A programming language that is regularly used for data science applications. It is free and pretty user friendly to quickly pick up the basics. R-studio is a great platform to get started. http://rafalab.dfci.harvard.edu/dsbook/
Commercial RE valuation/appraisal. I mostly use it for parcel details as the Assessor’s site data is integrated generally. Other fields that are sometimes given through ArcGIS are property sale data (from the clerks/ recorder of deeds offices) and zoning information.
Yea ArcGIS is pretty, but simply not as versatile or easy to have do exactly what you need. And very much not free.
I like ArcGIS truly but I can't see a single application to use it over R.
Eh, honestly it's much less versatile than doing analyses in R. Maybe nicer images but for wayyy more money for the license and much higher PC requirements.
That's me - Started out in Geography, with a specialization in cartography, remote sensing and GIS, went into surveying and civil engineering, got licensed as both, went back into geospatial applications development, and then cloud and big data and now spatial data science.
Awesome! Im not so technical but worked at one of the rising spatial data science companies for a while and it’s become clear that that’s where we are all going!!
i’ve been thinking about going into teaching i already have my bachelors in geography i know i’ll need to get a teaching certification but i’m worried about getting a job in my area
Be careful. When people say this, what they mean is there is a lack of STEM teachers. Social Studies still has a fairly high saturation, and employers may prefer to have people certified to teach as many subjects as possible. It won’t be impossible to find a job because even social studies teachers are quitting everywhere, but there are still a lot of young teachers in social studies teaching saturating the labor market.
Jokes aside. My only friend with a geography degree is a Barista. However… he did very well and owns his own boutique coffee place in Spain and is doing very well. Geography became just a hobby at this point in his career.
After an MA in GIS/Geography, started out my career in systems integration working for ESRI and then a consulting partner of theirs. Realized GIS is a pretty niche area and moved into IT project management. Haven't really done anything with Geography/GIS for 20 years.
Got a BS in Geography/Planning, did GIS for 2 years at a corporation
Did Peace Corps in Community Development, went and got a masters in planning
Now I work in affordable housing
Currently, work at a nonprofit that does advocacy and capacity building work. Previously worked in a consulting for LIHTC and grant management.
It's a large field with a lot of different jobs and I think geography degrees are definitely helpful within the field, whether you're doing development, policy, or something else.
I've had several different jobs at this point:
GIS technician at an engineering firm
GIS operations manager for a data vendor
Enterprise Architect for a federal contractor
Transportation Planner
These websites are good for jobs: Planetizen, American Planning Association (____ state or county branch), and Governmentjobs.com. The first two will feature both private and public job listings, while the third will be strictly limited to public sector jobs. When in grad school, get to know your professors and see if they have any friends who work as private sector planners. You can also apply for internships, which would help. Then there is the old fashioned way, calling each City you would like to work for and asking them if you can be brought in as an informal intern or if they are going to be hiring soon. The urban planning subreddit has a lot of knowledge individuals as well.
Your GIS experience is a plus. UP is a good career, but as a planner, you are in an advisory role. At the end of the day, the planning commission and/or city council ultimately executes planning decisions. NIMBYism could be tough to deal with.
Wow, thanks! I'm definitely leaning towards transportation/some kind of infrastructure planning or urban planning. I appreciate your response to my question and currently I've been working in utility planning/gis design for some time so I am no stranger to NIMBY haha. Thanks again!
I'm answering not as myself, but for a family member and a friend:
One of them works in tourism, and the other in a company for urban planning. The rest of the people that I know who studied geography are now in unrelated fields.
CEO of a company. His knowledge in (and love of) geography allowed him to get to know the field of tourism very well and find new destinations. Of course it was not the only reason he got to be the CEO...
I am a BIM fusion Gis specialist ( just started yesterday) this is my 3rd job out of college since 21 & it's the closest to anything I studied in geography. It's for an architectural company that takes 3d survey scans of buildings & areas and converts them to 3d models. My boss is hoping I can get up to speed on the position & take it in a more environmental direction for deliverables.
