a degree which the tax man is paying for,if you cant get a job.Learn a topic out of your own pocket but dont waste at least 40k of tax payers money.

Yes, but there's no jobs. Also, I'd hardly call education a waste of money, would you? Or do you believe writing a blank cheque for banks is prudent financial thinking? I thought people study for their own personal reasons, self fulfillment, joy of learning etc... I'd hardly think that money is the main driver, if that was the case there'd be no one doing PhDs. A degree is not a waste of money, I'd rather spend 34.3 billion on a bunch of arts and science students than on the banks.

Op, Geography is not a waste of a degree to do. If you said something like sociology or art history, but of all the subjects in arts* it's so useful in so many ways. Postgraduate study generally allows you to enhance on the stuff you're more keen on.

I was keen on Physical Geography, but I knew I wasn't strong enough in it (i.e just a lack of skills). So I did an MSc in Environmental Science, where I built up skills useful to both work and research (e.g. I learned how to test water and sediment for contaminants, how to classify foraminifera etc...). These are skills that I was introduced to in my undergrad in Geography, but with the masters I could build up on these to the point that I can say to an employer; "I am skilled in XRD, XRF, AAS, ICP-OES, IC, CF-IRMS and have worked on EIAs, SEAs etc..."

You won't learn all the skills in the undergrad but without it, you wont be introduced to the topics in the first place. So it's what you do after the undergrad in Geography, you can develop your interest in certain topics to the point you have skills which may be useful in the workplace. However, I should state, if I didn't have an interest in Physical Geography, Fluvial Geomorphology etc... it would have meant that I wouldn't have liked my masters, do you see what I mean? I did it because I enjoyed these topics at undergrad level.

And op, there's no such thing as waste when it's education, all learning is great! Regardless of what the penny-pinching, bean counting, Fianna Failers of the world tell you!:D You can waste money on Metros, Galway think ins, banks, TDs expenses etc... but never on education.











*I'm in QUB, Geography is a science subject, same in TCD. This is primarily because the a lot of colleges in the Republic don't like to shell out for field and lab equipment and it's easier to teach a 65/35 split of human and physical, this is another matter though!;)

Absolute Zero

El Siglo wrote: »

Listen, there's 90,000 graduates from 2009 who can't get jobs here. There are men in their 50s going to America (again) to work. There's nearly half a million people on the dole as it is.

And you're worried you wont get a job in Geography?

I have a BA in Geography, it's a great course to do. It's a great degree to have, but let me put things like this: You don't do an arts degree if you want to get a job. That's the plain simple truth, but look at it like this you could have a degree in architecture/science/engineering etc... and still be unemployed/unemployable.

Damnit, i wish i knew this before i put arts down as my number one choice. I know there is no jobs out there for many people including engineering graduates but for fck sake if i knew arts degrees only gave you wide base instead of specific skills i would of done enviromental science in an IT and learned specific skills instead(ive been wanting to work in the envriomental sector if possible) .

I thought that studying geography in a university would of been able to get me into that line of work but i should of known better not to do an arts degree. I was speaking to family who have gone to college and now have good jobs and they said that i will have to do a masters to get any type of job but they are just so expensive and after spending three years in college it wont feel good to have a degree that i cant do much with (unlike science graduates or engineer grads).

I will keep working anyway, im lucky enough to get work in a financial instition for the next three years of my college life so that will be something i can put on my C.V and hopefully i can get into the single honours geography programme in maynooth next year so i can at least try specialise a bit more than the double honours.

Maybe i just sound very naive but i was getting very worried last week and thats what made me post this thread.

Firehen

There are jobs in geography, they're just few and far between. If you're planning on doing a postgrad, you'll have a much better chance of getting a geography based job.

A geography degree is far from useless, though. It may be a cliché, but it does have a lot of transferrable skills. Sure, there's very few specialist geography jobs, but the skills are useful and plenty of employers can be impressed by them.

El Siglo

Absolute Zero wrote: »

El Siglo wrote: »

Listen, there's 90,000 graduates from 2009 who can't get jobs here. There are men in their 50s going to America (again) to work. There's nearly half a million people on the dole as it is.

And you're worried you wont get a job in Geography?

I have a BA in Geography, it's a great course to do. It's a great degree to have, but let me put things like this: You don't do an arts degree if you want to get a job. That's the plain simple truth, but look at it like this you could have a degree in architecture/science/engineering etc... and still be unemployed/unemployable.

Damnit, i wish i knew this before i put arts down as my number one choice. I know there is no jobs out there for many people including engineering graduates but for fck sake if i knew arts degrees only gave you wide base instead of specific skills i would of done enviromental science in an IT and learned specific skills instead(ive been wanting to work in the envriomental sector if possible).

Arts has always been like this, but when you're starting off in university you shouldn't have to be worrying just yet about what jobs your course can give you. And Firehen is spot on, there's transferable skills with Geography. A Geography degree is probably one of the most overlooked by students starting off. Even though it's probably the best, primarily because Geographers deal with both the human and natural sciences, which means that there's scope for moving into a lot of different fields following a degree. Also, there aren't many jobs in the Environmental sector either.

I thought that studying geography in a university would of been able to get me into that line of work but i should of known better not to do an arts degree. I was speaking to family who have gone to college and now have good jobs and they said that i will have to do a masters to get any type of job but they are just so expensive and after spending three years in college it wont feel good to have a degree that i cant do much with (unlike science graduates or engineer grads).

A masters isn't that expensive, okay it's generally more than €5,000 here in Ireland, but you can do a masters say in the Netherlands for less than €3,000. The UK is also cheaper than Ireland. I know people who have engineering degrees, science degrees etc... and still went back to do a masters, it's generally becoming more and more popular so don't think of it as a bad thing. I know a masters in the US can be anything up to 3 years, and cost 40 or 50 grand, so we're not doing too bad.:D An arts degree isn't a shit degree.

I will keep working anyway, im lucky enough to get work in a financial instition for the next three years of my college life so that will be something i can put on my C.V and hopefully i can get into the single honours geography programme in maynooth next year so i can at least try specialise a bit more than the double honours.

Maybe i just sound very naive but i was getting very worried last week and thats what made me post this thread.

A little nieve, but I'll tell you what since you're in Maynooth there's a legend of a lecturer there, I think he might still be the single honours coordinator D.G. Pringle.

Tiriel

El Siglo wrote: »

A little nieve, but I'll tell you what since you're in Maynooth there's a legend of a lecturer there, I think he might still be the single honours coordinator D.G. Pringle.

He's retiring this year..

El Siglo

Cork_girl wrote: »

He's retiring this year..

Serious? That's the end of an era, the man is a legend. Such a sound lecturer. It's kind of sad to see the likes of him or Willie Nolan retiring, they're absolute legends in every sense of the word.

Absolute Zero

Thanks for the info guys , especially el siglo, i will just stick with the course and do my best, i do understand that jobs are just not out there at the moment. I do quite like geography and i will definatly look into post graduate study , but for now i will concentrate on my degree and getting past first year.