Launch of our new education and careers website: Geology Career Pathways

Following months of planning, writing, designing and developing, we are delighted to announce the launch of our brand new, interactive education and careers website: “Geology Career Pathways”.

Aimed at GCSE-level upwards, the new site offers an in-depth and uniquely tailored guide to the range of studying options and diverse array of careers in geology. We believe that Geology Career Pathways is one of the most detailed and comprehensive  websites of its kind for any academic subject in the UK. We have also striven to make it as interactive and user-friendly as possible across a range of desktop and mobile devices.

But don’t just take my word for it; let me take you on a tour.

The specially designed homepage

When you first arrive at the homepage, you’ll be met by a group of waving characters with two options for accessing the site. Either click on the pair of figures at the bottom of the screen or use the ‘menu’ icon in the top-right corner of the page. You can also click on the gemstones to access some additional content.

When you open the menu, you’ll see that Geology Career Pathways is divided into four broad sections:

• What is Geology?
  • An overview of the science of geology and what geologists do
• School
  • Studying geology in school and preparing for university
• University
  • A guide to life at university as a geology student
• Careers
  • The range of careers available to graduates and non-graduates, and advice on developing your career and becoming a professional geoscientist.

What is Geology?

Although most pupils have probably heard the science of geology, not all may be aware that there is a lot more to it than rocks. In this introductory section of the website we take you through the broad array of specialist areas of geology in addition to describing what many geologists actually do in their day-to-day lives.

School: looking ahead

This section outlines where most pupils learn about geology via the various school curricula of England & Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. For those who are thinking about applying to study an Earth Science degree at university, we have included a section about the UCAS application process, specific to geological degrees. It includes advice on what subjects to take at A-level/IB/Highers and tips for preparing a successful personal statement.

University: undergraduate and postgraduate options

Most school pupils who wish to go to university have questions such as which institution to choose, funding (it isn’t cheap, after all!), what kind of work they’ll undertake and where their degree will lead them.

We’ve written pages on the questions a school pupil pondering over going to university might have, including:

• The different types of undergraduate degrees available
• Funding options including student loans
• What you do during a degree such as:
  • Lectures and timetables (with an example timetable from Imperial College London)
  • Coursework and exams
  • Fieldwork (with examples of a student field notebook and geological map)
  • Independent mapping/research projects
• Placements in industry and years abroad (including a list of possible providers)
• Extra-curricular activities

  A selection of pages in the university section.

We’ve also created a sub-section in the university pages about postgraduate studying options (postgraduate Masters courses and PhDs). These are becoming increasingly important to secure employment as a geologist due to the specialist training they provide.

Included in the postgraduate section is advice about applying for these types of courses, what they entail, funding options and reasons for embarking on them in the first place.

Careers: industry sectors, career profiles, professional development and more!

To incorporate our current careers pages into Geology Career Pathways, we have completely rearranged and redesigned them. They contain lots of new content including information about salaries, continuing professional development, diversity and careers for non-graduates.

Our career profiles have taken on a new lease of life. They’re now also categorised into their respective industrial sectors and we have uploaded some brand new video career profiles. We hope to continue to add to our video career profiles throughout this year.

Your thoughts

We would love to hear what you think of Geology Career Pathways. Please send any feedback to Judi Lakin or comment below.

Source: http://blog.geolsoc.org.uk/2016/03/07/launch-of-our-new-education-and-careers-website-geology-career-pathways/