Careers in Geography, GIS & Planning

What can I do with a degree in geography, GIS or urban planning?

Geography, GIS and urban planning each offer principles, skills and tools to address issues that are critical to communities, individuals and the natural environment.

Students with knowledge and abilities in these areas go on to play roles in city, regional, state and national government and in private companies and nonprofits.

Browse these pages to see examples of our own alumni's careers, view videos and explore career information for each of the three areas.

See alumni career stories

Career Navigator: Professionals describe their careers

Sample alumni job titles and employers

Bachelors’ degree alumni

Here are job titles and selected employers of our recent Bachelors' degree alumni:

JOB TITLES
Air Quality Forecaster Appraiser Cartographer Environmental Technician GIS Coordinator GIS Specialist Geospatial Analyst Informatics Analyst	Land Planner Project Manager Planner Planning Technician Urban Planner Water Resource Specialist Weather Forecaster/Meteorologist
SAMPLE EMPLOYERS
Arizona National Guard Arizona Public Service ASU Boeing International Boston Natural Areas Network Bradford Engineering Associates California Department of Transportation CB Richard Ellis City of Buckeye City of Centennial City of Goodyear City of Phoenix City of Scottsdale City of Surprise EnergyGIS EPCOR Water Fehr & Peers	Global Water Resources Greater Phoenix Economic Council IBI Group Jacobs Engineering Landiscor Aerial Information Macerich Maricopa County MIchael Baker International National Weather Service Network Technologies International Northeast States Emergency Consortium Saline County, AK Shaw Communications Smith Bagley, Inc Town of Cave Creek US Bureau of Land Management

Masters' degree alumni

JOB TITLES
Biological Technician City Planner Intelligence Analyst Decision Support Analyst Economic Development Specialist Environmental Planner Environmental Consultant GIS Analyst GIS Consultant Health Educator	Housing Analyst Meteorologist Planner Project Manager Research Analyst Software Engineer Spatial Analyst Transportation Planner Urban Planner Wildlife Specialist
SAMPLE EMPLOYERS
Arizona Department of Environmental Quality Arizona Game and Fish Department Bair Software BPG Designs Cinnabar Southwest LLC City and County of San Francisco, CA City of Apache Junction City of Buckeye, AZ City of Dallas, TX City of Flagstaff, AZ City of Glendale, AZ City of Lowell, MA City of Orem, UT City of Phoenix, AZ City of Sedona, AZ City of York, PA Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission Environmental Planning Group, LLC (EPG) ESRI Facilities Division, Public Transport Department, City of Phoenix Fehr & Peers (Transportation Consultants) Flood Control District of Maricopa County Florida Department of Transportation Fourth World Design Group Grand Valley State University Harris County, TX	HCP Design, Planning and Management HDR Kansas Department of Transportation Logan Simpson, Inc. Maricopa Association of Governments Matrix Design Group, Inc. New York City Department of City Planning Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments Regional Transportation Commission, Washoe County Roanoke County, VA San Diego Gas and Electric Siemens, Inc. Smithgroup JJR SWCA Environmental Consultants Town of Lake George, NY Town of Queen Creek TriMet U.S. Bureau of Reclamation US Department of the Interior US Forest Service USDA Risk Management Agency USGS Western Ecological Research Center Utah Transit Authority Valley Metro Wilson & Company, Engineers & Architects WSP

Doctoral alumni

JOB TITLES
Assistant Professor Lecturer Postdoctoral Researcher	Research Associate Research Scientist Researcher
SAMPLE EMPLOYERS
PhD graduates hold positions at numerous universities in the US and worldwide, as well as in federal agencies and research organizations. For examples, see the PhD alumni directory.

Learn more about career paths

Wendy Nessl, Meteorologist, RGNext

“My advice to women pursuing STEM careers is to not limit yourself to just classwork. Find extracurricular programs that will help you in your career. And don’t limit yourself to other people’s opinions of what they think you can accomplish.” - Wendy Nessl, BS Geography (Meteorology/Climatology), 2017

Scott Lau, Transportation Planner, California Department of Transportation

"Be prepared to think outside the box. We are not planning what already works. We are planning to make the existing things better -- and that requires an open mind and lots of creativity." - Scott Lau, BS Urban Planning, 2017

Brandon Stocksdale, Community Planner, National Park Service

“I love working as a development planner for the National Park Service. It gives me the ability to address the urban and natural interface necessary to help communities achieve their goals." - Brandon Stocksdale, MUEP 2014

Lynn Coppedge, Sustainability Planner, City of Lakewood, CO

“My current position challenges me to find solutions to financial, political, and cultural barriers and applies a multitude of the principles that I studied at ASU." - Lynn Coppedge, BSP 2013, MUEP 2014 (4+1)

Lucy Aubrecht, Technology Specialist (Aviation), Michael Baker International

“I wanted to challenge myself, expand my knowledge in the industry and make myself more marketable upon graduation. The MAS-GIS program provided an opportunity to do so.” - Lucy Aubrecht, BS Geography (Meteorology) 2013, MAS-GIS 2014