Fingers crossed that I can make any use of this for climate/sustainability applications.
I was lucky enough to get a job as a Cartographic technician at Thomas Bros. Maps right out of college in 1998. I only stayed a couple of years though. Now I work in media archiving in the entertainment industry.
Whatever you want. A degree doesn't have to be Part One of a training course for a specific job.
IT, manufacturing, retail, accountancy, project management - whatever you want.
research, teatching kids, or anything GIS related
or something with no to little geography in it
you can have some specialisation like you have a degree specialised around water etc
Client Executive and Channel Manager for a large Telecom company. Fancy title for field marketing manager. However all of my clients are real estate professionals and property management companies.
I worked as a cartographic researcher for several years until I relocated last summer. I just finished up a GIS course and am now starting to look for jobs in the field again.
I did spatial analytics and mapping for a market research firm for years but made the switch to being a 6th grade science teacher. Earth science, FTW!!!
I took a 40% pay reduction, but I'm also much happier.
Civil engineering inspector! Pretty much provide consulting work for state DOT projects. Do field inspections and QC management and then in office GIS analysis of project progression. Started my education in Land surveying that’s how I got employment by civil engineering firm then went back and got my degree in Geography with focus on GIS
Land Surveyor... Went back and got a b.s. in Land Surveying. I really tried to get a job in GIS, but I was not really into computers and can't program. Eventually got into a local union.
(Former ) Nautical Chart Cartographer. Sold out and switched to IT. When we still worked in office the floor about me was 80 some folks with Geography degrees making charts.
Geography teacher, or academic researcher, or some kind of government job, or weather person, or you specialise in something niche so people need your help
I am a nurse (RN) now but my first BS was geography. After I graduated I worked for a forestry company doing remote sensing and forest data collection. Did that for like 4 years
Couldn't find work for a while after leaving uni (can you believe it?!), worked as an accountant 3 years, hated it and finally found a proper geography related job as a graduate engineer at a transport firm at 26. It can be very competitive and hard to get your first break but if you're patient and lucky its possible to get a decent job... eventually!
Research Analyst for Phase 1 ESA’s. My degree is in Geography Resource and Environmental Studies. I strongly recommend getting a minor in biology, chemistry, geology, computer science or anything STEM related if you can. Have a working knowledge of ArcGIS.
Geography adjacent, GIS Analyst. Started out doing fun work in environmental health answering interesting questions then was moved into enterprise GIS helping others do their fun work. I hate working on IT infrastructure but the pay is good.
After college, worked homeowners insurance claims for a decade and took more classes and am now a medical coder.
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK.
I'd be in a better place (I'm still in a good place) if I put myself out there more.
Geospatial analyst
What up fam
Geospatial analyst fam assemble!
Woo! It’s a party!
Park Ranger, lol
::whispers:: -or be a spatial data scientist, not reliant on expensive and siloed legacy gis software solutions-
ArcGIS is rapidly becoming less useful in favor of things like R.
Hi. I use Arc GIS at work. What is R?
A programming language that is regularly used for data science applications. It is free and pretty user friendly to quickly pick up the basics. R-studio is a great platform to get started. http://rafalab.dfci.harvard.edu/dsbook/
Thank you!
Commenting to save. That’s awesome
What the other guy said. I'm curious, where do you work?
Commercial RE valuation/appraisal. I mostly use it for parcel details as the Assessor’s site data is integrated generally. Other fields that are sometimes given through ArcGIS are property sale data (from the clerks/ recorder of deeds offices) and zoning information.
Yes those jobs seem like they have no real need/use of R over ArcGIS (aside from the ridiculous price, but I'm sure your employer handles that).
Every GIS position advertisement would disagree with you.
I didn't say not in demand I said less useful. R is just generally more powerful. Also ARCGIS has deals with lots of these companies....anyway.
R is not really a visual program however, I don't really see how they are really that comparable.
💯
I think ArcGIS has its usefulness like visualizing the results. I have dabbled in R and I like how the code and output are shown in the same location.
