How Much Education is Required for a GIS Job?
There are many levels of education required for a GIS job. In today's world the more education the better the pay but generally there are some minimums that can get you started in a GIS job.
Associate degrees in GIS can qualify individuals for jobs as GIS technicians. These 2 year courses will provide the graduate with familiarity with GIS software, the ability to input topographical and geographical data into the system, how to locate errors within the database and in some positions even collect data in the field. More and more companies are also showing preference toward GIS technicians with some programming abilities.
A bachelor degree is required for GIS analysis jobs and more colleges and universities are offering GIS majors, which consist of not only cartography and geology but computer sciences and programming languages. These are multidisciplinary programs, and are intended to address the multiple skills required to get a good GIS job.
A graduate with a degree in another field might choose to return to college and take additional coursework that focused upon aspects of GIS their major might not have covered. In that, way the educational requirements for a job in GIS might be met without having to achieve another degree.
Where to Find the GIS Job
GIS can be found in a lot more places than just government aerial surveys. The national weather service, the forestry service and many branches of the federal government use GIS specialists. Federal and State government jobs for professionals are stable and usually have excellent benefits and these jobs can be in the GIS career field can be suitable for some professionals however, the GIS job can be found in non-profit associations, private industry and internet companies as well.
Google and their Google maps are an excellent example of a popular and commonly used GIS product in for profit business. Environmentally active agencies often use GIS professionals in creating maps of trends, species movements or even pollution and its spread.
How to Find Your Dream GIS Job
Jobs in GIS are growing faster than almost any other group of jobs. IT is the wave of the future however, GIS is applicable to so many fields that the jobs may well be spread out as mentioned. Therefore, job searches for GIS jobs should be as comprehensive as possible for the serious career minded job seeker.
GIS jobs are not normally neatly piled into a single category labeled ''GIS'' they may be found within the computer-programming category as well. They might be found tagged as geography or geology if you are doing an online search.
Therefore it is important that you make your search as broad as possible and unless you have a specific field in mind. Prepare your resume and cover letter with care and highlight any work or practical experience you have had with GIS software.
If you are beginning, your search online then employment, sites that specialize in GIS are a great place to start. Most will list GIS jobs, by categories, such as technicians, specialists, even digitizers. They should also feature a filter so that you can choose and area or country you want to search as well as the job type.
A good GIS job may require relocation that part can be variable, but if you are not amenable to relocations and no immediate local jobs are available, then you might consider working as a GIS consultant, or in a related field that use the GIS skills until a local prospect is found. The important part of finding the right GIS job is to be consistent in the job search allocate a set amount of time to following up leads per day, it is your job until gainful employment is located. It may take a while to find exactly the right employer who needs your GIS skills and qualifications but if you persist, the outcome is bound to be in your favor.
