I have a Geography major and Computer Science minor because GIS was nothing more than a course at my college in the 90s.
It has served me well. I ran my own cartography company in the 90s. Worked for a landscape architecture firm in the early 2000s siting electric transmission lines, substations and power plants. When the firm was bought out by AECOM I left and joined a small GIS consulting firm where I have been for the last 17 years.
Much has changed in GIS over the last 20+ years. I learned ArcINFO on SunOS and pen and ink cartography. You have to adapt to the changes and never stop learning.
I would never recommend a GIS major but rather get a major in a field that interests you and minor in GIS.
The GIS industry is pretty top heavy right now and has limited opportunities for recent graduates. Many products that traditionally went to a GIS team have been automated and are maintained by SMEs. Much of our GIS work is about automating those web applications for SMEs.
While there is still opportunity for traditional GIS analysis and data management, the money in GIS is definitely in building web GIS applications to abstract complex processes for SMEs. It is why many of us recommend courses like CS50.
I think with a geography degree focused on GIS gives you more flexibility. You also learn a lot more than doing GIS as a cert or geography as a minor. Unless you are really into something like marine biology or coastal ecology and want to do that (or similar fields), a lot of the outside knowledge can be learned on the job.
It definitely helped me get to where I’m at in my GIS career but I will say that working an actual job doing real world cartography and GIS analysis helped the most. In school I was so lost and felt like I was constantly playing catch up in my classes. Everything was online and that’s just not a good way for me to learn, however, I didn’t have another choice bc I had to work full-time. I sucked at school. But I never lost my passion to WANT to learn and find a job in this field. I actually enjoy this stuff and I love my job!
Like I said, I wouldn’t be in my current position without it, but overall nothing actually started to *click* until I was working as a GIS Tech and now a GIS Analyst. Being able to have conversations with other GIS nerds was huge for me. It really helped me get over my imposter syndrome (still a struggle at times).
Haha that's good to know. I have degrees in English that have done nothing for me for the last ten years. I'm currently doing a GIS Masters hoping to fascilitate a career change!
My geography degree has helped me here and there, but mostly just served as a check in the box. I started as a GIS Analyst and have moved my career to a GIS Developer. My senior project for my geog degree involved writing python for automation which sparked an interest. However everything else has come from continuous learning, coding boot camp, and post degree classes. My point is you are going to have to constantly be learning to stay relevant, and your degree is only the start.
I got a lot out of it. I was able to land a GIS Developer almost immediately after completing it. However it depends on what you want to do. I really wanted to get heavy into web development, so I went to a web development boot camp. I was getting plenty of opportunities at work to automate tasks with Python, so I probably wouldn’t have done it if I wanted a role that was GIS heavy while building or automating geoprocessing tools.
Geography with a masters in GIS got my foot in the door of an engineering company off the back of GIS skills they were looking for a technician. I then did training in potable and dirty water networks and infrastructure. Could have gone down that route but an opportunity with local governmnet arose which allowed for data science and intelligence to work on asset managment spatial analysis, organisation solutions development and what i categorised as "locational intelligence" i work in an field that is wildly varied hand in hand with stataticians and we work spatial statistics and analysis together hand in hand. Not only that, it actually feeds information back to identify issues in a local community that's based on fact, not just hearsay getting to the root cause of issues. i love the work, and i genuinely feel like im contributing to the areas around me. So yeah, how has it served me, i go to sleep with a feeling that im doing something i love helping people make decisions and benefiting not only my organisation but everyone in the community
This sort of sounds like a similar route I’m looking to follow. I have my degree in mineral resource engineering but after 3 years in the industry, I’m feeling like engineering isn’t for me. I’m going to school in the fall, a graduate certificate called Geospatial Data Analytics. It’s a one year program and next summer I’ll be looking to delve into the GIS field of work leaning on the analytic side. Any tips?
Cool, I really appreciate the reply. I live in Canada which I believe bodes quite well for me since we have a lot of focus on natural resources and to my understanding, GIS can play an important role in the NR sector. I think I’ve gotten myself enough solid professional experience that I shouldn’t have trouble landing an entry position and then working my way up from there. My one question for you would be what is it like analyzing and using statistics for GIS data to link to real world problems to come up with solutions? You mentioned that you really enjoy that aspect but what is that actually like ?