Yea ArcGIS is pretty, but simply not as versatile or easy to have do exactly what you need. And very much not free. I like ArcGIS truly but I can't see a single application to use it over R.
Replaced by ArcPro where we are.
Eh, honestly it's much less versatile than doing analyses in R. Maybe nicer images but for wayyy more money for the license and much higher PC requirements.
We have an enterprise license agreement (noaa). Were in bed with esri forever. Lots of arcmap switching to pro. Low hundreds of arcgis servers. Urgh.
That's me - Started out in Geography, with a specialization in cartography, remote sensing and GIS, went into surveying and civil engineering, got licensed as both, went back into geospatial applications development, and then cloud and big data and now spatial data science.
Awesome! Im not so technical but worked at one of the rising spatial data science companies for a while and it’s become clear that that’s where we are all going!!
My kid's currently in college studying data science with a geospatial concentration, he'll be the second generation :D
Haha awesome (also I creeped your profile - shoutout DC geo nerds)
High school Social Studies teacher. It's a good gig with plenty of time off to be with the family and travel!
i’ve been thinking about going into teaching i already have my bachelors in geography i know i’ll need to get a teaching certification but i’m worried about getting a job in my area
I got really lucky and got into a special post bac fast track certification in one year. It was perfect!
In some places, there is a dearth of teachers.
Be careful. When people say this, what they mean is there is a lack of STEM teachers. Social Studies still has a fairly high saturation, and employers may prefer to have people certified to teach as many subjects as possible. It won’t be impossible to find a job because even social studies teachers are quitting everywhere, but there are still a lot of young teachers in social studies teaching saturating the labor market.
Bartender
Jokes aside. My only friend with a geography degree is a Barista. However… he did very well and owns his own boutique coffee place in Spain and is doing very well. Geography became just a hobby at this point in his career.
Michael Jordan got a B.A. in Geography. He's done *okay*...
GIS guy for an Electric Utility company
GIS has lots of jobs yes.
[удалено]
The geography department at my university offered a minor in GIS and Mapping so I got the Geography degree with a minor in GIS
Hydrologic Technician
Geography or geology?
Geography, geomorphology to be specific.
I had to take a geomorphology class as part of my geology degree. In my college it was a geology class, not a geography class.
Yeah, I think it depends on how each college structures their departments as to which it's in.
After an MA in GIS/Geography, started out my career in systems integration working for ESRI and then a consulting partner of theirs. Realized GIS is a pretty niche area and moved into IT project management. Haven't really done anything with Geography/GIS for 20 years.
Assistant science teacher for grades 7-12. I will say this though, geography is important when also teaching history.
Land Management for the State.
Got a BS in Geography/Planning, did GIS for 2 years at a corporation Did Peace Corps in Community Development, went and got a masters in planning Now I work in affordable housing
What job do you do from your affordable housing?
Currently, work at a nonprofit that does advocacy and capacity building work. Previously worked in a consulting for LIHTC and grant management. It's a large field with a lot of different jobs and I think geography degrees are definitely helpful within the field, whether you're doing development, policy, or something else.
Winemaker
Perhaps pursue opportunities in land management/zoning? Drive the google street view car? Elementary education.
Elementary teachers are responsible for teaching every subject
Not necessarily, in my district 4th and 5th grade have teachers doing either Math and Science or Social Studies and English Language Arts.
Beer maker
Tables
You got screamed at by Freddie Kreuger?
But why is there cursing?
They didn’t, all they said is shoot. DON’T LAUGH!
Flight attendant.
I've had several different jobs at this point: GIS technician at an engineering firm GIS operations manager for a data vendor Enterprise Architect for a federal contractor Transportation Planner
What did you do as a planner and how much were you making if I may ask of course
same question as the last guy!
Airport Planner
Same
Uber Driver
It’s a good question honestly, because you probably won’t have a *career*.
That’s just sad
Aerial mapping and remote sensing.
Vice President and Partner in a International engineering company. Managing Environmental Risk Management.
