If you answer yes to a majority of these questions, you may have a bright future in geography.

From the Association of American Geographers web site.

  • Are you curious about places?
    If so, geography channels this interest into a rigorous study of the makeup of places and what makes them tick.
  • Do you like to study maps?
    The geographer's first inclination is to put information on a map in order to see how it looks spatially.
  • Do you prefer the window seats on airplanes?
    Geography tries to explain the constantly changing patterns of human activity and natural phenomena on the landscape.
  • Are you interested in foreign areas?
    Many geographers specialize in a particular part of the world such as Latin America, Europe, Asia or Africa.
  • Do you like to work outside?
    Many geographers obtain their basic data from field investigation in environments that range from wilderness areas to cities.
  • Are you a problem solver?
    As scientists, geographers are naturally curious about how the world is arranged. They ask lots of questions about why things are located the way they are and then they try to answer those questions.
  • Are you good at seeing connections among seemingly unrelated processes?
    One of geography's strengths is its ability to integrate ideas about human behavior, social institutions and the natural environment.
  • Can you adapt to rapid technological change?
    Geography has been buffeted by monumental changes in technology. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has revolutionized the way geographers collect, store, analyze and present spatial information.
  • Do you try to see the big picture?
    Geographers look at how places interact with each other and how they are influenced by larger more global forces. Geographers think big!
  • Are you interested in connections between people and the environment?
    Geographers see the world as the human habitat, one that we have transformed and that has transformed us.