Geographer at Work

ROUTE TO THE JOB: " I had just finished an MA in music theory composition in 1980, and had originally intended to get a doctorate in music. Thinking that professional jobs in music and full time teaching positions would be difficult to find, I chose to work on a (second) masters degree in a science related discipline. The reason I chose Physical Geography was because: 1) this is a concentration where I had already received a second undergraduate major; 2) the discipline is a dynamic subject area which included many courses which interested me; and 3) this is an area where I felt it was possible to find meaningful employment. After all-it was the early 1980's and there was a growing relationship between the Geography and Geology Department at Eastern Michigan University and both the Defense Mapping Agency and the Detroit District of the Army Corps of Engineers.