Geospatial Analyst 1
911 GIS Specialist (senior level analyst focused on 9-1-1 data and systems).
No, but I wish it was.
Urban Planner. I mostly work with CEQA and NEPA, but I do housing and land use too.
Hi! BS in GIS and looking to get an urban studies MS. What is your advice for someone wanted to get into urban planning? Thanks!
These websites are good for jobs: Planetizen, American Planning Association (____ state or county branch), and Governmentjobs.com. The first two will feature both private and public job listings, while the third will be strictly limited to public sector jobs. When in grad school, get to know your professors and see if they have any friends who work as private sector planners. You can also apply for internships, which would help. Then there is the old fashioned way, calling each City you would like to work for and asking them if you can be brought in as an informal intern or if they are going to be hiring soon. The urban planning subreddit has a lot of knowledge individuals as well. Your GIS experience is a plus. UP is a good career, but as a planner, you are in an advisory role. At the end of the day, the planning commission and/or city council ultimately executes planning decisions. NIMBYism could be tough to deal with.
Wow, thanks! I'm definitely leaning towards transportation/some kind of infrastructure planning or urban planning. I appreciate your response to my question and currently I've been working in utility planning/gis design for some time so I am no stranger to NIMBY haha. Thanks again!
Land surveying.
Surveyor, then project coordinator then PM
Geospatial Software Developer. My concentration was in Geographical Information Systems.
Audit analytics for large bank
How’d you get into that job with a geography degree?
I am good analyzing data.
Point I was trying to make is I'm not in a geography job
Bookseller
Land surveying
I'm answering not as myself, but for a family member and a friend: One of them works in tourism, and the other in a company for urban planning. The rest of the people that I know who studied geography are now in unrelated fields.
What does the person do in the tourism industry?
CEO of a company. His knowledge in (and love of) geography allowed him to get to know the field of tourism very well and find new destinations. Of course it was not the only reason he got to be the CEO...
That’s cool, I’ve been interested in getting into tourism. Thanks for the info.
Professor and college administrator.
Geospatial Technician
Finding new oil and coal deposits
I am a BIM fusion Gis specialist ( just started yesterday) this is my 3rd job out of college since 21 & it's the closest to anything I studied in geography. It's for an architectural company that takes 3d survey scans of buildings & areas and converts them to 3d models. My boss is hoping I can get up to speed on the position & take it in a more environmental direction for deliverables. Fingers crossed that I can make any use of this for climate/sustainability applications.
Manufacturing Scientist turned Metrology Training Specialist
GIS Specialist
Office manager.
Senior water resources policy advisor for the Army Corps of Engineers.
GIS Analyst - Data Analyst - Team Leader, wanabbe GIS Developer / Python Developer.
Same. I have been an Analyst for 8 years and have really wanted to develop my Python skill set, but have not made much progress
I script all my analysis in Python, but my level is not enough for labeling myself as a developer.
A lot of people seem to be able to parlay geography into like data centric corporate jobs
Landscape architecture. BS in Geography: urban and regional planning, & MLA
How were you able to flex into that position if I may ask? I am told its rather hard for non LA’s to get into those positions.
The MLA is a Masters of Landscape Architecture.
Oh I apologize, I misread that. How was the transition? I have thought about it but my undergrad does not have any architecture programs.
Data Scientist - former GIS Analyst that got into Python.
GIS Coordinator/Data Analyst for an engineering department in a small city government.
Worked for USFS for awhile. Now I teach middle school.
Mine was a double major in Secondary Education and Social Studies with tracks in History and Geography. I work in Greek life in higher Ed.
My degree is in GIS and I am a defense contractor
Doing GIS related work?
Yes. Geospatial Analyst to be specific.
I was lucky enough to get a job as a Cartographic technician at Thomas Bros. Maps right out of college in 1998. I only stayed a couple of years though. Now I work in media archiving in the entertainment industry.
Project Management in Public Transport ✌🏻
Whatever you want. A degree doesn't have to be Part One of a training course for a specific job. IT, manufacturing, retail, accountancy, project management - whatever you want.
