GIS analyst salaries in the growing GIS career field
GIS analyst salaries in a growing industry
The GIS industry is one of the fastest growing industries in our country. According to P&S Market Research the GIS Industry as a whole could be worth 17.5 Billion dollars by 2023 and The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that between 2014 to 2024, the GIS sector was set to grow by 19 percent, 7% faster than most other job sectors. The GIS sector is staying strong through COVID-19 since many tasks can be done remotely using cloud GIS solutions. GIS is being seen in every professional and academic discipline, which is providing for a career path nationally and internationally. The industry attracts professionals from virtually every academic discipline such as biology, archaeology, and statistics which the GIS Job Report, 2023 says creates a diversity of jobs. Here are the types of roles and commensurate salaries seen in the industry.
GIS Manager
Master’s degree in GIS studies or similar program. Candidates currently pursuing a master’s degree meet the minimum qualification. One year of professional work experience in a GIS position. Geographical information systems (GIS) managers are responsible for the day-to-day supervision of teams of IT experts that produce geographical data using specialized computer systems $50k-$130k
Skill Requirements ESRI ArcGIS, common Geoprocessing Tools, Network Analyst and Spatial Analyst. ESRI’s field tools (e.g., Collector) as well as ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS StoryMaps and ArcGIS Survey123
GIS Developer
Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, GIS or related fields Minimum 4 years’ experience in software development with an understanding of software engineering principles, and data structures with an Agile framework. $52-$115k
Skill Requirements ArcGIS Web app builder, Esri web map extensions, ArcGIS API for JavaScript, ArcGIS API for Python, ArcGIS REST API, .NET, C#, JavaScript, AngularJS, CSS, HTM, and Python
GIS Solution Engineer
BS degree in Geography, Computer Science, Environmental Science, or related fields, Masters degree preferred. Solutions engineers typically design, and implement large public-facing, enterprise software web-applications.$65k-$78k a year
Skill Requirements ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, Javascript, HTML, CSS, Understanding of APIs
Geospatial Database Architect
BS degree in environmental science, geography, computer science, or geology. At least 1 year of technical training and experience in database technology or GIS; or equivalent combination of education, experience and training that provides the prerequisite knowledge and skills. Evaluate, validate, and establish enterprise system and database requirements and design architecture to include software, infrastructure, data model and management, and support total requirements and interfaces. $74k-$155k
Skill Requirements MS Excel and MS Access, R, Python, SQL, or MatLab, ArcGIS Online
GIS Analyst
Typically have 1-4 years of experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Natural Science, or Geography. Collects, edits, analyzes, and interprets spatial data $40-$75k
Skill requirements Python, ArcGIS Desktop, ArcGIS Pro, AGOL, Portal, Collector, Survey123, GPS, remote sensing
How to learn GIS to get a job?
Getting a bachelor’s degree can provide general skills to success, but sometimes you need more specific skills to obtain the job that you want. More specific skills can be found through ESRI Academy or earn a GIS Certificate in 6 months in an online platform such as Bootcamp GIS. The value of a GIS Certificate will depend on the skills you get from the courses. It’s common to find college classes that are general in nature like an ‘Intro to cartography’. It’s also common to find classes by all commercial vendors that are software specific. Another good option is to find project based GIS classes taught by subject matter experts. Careers in GIS are becoming more popular by the day and upward mobility is fairly easy if you gain skills in developing and maintaining the map system rather than making a map. By doing this, you can improve your career competitiveness for higher GIS jobs salary almost immediately.
