EXPLORING STUDENTS' IMMEDIATE TRAJECTORIES INTO THE GEOSCIENCE WORKFORCE

In the past few years, there has been a growing need for concrete data on students’ geoscience career trajectories and their preparedness for entering the workforce upon graduation. In order to address this issue, The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) designed a national exit survey for students graduating from geosciences departments in the United States. The creation and development of this survey instrument arose from experiences with the AGI/AGU Survey of Doctorates and discussions held at multiple Science Education Research Center (SERC) workshops.

The National Geoscience Student Exit Survey has been implemented in two pilot sessions – Spring 2011 and Spring 2012. The purpose of this assessment tool is to identify immediate career directions for the graduating students, evaluate their preparedness for entering the geosciences workforce; the experiences and influences that directed the toward the geosciences, identify the career sectors hiring new graduates, and demonstrate the value of geosciences degrees to students, institutions, and other employers. Within the next year, AGI will be launching this survey nationally, which will lead into a longitudinal study following participants from the previous Exit Survey efforts in order to understand their progression through their chosen career paths.

This presentation will focus on the results from the second pilot of the survey during Spring 2012. AGI collected responses from 294 graduating students from 45 different departments across the United States. Out of these 294 responses, 233 were students graduating with a bachelor’s degree, 40 students finishing their master’s degree, and 21 students finishing their doctorates. Preliminary results show that 20% of all 294 students have accepted a job within the geosciences,46% are seeking employment within the geosciences, and 36% plan on immediately returning to school for an advanced degree.. Popular industries that these students have found employment are within the oil and gas industries, within four year universities, and within the federal government.