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Career Paths in Development, Advancement, Planning, and Conservation (Organization and Administration)

Regional and Economic Development; Urban, Regional, Spatial, and Transportation Planning; Landscape and Environmental Planning; Coastal Protection and Water Conservation; Civil Protection and Disaster Control; Environmental and Climate Protection

Most academic disciplines can take on governmental and semi-governmental jobs solely thanks to their high level of education: graduates spend years building high-level skills in reading, writing, presenting, researching, classifying, and structuring. However, graduates of the geosciences have long occupied their own domain in the public sector, a place where they don’t face significant competition from graduates of other disciplines. As specialists in soil, air, and water, geoscientists mainly work with their peers from technical and engineering disciplines in the broad fields of “conservation” and “protection,” which is why a focus on physical and natural sciences can be helpful.

When it comes to turning a broad concept into a concrete plan for action, there are many considerations to take into account: both regarding legality (construction and planning law) as well as adhering to planning standards (system planning). A planning-oriented master’s degree, especially one that has “planning” in the title, can open many doors in the public sector. Advancement and development used to be primarily within the domain of economists (economic development), but there has been an increasing importance in connecting urban and rural development as well as topological-topographical approaches to geography.

  • Possible Tasks

    • Regional and Economic Development:
      • You are involved in economic revitalization efforts in a particular city or region and, for example, strive to make it an attractive location for commercial and industrial development.
      • You analyze existing social, economic, and ecological conditions and, based on this, develop forecasts, development projections, and strategies for furthering local brand recognition.
      • You develop proposals for, e.g., maintaining existing businesses, consulting regarding financial support and the founding of start-ups, developing commercial spaces, and advancing technological approaches.
      • You establish and maintain contacts with various local interest groups and potential investors.
      • You mediate between different interest groups and assist them in making decisions together. You also coordinate the politically-approved implementation of support programs.
      • You act as a bridge between politics and business.
    • Urban, Regional, Spatial, and Transportation Planning:
      • The big challenge in transportation planning is to make the mobility that society needs also sustainable for the environment. In urban, regional, and transportation planning, you act as a mediator between politicians, citizens, and associations.
      • Your tasks include regional planning procedures, spatial impact assessments, building planning, land-use planning, green space planning, feasibility studies, and viability studies.
      • Other tasks may include writing expert reports, management, consulting, project management, and marketing.
      • In the area of passenger transportation, your tasks include planning for various modes of transportation, data collection and analysis, and cost calculations.
    • Landscape and Environmental Planning:
      • You primarily work in the public sector on the planning and implementation of environmental goals and the approval of planned projects.
      • You work focuses on minimizing conflicts between different interest groups. To this end, you conduct environmental impact assessments. draft regional development plans, and more.
      • You support private and public institutions in complying with ordinances and regulations and in submitting applications, for example, for the approval of construction projects. These projects can include the construction of new roads, the expansion of waterways, the extraction of surface-level resources, or the extraction of water from groundwater or surface water.
    • Coastal Protection and Water Conservation, Civil Protection and Disaster Control:
      • You monitor and coordinate the construction and maintenance of levees, tidal outlets, and pumping stations.
      • You develop forecasts and scenarios for spatial development and the impact of interventions and measures for coasts and waterways.
      • Your work contributes to keeping groundwater and drinking water clean in Germany.
      • You develop scenarios for disaster control and create evacuation and emergency plans.
    • Environmental and Climate Protection:
      • On the basis of legislation and action plans, you develop environmental courses of action which are both preventative and responsive toward specific climate and natural events.
      • You create a register of certain natural resources and plans for how to handle them.
      • Public servant in environmental administration: You implement technical environmental courses of action, e.g., in water and waste management or emissions and soil protection.

  • Industries and Occupations

    • Public sector administration, e.g. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation; Federal Office for Regional Planning; environmental agencies; Federal Ministry of the Interior; Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance; state, municipal, city, and district governments
    • Administration of national parks and nature conservation areas
    • Environmental non-governmental organizations
    • Environmental-technical assistance
    • Environmental IT: the intersection of environmental protection and information technology
    • Spatial planning associations, regional planning associations, urban planning offices
    • Chambers of commerce and industry, chambers of crafts
    • Transportation planning agencies, transportation associations, public utilities, energy suppliers
    • Regional management and marketing
    • Private sector, planning companies
    • Geoecology

  • Job Boards and Professional Associations

At a glance