GIS professionals find work in a variety of fields.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) combine hardware, software and geospatial data to facilitate geographically-based decision making. A person occupying a GIS position is skilled in the use of GIS and is often also knowledgeable about the discipline within which the GIS is used.
Natural Resource Management and GIS
GIS is a valuable tool for natural resource management; it can be used to help make important decisions about the conservation of endangered species, restoration of wildlife habitats or selection of areas for agriculture or resource extraction. GIS positions in the natural resource fields can be found in government agencies, private companies and nonprofit agencies.
GIS for Urban Planning
Urban planners use spatial information to keep track of assessor parcels, land use information, road networks and many other types of important community information. GIS positions in local government offices and planning agencies may use GIS to plan for community needs such as open space, emergency travel routes and locations of public facilities.
Academic and Research Careers in GIS
GIS has become increasingly important for many geospatially-based research fields. At the Remote Sensing/Geographic Information Systems Lab at Utah State University, research projects include land cover maps, digital geologic maps and maps of species distributions across the landscape. GIS-based positions at universities include professors and researchers.
Tags: Geographic Information, Geographic Information Systems, Information Systems, natural resource
