Geographers are the experts who study about the features of earth such as the land, its inhabitants and their activities. Their research activities generally lead to effective solutions for the problems prevailing in the field of agriculture, business and regional planning. They are usually specialized in a particular area and confine their research on a specific aspect. There are physical geographers who study about landscape and climate, economic geographers who study about the distribution of economic resources, cultural geographers who study about vibrant social cultures and political geographers who study about the political phenomena. Geophysicists are the geoscientists who study about the forces that occur inside the earth’s crust like seismic waves, gravity and geomagnetic fields. They also analyze the peripheral characteristics of the earth. Unlike geographers, they only concentrate on the materialistic aspects of the planet earth.

Geographer and opportunities

As geographers study about various social aspects they can pursue their career in urban and transportation planning. Environmental firms and research institutes also offer a plethora of career avenues to the geographers. They can work in the fields of economic development and housing if they are specialized in economic geography. They can get into the defense and intelligence departments of the government. Medical field hire the service of medical geographers who study about health care systems.

Geophysicist and opportunities

Geophysicists can work in various oil companies if they are specialized in exploration geophysics. National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) offers several career avenues for the geophysicists. They can also find employment in Oil and Natural Gas Agency Limited. They can work as engineering geophysicists as well as environmental geophysicists. But such positions need specialization in the concerned field. Remote Sensing Scientist is another job opportunity available for geophysicists.

Key difference between Geographer and Geophysicist

• Geographers give importance to the activities of inhabitants in earth while Geophysicists give more focus on the physical structure of the earth
• Geographers need a Bachelor’s degree in geography where as Geophysicists should have a Bachelor’s degree in geophysics or allied subjects.

Geophysicists should have deep knowledge in the subjects like Physics and Mathematics. Such kind of knowledge is not necessary for Geographers.