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GIS Job Market Q&A

There are certain economic indicators that are used to reveal how the job market is doing in the U.S. Automotive sales, the housing market and the unemployment rate have all revealed that the job market is continuing to improve across all industries. In 2017, more than 17 million vehicles were sold. Housing sales have been strong with a supply of homes at 10%, which is down 1.5%. Additionally, unemployment is down to 4.1% as of December 2017. Employment trends have indicated that the higher amount of education one has completed, the less likely they are to be unemployed. For instance, those without a high school degree are more likely to be unemployed than someone with a Ph.D.

GeoSearch’s Employer Survey (2016) reveals the following about the GIS industry:

  • 58.6% of the respondents are small to mid-size commercial companies
  • 29.2% of the respondents are City/County/State public agencies
  • 10.2% of the respondents are from Colleges and Universities
  • 1.7% of the respondents are Non-Profits
  • 89.6% responded they have fewer than 100 geospatial employees
  • 10.4% responded they have more than 100 geospatial employees

There is good news for those at the entry-level category in the GIS industry:

  • 55% will hire GIS Technicians with 0-4 years of experience
  • 50% will hire GIS Software/Web Developers
  • Photogrammetry jobs are returning to the U.S. from oversees
  • Surveyors will be in demand as many surveyors are close to retirement
  • The jobs appear to be all over the U.S.
  • Geospatial is in the top 3 fastest-growing job sectors in the U.S.

Several years ago, the Department of Labor identified geospatial as its own industry. Take a look at the Geospatial Technology Competency Model to learn more about the language in the industry.

GeoSearch commonly recruits for:

  • GIS Professionals – Technicians, Specialists, Programmers
  • Sales – Business Development/Technical Sales
  • Management – Technical, Project, and Executive Managers
  • Surveying Personnel – CAD Techs, Field Positions, PLS
  • Civil Engineers

What skills are we looking for?

  • Competency with ESRI software
  • Programming/Scripting
  • Database Development and the ability to run queries
  • Surveying Software – Civil 3D, Microstation, and AutoCAD skills
  • Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) – Bachelor’s degree required

Current GIS Market Trends:

  • As GIS becomes a part of everyday business, the domain is becoming more important
  • Utilities, Commercial Real Estate, and Defense has been very active in 2017 and early 2018
  • Other sectors include: Government (largest employer of geospatial personnel); Energy (oil/gas); Mining
  • Environmental
  • Education

For more information, watch our video and contact us to see how we can help you or your company.