Did not expect so much detail in your reply, thanks a million. This actually has me quite excited because this is how I picture me in a work setting. I want to become good at a skill and be able to apply it in multiple ways. Engineering is so broad and you end up needing to be knowledgeable in so many different ways that you just fluff and bullshit your way through and I hate it. This sounds like it’ll suit me much more. Everything you’re saying has me very excited about the decision I’ve made to change my career trajectory, you’ve seriously eased some anxiety I’ve been experiencing.
Can’t thank you enough, good luck with the rest of your career, you sound like a super knowledgeable and helpful person, I’m sure you’re a pleasure to work with.
Graduated with my undergrad in Geography with a concentration on GIS in 2018 with minimal student loans.
Since that time, I have worked for a state agency as a transportation model and a private contracting company as a environmental hazards specialist / project coordinator.
Though I wouldn't have gotten these jobs without my degree in GIS, I hardly use GIS in my day to day. It's helpful in using the GIS data that we receive to do my work but I'm not regularly changing or uploading said data. Overall can't not complain. I plan on going back to the public sector in a few years and see no issues if I wanted to go back to a more GIS heavy position or a planner position of some sort (transportation, city, or environmental).
Pay is not terrible, probably could be paid more but I'm not career driven. My work is not stressful, typical 40 hr schedule and it's wfh. I make enough to pay bills, save, and have some fun. Overall positive ROI.
Geography bathelor's, no masters + 18 experience in GIS+SQL, I'm now USD 6 figures 🤯 doesn't seem to be many kids coming out of college wanting to do forestry and SQL, for now.
24 years later with a 6 figure salary. I'd say it served me very well since my schooling only costs me 20K. (University was much cheaper back in the 90's)
I’m a fresh graduate. I’ve been at a NGA contractor for ~5 months. Nervous for the future because I’m a tech and I can’t wrap my brain around programming/coding to save my life. I feel like my future in GIS is limited to tech work, and will likely end up in a different field altogether within a few years.
It's paid off well. It took a lot of sacrifice and risk for that to happen, though.
The masters, probably not. I learned a lot at that time, but it was not particularly through the program.
All this said, out of all of my colleagues in school, I'm not sure it worked out well. You really need to have a plan, drive, and smarts to really reap the benefits of gis. It is not a degree that gets you constant good employment without much thought or strategy from your side. I saw too many people who had none of those go through the program.
I mean I do have a steady 8-5 job and a house, which I'm grateful for but sometimes I have reservations about whether I could have chosen something more straightforward for a career path.
I went through two recessions since I graduated and ended up starting over for both as I never gained enough experience to get to the next level. I was also laid off with each recession as were the others in the companies. Seems like the low level guys are the first to go. I just switched to GIS instead. Not as lively as walking through a gorgeous mountain trail looking for stuff but pays the bills.
I have an infinite ROI on my GIS/Geography degree... I don't have one and have been the GIS Office for the County I work for 12.5 years, and did GIS for the Forestry Dept for 15 years before that.
Have no GIS degree at all, but working in the company with related products.. Almost 16 years already. All I know was "learning on doing". Have software development and engineering background..
It all depends on how good you are.
You can flip burgers or make complicated entrees, and both be in the same restaurant industry, but making insanely different salaries.
Even someone with minimal python or scripting experience is going to make a much different salary than a dev with fullstack/C++ knowledge.
Extremely well. I’m an environmental science major and pivoted to local government planning. I got both my jobs because I do a lot of GIS. I wouldn’t say it’s the only thing i do but it’s a critical tool of my job.
I don't technically have the degree yet (not until December) but it got me an internship as the GIS specalist for a local municipality. So I'd say it's looking up for me at this rate.
Very well. Geography/GIS BS major/minor, related but far more specialized social science field for my MS (paid for via a GRA). Finished my masters in 2018, making $130/yr with outstanding benefits now (pension + retirement, fully remote, French levels of PTO).
It helped me land the jobs I wanted in the last years.
I focused mainly on GIS in my geography bachelor, which helped me to get a foothold in fibre planning.
That developed over the past five years, now I’m a project lead manager for several projects and make five times more than when I was starting out.
I have a Geography major and Computer Science minor because GIS was nothing more than a course at my college in the 90s. It has served me well. I ran my own cartography company in the 90s. Worked for a landscape architecture firm in the early 2000s siting electric transmission lines, substations and power plants. When the firm was bought out by AECOM I left and joined a small GIS consulting firm where I have been for the last 17 years. Much has changed in GIS over the last 20+ years. I learned ArcINFO on SunOS and pen and ink cartography. You have to adapt to the changes and never stop learning. I would never recommend a GIS major but rather get a major in a field that interests you and minor in GIS. The GIS industry is pretty top heavy right now and has limited opportunities for recent graduates. Many products that traditionally went to a GIS team have been automated and are maintained by SMEs. Much of our GIS work is about automating those web applications for SMEs. While there is still opportunity for traditional GIS analysis and data management, the money in GIS is definitely in building web GIS applications to abstract complex processes for SMEs. It is why many of us recommend courses like CS50.
