Why Geography?

Geography is the study of places and the relationships between people and
their environments. Geographers explore both the physical properties of
Earth’s surface and the human societies spread across it. They also examine
how human culture interacts with the natural environment and the way that
locations and places can have an impact on people. Geography seeks to
understand where things are found, why they are there, and how they
develop and change over time. Geography can be split into three areas: human
geography, physical geography and environmental geography. Human geography is the
study of societies, cultures and economies. Physical geography is the study of landscapes and
environments. Environmental geography is the study of how humans impacts the Earth.
Geographer roles and responsibilities
Geographers spend most of their time gathering information and condensing it to create
decision-making tools for governments, environmental agencies and businesses. As scientists,
their role is to produce data-driven research that responds to hypotheses about geographic
issues and concepts. Some of the main responsibilities of geographers in any field are:
 Studying the history and characteristics of a particular region to ensure that their research plan targets their
goals
 Collecting data by interpreting satellite images, census reports and making observations in the field
 Gathering samples and analyzing them in a lab environment
 Developing and distributing surveys
 Creating and updating maps that represent geographic phenomena
 Using geographic information systems (GIS) software to store data and produce visual representations of
information
 Performing environmental risk analysis
 Condensing key information in the context of their employer’s goals
 Teaching geographic concepts to coworkers and students
 Making predictions about how the environment will develop over time in different scenarios
 Processing and simplifying data
 Making customized algorithms and data models
 Researching ways to collect more accurate, in-depth data
 Using data to predict market trends, target ads and create a better customer experience
 Implementing A/B testing to test data models within the company
 Presenting results of data to the company and stakeholders
 Utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to collect and analyze data