Urban planner to geographer
An urban planner already meets 69% of what the geographer role asks for. The move turns on 7 required skills not yet in the profile.
44.1/ 100
1 How much of what a geographer is expected to do is already part of an urban planner’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the geographer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A geographer role treats 34 of its required skills as things an urban planner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply for research funding
- apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities
- communicate with a non-scientific audience
- conduct public surveys
- conduct research across disciplines
- demonstrate disciplinary expertise
What stands in the way is 7 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 40 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A geographer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an urban planner background worth leading with.
- already held spatial planning engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held urban planning engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held scientific modelling information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held conduct public surveys information skills
- already held cartography engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held geography natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 40 carried skills, including the 34 the geographer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 33 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn apply scientific methods required
- still to learn apply statistical analysis techniques required
- still to learn collect data using GPS required
- still to learn find trends in geographic data required
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held interpret aerial photos of timber optional
- optional, not held collect mapping data optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held create GIS reports optional
- optional, not held study aerial photos optional
- optional, not held study radar images optional
- still to learn cultural geography required
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held climatology optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held geology optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- optional, not held design customised maps optional
- optional, not held design graphics optional
- optional, not held interview focus groups optional
- optional, not held teach geography optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
- optional, not held digital data processing optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
- optional, not held create thematic maps optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- optional, not held photogrammetry optional
- optional, not held surveying optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a geographer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 cultural geography study this
- 02 geographic information systems study this
- 03 apply scientific methods practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 40 skills that carry over
- already held apply for research funding skill
- already held apply research ethics and scientific integrity principles in research activities skill
- already held communicate with a non-scientific audience skill
- already held conduct public surveys skill
- already held conduct research across disciplines skill
- already held demonstrate disciplinary expertise skill
- already held develop professional network with researchers and scientists skill
- already held disseminate results to the scientific community skill
- already held draft scientific or academic papers and technical documentation skill
- already held evaluate research activities skill
- already held geography knowledge
- already held increase the impact of science on policy and society skill
- already held integrate gender dimension in research skill
- already held interact professionally in research and professional environments skill
- already held manage findable accessible interoperable and reusable data skill
- already held manage intellectual property rights skill
- already held manage open publications skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage research data skill
- already held mentor individuals skill
- already held operate open source software skill
- already held perform project management skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held promote open innovation in research skill
- already held promote the participation of citizens in scientific and research activities skill
- already held promote the transfer of knowledge skill
- already held publish academic research skill
- already held scientific modelling knowledge
- already held scientific research methodology knowledge
- already held speak different languages skill
- already held synthesise information skill
- already held think abstractly skill
- already held use geographic information systems skill
- already held write scientific publications skill
- already held apply blended learning skill
- already held cartography knowledge
- already held provide technical expertise skill
- already held spatial planning knowledge
- already held teach in academic or vocational contexts skill
- already held urban planning knowledge
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held empirical analysis optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
26 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held analyse environmental data optional
- optional, not held develop scientific theories optional
- optional, not held digital data processing optional
- optional, not held interpret aerial photos of timber optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
- optional, not held climatology optional
- optional, not held collect mapping data optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held create GIS reports optional
- optional, not held create thematic maps optional
- optional, not held design customised maps optional
- optional, not held design graphics optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held empirical analysis optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held geology optional
- optional, not held interview focus groups optional
- optional, not held operate remote sensing equipment optional
- optional, not held photogrammetry optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- optional, not held study aerial photos optional
- optional, not held study radar images optional
- optional, not held surveying optional
- optional, not held teach geography optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- optional, not held write research proposals optional
42 held skills the geographer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAD software knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise architects skill
- not needed by the target role advise on architectural matters skill
- not needed by the target role advise on building matters skill
- not needed by the target role advise on legislative acts skill
- not needed by the target role advise on pollution prevention skill
- not needed by the target role advise on use of land skill
- not needed by the target role architectural conservation knowledge
- not needed by the target role architecture regulations knowledge
- not needed by the target role bicycle sharing systems knowledge
- not needed by the target role build business relationships skill
- not needed by the target role building codes knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with local residents skill
- not needed by the target role community-led local development knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct land surveys skill
- not needed by the target role construction methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role demography knowledge
- not needed by the target role design spatial layout of outdoor areas skill
- not needed by the target role develop concepts for city marketing skill
- not needed by the target role develop innovative mobility solutions skill
- not needed by the target role ensure infrastructure accessibility skill
- not needed by the target role environmental policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
- not needed by the target role green building practices knowledge
- not needed by the target role green space strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role historic architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role landscape architecture knowledge
- not needed by the target role liaise with local authorities skill
- not needed by the target role meet building regulations skill
- not needed by the target role plan public housing skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role promote innovative infrastructure design skill
- not needed by the target role promote sustainability skill
- not needed by the target role public housing legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role rural development strategies knowledge
- not needed by the target role smart city features knowledge
- not needed by the target role study human population skill
- not needed by the target role study traffic flow skill
- not needed by the target role topography knowledge
- not needed by the target role urban sustainability knowledge
2 further entries not listed here
11 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn cultural geography required
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn statistics required
- optional, not held climatology optional
- optional, not held ecology optional
- optional, not held empirical analysis optional
- optional, not held environmental legislation optional
- optional, not held geology optional
- optional, not held photogrammetry optional
- optional, not held remote sensing techniques optional
- optional, not held surveying optional
Common questions about this move
Can an urban planner become a geographer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An urban planner already covers 69% of what a geographer is expected to do: 40 skills carry over, 34 of which the geographer role treats as required.
What skills does an urban planner need to become a geographer?
7 required skills are missing, plus 26 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is cultural geography.
How hard is the move from urban planner to geographer?
Its learning distance is 44.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.