SCHOOL STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF CAREER OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GEOSCIENCES

Geoscience-related issues have been prominent in the media for many years including news items and documentaries. However, in the UK at least, this does not seem to translate into a demand for university places and employers are struggling to fill graduate-level posts A literature review carried out as part of a UK research project into school students' perceptions of geography, geology and environmental sciences noted that career prospects and the desire to “get a good job” figure large in children's preferences for school subjects. In addition, the review emphasised that there is a cumulative process of evolving perceptions and achievement that influences degree subject choice and, for most people, this starts well before the age of 14 years.

In order to better understand students' perceptions of Geoscience career opportunities and, hence, to inform the ‘marketing' of the subject the research study asked participants from years 7, 10 and 12 what jobs they thought geologists do (‘geology' was specified as it is this term that is used in high school examinations); for comparison they were also asked about their own career aspirations. The results illustrated a clear contrast between the students' perceptions of jobs in geology and their own ideas for their post-education careers. Of all the students participating in the research 62% provided a named job when asked about their own career but only 27% were able to suggest a named job for geologists. In contrast, 37% of the students suggested that geologists ‘studied' or ‘looked at' objects or processes as their job but only four of the 946 participants (0.4%) indicated that they wanted to undertake research for their own career and five that they wanted to be scientists. A total of 9 students wanted to pursue a career directly related to geoscience.

More in-depth research is required both in the UK and internationally to explore this further but this pilot study emphasises the need for better marketing of the subject in order to enhance take up in universities and to ensure that the expertise is available to meet future economic and environmental demands.