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Preparing graduates to enter the workforce is a common goal of undergraduate geoscience degree programs. Determining what skills are necessary for new graduates to succeed in the workforce requires knowledge of the skills sought by employers of bachelors-level geoscientists. To investigate skills desired by employers, we systematically analyzed job advertisements retrieved from 4 search engines between May and November 2020. We used 15 search words derived from the 2018 Status of the Geoscience Workforce (AGI) report to select job advertisements that required or preferred a geoscience-based bachelor's degree. Additionally, we categorized each advertisement by industry sector based on definitions in the 2018 AGI report. Each job advertisement (n=1214) was coded to identify skills sought by the employer. An initial set of codes was based on skills identified by the Future of Undergraduate Geoscience Education project and additional emergent codes were identified during the coding process. We generated a final set of 34 codes, with definitions and examples, through an iterative coding process, checking for inter-rater reliability. Advertisements were not coded for geoscience content knowledge. The most common skills sought by employers were the ability to conduct field work, teamwork, work with computers, collect, process and interpret data, and communicate effectively, however, the desirability of skills varied across industry sectors. For example, teamwork skills were sought in 60% of mining sector advertisements but only 22% of oil and gas sector advertisements. Our results provide insight into the expectations of potential employers for recent graduates seeking a career in geoscience. Additionally, our results provide geoscience degree programs with critical information required to prepare undergraduates with the necessary skills to be successful in the current job market.
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This content will become publicly available on August 1, 2026
Surveying Hawai‘i’s geoscience employers and alumni to understand evolving workforce needs
The skills needed for the geoscience workforce evolve as new technology and scientific knowledge are developed. However, there is a knowledge gap concerning what specific skill sets are necessary for recent graduates and what skills those graduates have acquired. To fill this knowledge gap specifically for the state of Hawai‘i, we surveyed local geoscience employers as well as alumni from the University of Hawai‘i School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). We received survey responses from 30 employers in the public and private sectors and 30 recent SOEST graduates at the bachelor, master, and doctoral levels. Survey results indicated that, overall, Hawai‘i’s geoscience employers and SOEST alumni agree on which skills are important for geoscience employees to have. Top-rated technical skills included fieldwork/sampling, data management, and data analysis. Data visualization and geographic information system (GIS) skills/mapping were also considered important. Additionally, both groups agreed on the importance of many nontechnical skills, including technical report writing, time management, teamwork, problem-solving, interpersonal communication, and working independently. In both technical and nontechnical skills, any differences between employer and alumni responses were not statistically significant. We believe that having this clear understanding of the skill sets that are in high demand can help to broaden participation in geoscience careers in Hawai‘i.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2022937
- PAR ID:
- 10631102
- Editor(s):
- MacDonald, JH; Clary, RM; Archer, RS; Broadway, RL
- Publisher / Repository:
- Geological Society of America
- Date Published:
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1-12
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- workforce development, geoscience, education, skills
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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