I'm thinking about going back to school and getting a bachelor's degree in GIS. They also offer a GIS certificate, which could be another option, with or without a different degree, but for now I am leaning toward a GIS degree. I will be talking with a professor soon, but I just wondered if anyone here works in the field or could shed some light on the subject. I did learn a bit about GIS in a geography class recently, and I have Googled and read case studies about how it can be applied in different fields. In reading about what the professors at school have done (remote sensing, tracking disease/air pollution/water levels/forest habitat, where customers or students live, etc.), it all sounds very interesting. But then when I click on a link for info on *typical* jobs in GIS, those jobs do not sound so appealing (tech support, writing code, etc.). I'm sure the latter jobs would be great for a lot of people, but I just don't see myself in those. So, I am wondering, what kind of jobs can you get with a bachelor's degree in GIS? Do you have to have advanced degrees to have the former types of jobs mentioned? Thanks for any info.
Depends on what field you get your GIS degree in. I am not a GIS specialist, however you can get a Masters in community and Regional Planning with an environmental planning GIS emphasis. This could be used in to determine the effects of development on the environment. GIS is a computerized information management system that is only limited by the users ability to imagine what to do with it. It is a very time consuming challenging system that is very fun to experiment with. Good luck in your adventure.
Thanks, Radiant. Interesting point about the master's degree. I have found that in the bachelor's program they offer two concentrations, one is environmental, and one is urban planning. At this point, I have no idea which one I would prefer, but I plan to get more info at the school.
GIS is also heavily used in market research and advertising to profile neighborhoods and "audiences" geographically.
I work for a county government and we use GIS for virtually every mapping need we might have: street maps, utility lines, fire hydrants, emergency vehicle response routing, census tracts and other geographic subdivisions, waterways, demographic data ... you name it. It's a vital tool for a variety of governmental planning and operational functions. I generally don't use the GIS applications themselves. I use a third-party application that blends GIS street file data with fire and EMS response data for mapping response time performance and modeling future performance based on "what-if" scenarios. Not sure if this helps, but it gives you an idea of one application area. Bestmapman works with GIS. If he doesn't answer up here you might consider sending him a PM.
I am definitely interested in how GIS could help businesses. One of the case studies I read involved a college that offered a continuing ed financial course. They assumed that higher-income folks in the area would take advantage of this class. But a GIS study showed it was lower-income people who were registering for the course. With that information, the college was better able to target its marketing. Then again, it would be fun to help determine where the best cocoa could be (or is) grown. The world needs more chocolate.
Fascinating field. I am quite outside the center of it which suits me fine. The actual practioners experience steep learning curves and some degree of frustration. But it is quite a revolution in how to work with spaial data. Going into the field, websites such as GIS Development: Geospatial Application Papers ESRI Training - Library: Journals Could be useful.
A good employment site showing available GIS position descriptions across many fields, can be found at the GIS Jobs Clearinghouse. The site also has a clever mapping interface which will also show the location of those jobs on a world map (although this resource is mostly USA). The group I currently work with is hiring another GIS Analyst/Cartographer this month. The field has been good to me since the mid 1980’s, offering an interesting passage from a profession in forest management into other environmental science and land management opportunities. I’m a certified GIS professional, and work with a broader set of geomatics disciplines including surveying, remote sensing, and geodesy. The development of better software, computing hardware, networks, and complementary technology (e.g. LIDAR, digital photography, GPS, etc.) have been dramatic benefits to this science. Many aspects of life have a spatial component. Many jobs and careers face challenges with spatial problems. I think you will be positioning yourself well for many future opportunities if you choose an educational path that includes GIS. Best of luck with your future - you’ve got a good start with the synergy that’s bundled with your Prius J
I'm currently taking classes toward a certificate in GIS at a local community college. I have a bachelors degree in engineering, but I'm having a hard time finding another job in engineering, so I'm taking classes at night in GIS. I cannot take classes during the day without losing my unemployment benefits, but fortunately they offer all of the classes needed for the certificate in the evenings. A lot of the people in the classes are already working in the GIS field - either for county or state gov't agencies. I just interviewed for a state Scientific Aid position in GIS, but unfortunately I didn't get it. It would have paid less than unemployment, but I really am tired of unemployment so I would have accepted it anyway. I think there is a lot of potential in this field, especially if you are interested in working for the public sector - a lot of gov't agencies use GIS for a lot of different purposes.