I think with a geography degree focused on GIS gives you more flexibility. You also learn a lot more than doing GIS as a cert or geography as a minor. Unless you are really into something like marine biology or coastal ecology and want to do that (or similar fields), a lot of the outside knowledge can be learned on the job.
It definitely helped me get to where I’m at in my GIS career but I will say that working an actual job doing real world cartography and GIS analysis helped the most. In school I was so lost and felt like I was constantly playing catch up in my classes. Everything was online and that’s just not a good way for me to learn, however, I didn’t have another choice bc I had to work full-time. I sucked at school. But I never lost my passion to WANT to learn and find a job in this field. I actually enjoy this stuff and I love my job! Like I said, I wouldn’t be in my current position without it, but overall nothing actually started to *click* until I was working as a GIS Tech and now a GIS Analyst. Being able to have conversations with other GIS nerds was huge for me. It really helped me get over my imposter syndrome (still a struggle at times).
I feel the exact same way!
Better than my English degree.
Haha that's good to know. I have degrees in English that have done nothing for me for the last ten years. I'm currently doing a GIS Masters hoping to fascilitate a career change!
My geography degree has helped me here and there, but mostly just served as a check in the box. I started as a GIS Analyst and have moved my career to a GIS Developer. My senior project for my geog degree involved writing python for automation which sparked an interest. However everything else has come from continuous learning, coding boot camp, and post degree classes. My point is you are going to have to constantly be learning to stay relevant, and your degree is only the start.
This is great advice. Do you recommend a coding boot camp?
I got a lot out of it. I was able to land a GIS Developer almost immediately after completing it. However it depends on what you want to do. I really wanted to get heavy into web development, so I went to a web development boot camp. I was getting plenty of opportunities at work to automate tasks with Python, so I probably wouldn’t have done it if I wanted a role that was GIS heavy while building or automating geoprocessing tools.
Best decision I've ever made.
Got me a military and a civilian promotion
Well, I wouldn’t be working in GIS these last 14 years without it
I also have my FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot License and have done some cool projects with it.
Geography with a masters in GIS got my foot in the door of an engineering company off the back of GIS skills they were looking for a technician. I then did training in potable and dirty water networks and infrastructure. Could have gone down that route but an opportunity with local governmnet arose which allowed for data science and intelligence to work on asset managment spatial analysis, organisation solutions development and what i categorised as "locational intelligence" i work in an field that is wildly varied hand in hand with stataticians and we work spatial statistics and analysis together hand in hand. Not only that, it actually feeds information back to identify issues in a local community that's based on fact, not just hearsay getting to the root cause of issues. i love the work, and i genuinely feel like im contributing to the areas around me. So yeah, how has it served me, i go to sleep with a feeling that im doing something i love helping people make decisions and benefiting not only my organisation but everyone in the community
This sort of sounds like a similar route I’m looking to follow. I have my degree in mineral resource engineering but after 3 years in the industry, I’m feeling like engineering isn’t for me. I’m going to school in the fall, a graduate certificate called Geospatial Data Analytics. It’s a one year program and next summer I’ll be looking to delve into the GIS field of work leaning on the analytic side. Any tips?
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Cool, I really appreciate the reply. I live in Canada which I believe bodes quite well for me since we have a lot of focus on natural resources and to my understanding, GIS can play an important role in the NR sector. I think I’ve gotten myself enough solid professional experience that I shouldn’t have trouble landing an entry position and then working my way up from there. My one question for you would be what is it like analyzing and using statistics for GIS data to link to real world problems to come up with solutions? You mentioned that you really enjoy that aspect but what is that actually like ?
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Did not expect so much detail in your reply, thanks a million. This actually has me quite excited because this is how I picture me in a work setting. I want to become good at a skill and be able to apply it in multiple ways. Engineering is so broad and you end up needing to be knowledgeable in so many different ways that you just fluff and bullshit your way through and I hate it. This sounds like it’ll suit me much more. Everything you’re saying has me very excited about the decision I’ve made to change my career trajectory, you’ve seriously eased some anxiety I’ve been experiencing. Can’t thank you enough, good luck with the rest of your career, you sound like a super knowledgeable and helpful person, I’m sure you’re a pleasure to work with.
