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graduates: Do advertisements that require
physical abilities present unnecessary
barriers to applicants with disabilities?
5. The articulation of systems thinking in
job ads: Systems thinking is emphasized
in Vision and Change in the Geosciences
but was not found in any ads. How do
employers articulate systems thinking
skills in job ads?
6. Dispositions sought by employers: Dis-
positions (e.g., attention to detail, taking
initiative) were distinct from skills, and
appeared in many job ads. Which dispo-
Figure 1. The most common sitions are most frequently sought, and to
skills by percent occurrence
from the job advertisement what extent can these be developed as
analysis. Skills are colored to part of geoscience programs?
correspond to skill categories
outlined in Viskupic et al. (2020).
SUMMARY
Our analysis of job advertisements pres-
ents a comprehensive view of the workforce
skills sought by geoscience employers.
Geoscience departments can use these
results to inform their curriculum planning
and incorporate opportunities for students
to practice and develop competencies. The
work presented here is a critical step in
ensuring that the geoscience community is
adequately preparing new graduates to suc-
ceed in the workforce.

REFERENCES CITED
Gonzales, L., and Keane, C., 2021, Recent Geoscience
The most common skills varied greatly communication skills (Viskupic et al., 2020), Graduate Employment Trends, December 2020:
among employment sectors. For example, but we are unaware of any data describing Washington, D.C., American Geosciences Insti-
tute, 4 p., https://www.americangeosciences.org/
teamwork skills were found in 60% of min- the practice of planning and management geoscience-currents/recent-geoscience-graduate
ing ads but only 22% of oil and gas ads. skills in geoscience programs. -employment-trends-december-2020 (last ac-
TABLE 1. PERCENT OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION BY INDUSTRY SECTOR
cessed 18 Mar. 2021).
Industry sector Study sample 2018 AGI data Mosher, S., and Keane, C., 2021, Vision and Change
(%) (%) HOW CAN OUR WORK BE USED? WHAT IS NEXT? in the Geosciences: The Future of Undergradu-
Professional, scientific, and technical services 39.0 35.9 Our results provide geoscience depart- These initial results are intriguing and ate Geoscience Education: Washington, D.C.,
Federal government 15.9 10.2 ments with current representation of the provide a glimpse into a rich data set that American Geosciences Institute, 176 p.
State government 9.4 14.2 most sought-after workforce skills that bach- we are continuing to explore. Additional National Center for O*NET Development, 2021,
Construction 6.6 0.2 elors-level graduates need to be successful in analyses will probe: O*NET OnLine: https://www.onetonline.org/
Waste management and remediation services 4.5 1.5 the current job market. Proficiency in the 1. Differences between industry sectors (accessed March 2021).
Information services 4.0 0.0 whole spectrum of data skills—from data (e.g., oil and gas, government): How do Viskupic, K., Egger, A.E., McFadden, R.R., and
Mining 3.8 0.7 Schmitz, M.D., 2020, Comparing desired work-
Local government 3.6 8.7 collection and record keeping to interpreta- skills vary across industry sectors? force skills and reported teaching practices to
Testing laboratories 2.0 N.D. tion—is critical; these skills are practiced 2. Geographic distribution of jobs: Where
Utilities 1.9 1.5 across many geoscience courses (Viskupic are the majority of bachelors-level jobs? model students’ experiences in undergraduate
Computer systems and design 1.8 N.D. geoscience programs: Journal of Geoscience
Manufacturing 1.7 3.6 et al., 2020) and can be highlighted as Do skills vary geographically? Education, p. 27–42, https://doi.org/10.1080/108
Education* 1.5 13.4 workforce skills. We also note the emphasis 3. Further analysis of field skills: Are the 99995.2020.1779568.
Oil and gas 1.5 7.6 on communication skills, leadership, project field skills sought by most employers geo- Wilson, C., 2018, Status of the geoscience work-
Scientific research and development 1.2 N.D. management, and planning. None of these logic mapping, installing, and monitoring force: Washington, D.C., American Geosciences
Finance and insurance 0.7 0.0 skills are content-specific and may be less field instrumentation, collecting samples, Institute, 178 p.
Transport and warehousing 0.5 1.1
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting 0.4 1.5 commonly explicit in curricula. Written or other? Manuscript received 11 apr. 2021
communication skills are more commonly 4. The presence of physical abilities in job revised Manuscript received 21 Oct. 2021
N.D. = no data.
*Jobs in K–12 education are largely not advertised using the search engines included in this study and thus practiced in geoscience courses than oral ads and their potential impact on recent Manuscript accepted 27 Oct. 2021
are underrepresented in our data compared to the AGI data.

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