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Data Brief 2016-001

Written and compiled by Carolyn E. Wilson for AGI, January 2016 Data Brief 2016-001Written and compiled by Carolyn E. Wilson for AGI, January 2016 Download Print Version

For the 2014-2015 academic year, AGI’s Geoscience Student Exit Survey had 692 graduating students from 210 different geoscience programs participate -- 495 bachelor’s graduates, 127 master’s graduates, and 70 doctoral graduates.

The graduates were asked if their immediate plans after graduation included starting a new job in the geosciences. If they indicated this as their plan, they were then asked a series of questions, such as the industry they would be working in, location of their new job, their annual salary, and the resources used to search for jobs. Out of all the participants, 55 bachelor’s graduates, 52 master’s graduates, and 41 doctoral graduates had secured a job at the time of graduation.

For the first time since AGI began the Geoscience Student Exit Survey, an industry, other than oil and gas, hired the most bachelor’s graduates. Anecdotal discussions have focused on the increasing job market within the environmental services industry, and this year’s data supports the viability of this industry for geoscience graduates. The information services industry and the non-profit/NGO industry also made an appearance in 2015 as industries hiring geoscience graduates. The jobs found within these industries lean more toward the non-traditional jobs and careers available to geoscience graduates.

With much of the discussion of changing employment dynamics within a few of the traditional geoscience industries, students may be more willing to look beyond some of these traditional jobs for other opportunities that need their geoscience knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Data Brief 2016-001Written and compiled by Carolyn E. Wilson for AGI, January 2016