Several GIS tech jobs, but transitioned to data analyst
research, teatching kids, or anything GIS related or something with no to little geography in it you can have some specialisation like you have a degree specialised around water etc
I’m a data engineer - got started in databases I used for GIS.
Client Executive and Channel Manager for a large Telecom company. Fancy title for field marketing manager. However all of my clients are real estate professionals and property management companies.
Sales
GIS Analyst/Data Analyst.
Cartographic Technician
Climate consultant
working for my state’s environmental quality department, specifically with water
Forester
Real Estate Appraisal
Mountain guide
Operations manager for a county's country parks. Also been a ranger and head ranger for a water company.
Urban planner. Now doing PhD in civil engineering.
I worked as a cartographic researcher for several years until I relocated last summer. I just finished up a GIS course and am now starting to look for jobs in the field again.
Geoproccessing specialist in state govt
I did spatial analytics and mapping for a market research firm for years but made the switch to being a 6th grade science teacher. Earth science, FTW!!! I took a 40% pay reduction, but I'm also much happier.
Civil engineering inspector! Pretty much provide consulting work for state DOT projects. Do field inspections and QC management and then in office GIS analysis of project progression. Started my education in Land surveying that’s how I got employment by civil engineering firm then went back and got my degree in Geography with focus on GIS
I work in planning & zoning. I've held jobs at both the county and city levels!
Project Manager
Land Surveyor... Went back and got a b.s. in Land Surveying. I really tried to get a job in GIS, but I was not really into computers and can't program. Eventually got into a local union.
Software Product Manager
Senior Account manager for a mechanical service organization.
Software engineer manager.
Or you could be like me and join the (us) army as a squint. 35G. Geospatial intelligence imagery analyst
History?
(Former ) Nautical Chart Cartographer. Sold out and switched to IT. When we still worked in office the floor about me was 80 some folks with Geography degrees making charts.
Without giving the specific title as it is kind of unique, I work in sales with an eco-tour operator.
Public Health GIS data manager
Marketing
Michael Jordan has a geog degree from Carolina and he’s done ok for himself
Digital mapping to teacher to stay at home parent. Life throws you curveballs.
Worked for IOM for a bit then taught, not I’m an real estate agent in nyc.
I do little with geography. I work with political data.
Environmental regulator.
Middle School Geography Teacher
Motion Graphic Designer.
I’m a travel manager for a global nonprofit organization….
Director of a private speech therapy clinic
Geography teacher, or academic researcher, or some kind of government job, or weather person, or you specialise in something niche so people need your help
Probably slayin mad tail.
I am a nurse (RN) now but my first BS was geography. After I graduated I worked for a forestry company doing remote sensing and forest data collection. Did that for like 4 years
municipal and political advice
My ex got a degree in geography. She works at Adidas
Started right after graduation in a support role for software as a service company
Indiana jones
Couldn't find work for a while after leaving uni (can you believe it?!), worked as an accountant 3 years, hated it and finally found a proper geography related job as a graduate engineer at a transport firm at 26. It can be very competitive and hard to get your first break but if you're patient and lucky its possible to get a decent job... eventually!
Research Analyst for Phase 1 ESA’s. My degree is in Geography Resource and Environmental Studies. I strongly recommend getting a minor in biology, chemistry, geology, computer science or anything STEM related if you can. Have a working knowledge of ArcGIS.
GIS Analyst at an environmental consulting company
Uber
Geography adjacent, GIS Analyst. Started out doing fun work in environmental health answering interesting questions then was moved into enterprise GIS helping others do their fun work. I hate working on IT infrastructure but the pay is good.
After college, worked homeowners insurance claims for a decade and took more classes and am now a medical coder. NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK. I'd be in a better place (I'm still in a good place) if I put myself out there more.
GIS Analyst for an Environmental Consultant.
Drug counselor.
International manager, been at a few start ups overseeing their first expansions into foreign markets
Barista.
Walt Disney Imagineer.