Speaker: Karen Viskupic, Boise State University

Bachelor-level geoscientists make up the majority of the geoscience workforce, and job opportunities for bachelor-level geoscientists are expected to grow over the next decade. Jobs for geoscientists span a wide range of industry sectors (e.g., government, private corporations, resource industries) and occupations (e.g., geophysicist, hydrologist, geologist, geo-engineer, environmental scientist). But do students know about these opportunities? What skills and abilities do students need to be successful in the geoscience workforce and are students building these skills in their degree programs? What strategies can we use to support students’ awareness of and preparation for the workforce?

A model of student experiences in undergraduate geoscience programs based on surveys of faculty teaching practices and example undergraduate curricula suggests that, at the national level, geoscience programs are helping their students develop many desired workforce skills. These results provide valuable information that can be used by instructors, mentors, and undergraduate programs to reflect on, and adjust, their practices to better help students develop critical workforce skills. In addition, geoscience programs should be making that alignment visible to students and supporting students’ awareness of geoscience careers. There are many ways to do this including use of geoscience career awareness modules such as the SAGE Unearth Your Future online course, incorporating career-focused assignments into existing courses, and connecting with local networks of professional geoscientists.

A new collection of web resources titled “Building Geoscience Workforce Skills and Awareness” in the National Association of Geoscience Teachers Teach the Earth collection provides background information and ideas for easy-to implement strategies to help develop students’ workforce skills.