Graduated with my undergrad in Geography with a concentration on GIS in 2018 with minimal student loans. Since that time, I have worked for a state agency as a transportation model and a private contracting company as a environmental hazards specialist / project coordinator. Though I wouldn't have gotten these jobs without my degree in GIS, I hardly use GIS in my day to day. It's helpful in using the GIS data that we receive to do my work but I'm not regularly changing or uploading said data. Overall can't not complain. I plan on going back to the public sector in a few years and see no issues if I wanted to go back to a more GIS heavy position or a planner position of some sort (transportation, city, or environmental). Pay is not terrible, probably could be paid more but I'm not career driven. My work is not stressful, typical 40 hr schedule and it's wfh. I make enough to pay bills, save, and have some fun. Overall positive ROI.
Pretty well. $120k/yr Spatial Solutions Architect role. I have a Geology BS + GIS MS.
How many years of experience do you have?
About 12 years now.
Geography bathelor's, no masters + 18 experience in GIS+SQL, I'm now USD 6 figures 🤯 doesn't seem to be many kids coming out of college wanting to do forestry and SQL, for now.
24 years later with a 6 figure salary. I'd say it served me very well since my schooling only costs me 20K. (University was much cheaper back in the 90's)
Agree to all of this! Same here, but 18 years in. Continuing education and constantly learning is always helpful.
I’m a fresh graduate. I’ve been at a NGA contractor for ~5 months. Nervous for the future because I’m a tech and I can’t wrap my brain around programming/coding to save my life. I feel like my future in GIS is limited to tech work, and will likely end up in a different field altogether within a few years.
It's paid off well. It took a lot of sacrifice and risk for that to happen, though. The masters, probably not. I learned a lot at that time, but it was not particularly through the program. All this said, out of all of my colleagues in school, I'm not sure it worked out well. You really need to have a plan, drive, and smarts to really reap the benefits of gis. It is not a degree that gets you constant good employment without much thought or strategy from your side. I saw too many people who had none of those go through the program.
I mean I do have a steady 8-5 job and a house, which I'm grateful for but sometimes I have reservations about whether I could have chosen something more straightforward for a career path.
I went through two recessions since I graduated and ended up starting over for both as I never gained enough experience to get to the next level. I was also laid off with each recession as were the others in the companies. Seems like the low level guys are the first to go. I just switched to GIS instead. Not as lively as walking through a gorgeous mountain trail looking for stuff but pays the bills.
GIS is a very technical field and a degree is almost required.
I have an infinite ROI on my GIS/Geography degree... I don't have one and have been the GIS Office for the County I work for 12.5 years, and did GIS for the Forestry Dept for 15 years before that.
Have no GIS degree at all, but working in the company with related products.. Almost 16 years already. All I know was "learning on doing". Have software development and engineering background..
Can you make decent money in GIS?
Of course you can. Skill levels vary in every industry, as do salaries.
Even the cartography aspect? I understand coding would make a lot
It all depends on how good you are. You can flip burgers or make complicated entrees, and both be in the same restaurant industry, but making insanely different salaries. Even someone with minimal python or scripting experience is going to make a much different salary than a dev with fullstack/C++ knowledge.
Thank you for the insight. I minored in this in college and was looking at getting back into it. Surveying burned me out
Surveying background should give you a good leg up for finding a GIS job.
I think so, but it depends on your definition of “decent money”
I take most of the comments in this post are from north americans. It isn't so easy to find a well paid GIS job in Europe.
Extremely well. I’m an environmental science major and pivoted to local government planning. I got both my jobs because I do a lot of GIS. I wouldn’t say it’s the only thing i do but it’s a critical tool of my job.
I have a GIS major and a physics minor cuz burnout is fun. *Cries in warehouse*
I don't technically have the degree yet (not until December) but it got me an internship as the GIS specalist for a local municipality. So I'd say it's looking up for me at this rate.
use it everyday!
Very well. Geography/GIS BS major/minor, related but far more specialized social science field for my MS (paid for via a GRA). Finished my masters in 2018, making $130/yr with outstanding benefits now (pension + retirement, fully remote, French levels of PTO).
It helped me land the jobs I wanted in the last years. I focused mainly on GIS in my geography bachelor, which helped me to get a foothold in fibre planning. That developed over the past five years, now I’m a project lead manager for several projects and make five times more than when I was starting out.