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Science

Geographers

Typically requires Bachelor's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
RiskyMedium uncertainty

Analyst take: Decent prospects — -3.1% projected growth, moderate AI exposure (50/100).

39
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +High pay — above 84% of careers ($97,200).
🐻 Bears say
  • Projected to shrink (-3.1%).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +0% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +7.1%. The forecast held up well — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
-3.1%
Median pay
$97,200
AI exposure
50/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 616 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$34,503
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$23,750
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.5×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Geospatial IntelligenceGeography and Environmental StudiesGeographyEarth Systems ScienceBioethics/Medical Ethics
Selective schools offering these majors
Columbia University in the City of New York
NY · 4% admit rate
$89,472/yr
$102,491 grad pay
University of Chicago
IL · 4% admit rate
$90,360/yr
$91,885 grad pay
Dartmouth College
NH · 5% admit rate
$87,793/yr
$97,434 grad pay
Northwestern University
IL · 8% admit rate
$91,250/yr
$89,363 grad pay
University of California-Los Angeles
CA · 9% admit rate
$38,614/yr
$82,511 grad pay
University of Southern California
CA · 10% admit rate
$90,300/yr
$92,498 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

scienceresearchanalysis