Bridging the Gap: The Rising Demand for Geospatial Professionals Amid Declining Geography Majors
With an interdisciplinary perspective and training in modern geospatial tools and concepts, geography graduates are not only employable; they are uniquely well-equipped to tackle the complex geopolitical and societal challenges facing our world today. From understanding the impacts of climate change on social systems, to protecting the environment, to enhancing financial performance, professional geographers can be found working in every sector of the workforce as data scientists, researchers, administrators, resource planners, policy analysts, project managers, technical specialists, and in many other occupations.
Geographic information and location-based technologies are rapidly growing sectors of the U.S. economy, influencing nearly every facet of modern life and creating a high demand for geographic literacy within the workforce. Recent industry reports have found that the global geospatial analytics market is expected to grow from $89.81 billion in 2024 to a staggering $262.73 billion by 2032.
By all measures, these should be boom-times for geography higher education. Yet despite a clear and growing workforce demand for trained geospatial professionals, the number of geography majors has declined for over ten consecutive years, reaching levels not seen since the early 1990s. In response to these trends, many U.S. college and university geography programs have been absorbed into other academic units or forced to close outright in recent years.
What’s happening here, and why does it matter?
Because geography has never been a required subject taught in most U.S. states, it is often referred to as a “discovery” major that undergraduate students stumble upon in their first or second years after taking general education coursework in human or physical geography. There remains a common misperception among high school students about what geography entails and what professional geographers do; even key educational stakeholders such as teachers, administrators, and parents mistakenly think geography education involves little more than fact-based memorization of maps and place names. Recent K-12 teacher interviews revealed a range of other challenges as well, including:
- Misconceptions about what geography education entails.
- Lack of teacher preparation and professional development in geography.
- Poor quality of geography instruction materials.
- Limited use of geographic technology in the classroom.
These factors, in addition to pressure on K-12 teachers to focus on tested subjects of math, reading, and science, leave teachers with little choice but to spend less of their time and resources on geography. With often little-to-no exposure to geography at the K-12 level, high school graduates are less likely to understand the role and importance of geography in modern society, let alone as a viable and meaningful career path. In response, many geography departments have chosen to rebrand themselves in recent years, sometimes dropping the word “geography” altogether and opting for names perceived to be more modern, exciting, and recognizable to students (think “geospatial sciences”, “spatial data science”, etc.).
As a student or young professional in the GIS field, you might be wondering why any of this matters. Clearly, there are many more geospatial jobs available than there are geography graduates, and yet the industry is thriving. Your own educational and/or professional journey may have led you to GIS through any number of pathways that did not involve a degree or any formal training in geography. Indeed, the proliferation of GIS to a wide and ever-growing number of non-geographic disciplines should be cause for celebration, as it indicates a growing demand and recognition among employers about the value of GIS and other geospatial technologies.
Yet the presence and contributions of trained geographers remains critical to the industry, offering significant advantages to GIS specialists, as a grounding in geographic theory can provide key insights for understanding why geospatial data might be appropriate for given problems within different scales and contexts. GIS professionals often need to engage with and articulate complex geographic issues to the public; without any training in geography, analysts may be less likely to possess the knowledge to identify flaws in data and communicate proper solutions to clients.
In an increasingly geospatial-centric society, in which private industry and government rely more than ever on spatial data for decision-making, the true value of these data hinges on a workforce that is geographically literate and equipped with the skills to properly analyze spatial data (e.g. spatial thinking, geoprivacy, geo-ethics, and geospatial tools).
What is AAG doing, and what can I do?
In recognition of the major challenges facing geography higher education, the AAG is leading a variety of initiatives aimed at raising public awareness of geography and the contributions of professional geographers to solving the world’s most pressing challenges:
Elevate the Discipline. Provides training opportunities and resources to help geographers connect their work to public and policy arenas. By providing geographers with the skills and contacts to engage as public scholars in the world’s most pressing issues, we can increase public understanding of why geography matters; attract students to the discipline; educate decision makers, and engage with funders in common cause with solving the challenges our world faces.
Read More: https://www.aag.org/program/elevate-the-discipline/
Profiles of Professional Geographers. Interview series featuring geographers working in education, business, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. Designed to give student audiences a window into the world of applied geography and how exciting, meaningful, and successful a career in geography can be.
Read More: https://www.aag.org/career-profiles/
Ask a Geographer. Outreach project offering the media, government agencies, teachers, and students links to experts in various fields of geography. Experts are drawn from and categorized according to the AAG Specialty Groups and may be contacted directly. The outreach project was developed by Richard Marston (Kansas State University) and is maintained by the AAG.
Read More: https://www.aag.org/ask-a-geographer/
Policy & Advocacy. As geographers, we have a contribution to make in the realm of public policy—and a responsibility to share our knowledge. AAG is dedicated to advocating for a better future within the field of geography itself, and in the many areas influenced by our discipline.
Read More: https://www.aag.org/advocacy/
Healthy Departments Initiative. Coherent and engaged guidance and action that enhances the future health and excellence of academic geography departments across the country. Committee members visit departments and colleges and engage in outreach with administrators to support geography. The committee also designs and implements actions that help move leaders in geography towards these goals.
Read More: https://www.aag.org/program/healthy-departments-initiative/
If you are passionate about geography, concerned about the state of geography higher education and its potential disappearance from U.S. colleges and universities, and interested in elevating the role of geography in the public consciousness, these are just some of the many avenues AAG offers for engagement around these issues.
To read more, visit our website: https://www.aag.org/
To become an AAG member, visit: https://www.aag.org/membership/