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I have a Bachelors Degree and a minor...I currently have my own small business which entails property maintenance and home improvements. None the less, I really have a strong interest in Geography. I would love to go back to school and get that degree, as that is what i wanted to do when i was in school, but certain things led me not to acheive that degree. The question is while searching the help wanted ads I never see that area offered in my area...so i guess my question is should i still go back and get that degree? Because in my mind i will get the degree then it would still be a long process to finally find a job in that field. Finances are really not a problem, however i still will have to bring in money to the household. Many would suggest probably the online route, which may be a good idea, but still i worry if once i obtain the degree...will the be a job opening...
Thank you.
Since this is the "Work & Employment" forum and (and the "hopes, dreams and intellectual aspirations forum"...) it makes since to thoroughly consider the payback of earning a degree in geography.
I actually do know a few people that work for firms like NavTeq, whose North American HQ are in Chicago. They get about 200x more resumes from geography majors than they could ever possibly hire. The need some geographers in Asia, African and the Middle East to work on field projects, but those go to people with either extensive language / foreign experience or people with deep understanding of the challenges of making "consumer centric" mapping data usable in less populous areas. Hardly something you would get from a bachelor's degree program.
The majority of newly minted geography majors probably end up working for shipping firms in jobs that are not particularly lucrative...
If you could expand on your experience in home renovation and maybe pick up some skills from a community college on land surveying that might be a way to leverage your experience and interests, but again, from what I know from surveying firms, there are few opportunities for good paying full time work.
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