Some geographers spend a lot of time in the field gathering data. Creating maps and graphs may also be part of a geographer s job. Many geographers teach in high schools or colleges. Others may work in governmental agencies such as the National Park Service, Census Bureau, Forest Service, Geological Survey, and Department of State. Geographers work in the private sector as well.
Geographers often specialize in one of the main branches of the science.
These include economic geography, regional geography, urban geography, political geography, physical geography, medical geography, and cartography. It is helpful for a geographer to have knowledge of related fields such as politics, chemistry, economics, geology, and demography. They should be comfortable in interpreting statistics and be able to write well to communicate their ideas. To be considered a professional geographer, one should have at least a bachelor s degree with a major in geography. To undertake research or to teach at the university level usually requires having a master s or doctoral degree in geography.