What jobs can I get with a geography degree?

Can geography get me a career in ecology?

• I love wildlife, plants, and physical geography, particularly ecological aspects of each. Since job prospects are so low in wildlife biology, I get a little nervous going gung-ho into that. Botany is in high demand though. When I imagine my dream career I bounce between wildlife diseases and landscape ecology/restoration. I like using maps and GIS, as well as writing (always thought that it could be a side job, such as freelance but wouldn't mind it full time as long as it involved biological/geographical/ecological subjects). Overall geography courses make me most excited, but the job descriptions for wildlife biologists sound more interesting, even if there are so few of them. At my school it'd be easier to balance the two as a Geography major and Biology minor, although with an extra semester or two (schedule conflicts pending) I could double major. Could I get into ecology internships and permanent jobs as a geography major as long as I have plenty of biology background? I'm asking this for a bachelors degree as well as graduate. I don't want to work in academia after getting my degrees, and several of my current professors seem to push that route and don't know much about other types of jobs.

• Answer:

  A degree in geography won't help you get an interview for a position in ecology, not even if you have supporting courses in biology. I suggest that you make a prioritized list of your interests and then find out what the job market is for each field of interest. Another field you might consider is environmental impact reporting, which leans heavily on knowledge of ecology.