Geography Teachers, Postsecondary
Teach courses in geography. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Most important skills
- Writing
- Speaking
- Instructing
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Active Learning
- Learning Strategies
Key knowledge
- English Language
- Geography
- Education and Training
- History and Archeology
- Mathematics
- Computers and Electronics
- Sociology and Anthropology
- Communications and Media
What the work involves
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as urbanization, environmental systems, and cultural geography.
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Social, Investigative, Artistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Doctoral Degree (80.3% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (33.8%)
- On-the-job training
- None or short demonstration (51.2%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Geography Teachers, Postsecondary is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Moderate | Lower on contact with others than 53% of occupations compared | 54% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time” |
| Dealing with the public | Low | Lower on dealing with the public than 69% of occupations compared | 46% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly important” |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 76% of occupations compared | 38% of surveyed respondents chose “Very important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 98% of occupations compared | 94% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Lower on time pressure than 58% of occupations compared | 35% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | Moderate | Lower on conflict situations than 59% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | Moderate | Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 52% of occupations compared | 48% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month” |
| Consequence of error | Very low | Lower on consequence of error than 94% of occupations compared | 50% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: moderate
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: moderate
- Consequence of error: very low
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 5.72%
- Contact with others most of the time: 53.74%
- Constant contact with others: 40.54%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 12.66%
- Fairly important: 45.65%
- Important: 4.41%
- Very important: 9.74%
- Extremely important: 27.54%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 21.73%
- Important: 3.25%
- Very important: 37.58%
- Extremely important: 37.44%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 0.29%
- Some freedom: 6.05%
- A lot of freedom: 93.65%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Time pressure
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 6.62%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 34.61%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 35.14%
- Every day: 23.63%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Conflict situations
- Never: 12.66%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 39.04%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 18.9%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 24.57%
- Every day: 4.83%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 7.05%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 48.06%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 16.23%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 23.37%
- Every day: 5.3%
n = 38, Incumbent 08/2019
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 50.09%
- Fairly serious: 23.87%
- Serious: 18.52%
- Very serious: 0.32%
- Extremely serious: 7.2%
n = 34, Incumbent 08/2019
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O*NET-SOC 25-1064.00 · SOC 25-1064 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8