The nature of GIS jobs span the entire range of job types ranging from part time jobs, full time jobs, contractual project type jobs and consultancy jobs. Based on a 2006 salary survey by Salary.com entry level GIS staff earned an average of $31,387 while senior GIS staff took home an average of $83,333. A more recent survey by PayScale.com of entry level GIS jobs in the US indicated that the pay seemed to have moved higher to $39,915. The following sections look at the different factors that can affect GIS a job salary.
Experience
As one would expect, experience is a key factor in determining the remuneration of any GIS job. This is an important point to note since as a new entrant into the industry, one must have realistic expectations as to the salary amount they can expect to receive. One path you can take to start to shore up your experience as early as possible is to look for internship in a GIS organization even before you complete your college studies. Another way to improve the quality of your experience is to start off as a general technician or a regular engineer before specializing in GIS. That way, you would have a more holistic understanding of the environment within which work in GIS involves. According to a survey by PayScale.com, the median salary for those who work in GIS careers and have more than 20 years of work experience is $78,871, that for persons with between 10 and 20 years experience is $68,625, $57,064 is the median for those with 5 to 10 years experience while GIS professionals with 1 to 4 years have a median income of $46,264 per annum.
Education level
Experience is important but educational qualification is more fundamental when it comes to negotiating better pay. The GIS related certification that attracted the highest salary was the Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD). Individuals with the MCAD credential earned an average of $96,000. Other recognized certifications that help shore up one's income include Engineers in Training (EITs) that showed an average pay of $55,300, Certified Professional Engineers (PEs) that attracted $68,815 in annual remuneration, Project Management Professional (PMP) that had average pay of $85,000 and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) certification got $48,365 on average. GIS professionals with post graduate qualifications also earn higher than those with a first degree only.
The GIS career type
GIS is a fairly broad profession and the type of role one is assigned plays a major factor as to the amount of compensation they can expect to receive. GIS software programmers with the appropriate certifications earned an average of $51,585 in 2009. GIS database administrators with a Microsoft database administrator credential or an equivalent certification earned about $50,500 per annum. On the whole, IT related GIS careers earned anywhere between $32,000 and $89,000. GIS environmental engineers and GIS health engineers earned a salary that largely ranged between $44,159 and $57,414. In the same year, Environmental GIS Project Engineers averaged $56,529 while Environmental GIS Engineering Consultants got $49,680. A GIA Analysts salary averaged $46,557 while that of the GIS Specialist was marginally higher at $48,786. Soil Scientists is another GIS related profession and the average pay here was $48,812 in 2009.
Geographical location of the GIS opportunity
Geographical location may be the least important factor when it comes to determining GIS a job remuneration. Work in GIS careers in different states can vary mostly due to the cost of living and level of sophistication of the work environment. As at 2009, the highest paying region was Colorado with an average salary of $58,976. The median salary for New York was $51,082, California was at $58,409, Texas GIS jobs paid $54,556, Florida was at $49,370, Virginia was hinged at $55,229 and Georgia GIS jobs were at $49,979.
How to get the best job opportunities
One of the main keys to getting a well paying GIS job is knowing where to look for the jobs from. The industry you settle on and the organization you choose will affect your salary pay and your career growth. Few sites on work in GIS can come close to GISCrossing.com. GISCrossing.com lists a broad range of GIS career opportunities. Register today for a free trial account and you can very well open up your career to greater opportunities than you had ever envisaged.
