Status of Recent Geoscience Graduates - 2015

Artificial Intelligence, Education, Ethics, Society, Employment, and U.S. and World Economic Issues / Universities

Date posted: 09/06/16

This report presents the results for the employer. As in previous years, the quantitative skills and knowledge of the graduates have raised concerns about their preparedness for the workforce. In 2015, there was another drop in the percentage of graduates at all degree levels taking Statistics, even though a solid understanding of statistics is necessary for conducting research and reading many articles in peer reviewed journals. Also, the majority of Bachelor and Master graduates complete Calculus II, but there is a strong drop-off in the percentages of these graduates that take higher level quantitative courses, which was also seen in previous years. Discussions with representatives from various industries have indicated that a lack in understanding of high level math can affect sustained employment or advancement depending on the job expectations. In 2015, as in previous years, a large percentage of graduates at all degree levels indicated they did not participate in an internship. However, this year the graduates were asked how many internships applications they submitted. Their responses indicated that the graduates understand the importance of internships to their professional development, but there may not be enough opportunities available to meet the demand for these opportunities. This year also saw some changes in the future plans of the recent graduates. Fewer graduates indicated a desire to go on to earn a graduate degree in the fall. Many geoscience departments have indicated that they are at capacity for graduate students, and the decrease in students planning to begin work on another degree may be in response to the increased competition for the slots that are available. In regards to the recent graduates entering the geoscience workforce, this was the first year since printing this report that the environmental services industry hired a higher percentage of bachelor graduates than the oil and gas industry. .