More than 800 colleges and universities offer courses in geographic information systems. These are usually offered through the Geography Department. An increasing number of community colleges and technical colleges offer two-year associate degrees in mapping, surveying and GIS skills. These programs are designed to train students in such areas as data gathering, digitizing, or other forms of map preparation and editing.
Most jobs in cartography and GIS, however, require a bachelor's or master's degree in cartography, geography, or some area of civil or surveying engineering. Other disciplines such as forestry, geology, landscape architecture, environmental engineering, urban or environmental planning, transportation planning, and public administration now offer course work in GIS. With a bachelor’s degree, one can expect to obtain an entry-level position working as part of a group that produces maps or performs GIS functions. With experience, employees can expect more responsibilities and will be able manage projects. Individuals with master’s degrees are often expected to assume considerable responsibility as soon as they are hired. They may be given their own projects to manage. In some smaller organizations, they find that they are expected to design and implement new procedures and systems.
Those who decide to earn a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) usually are seeking positions in a university or as research scientists. The rapid growth of GIS programs at the university level has resulted in a healthy market for graduates with doctorates. There also is a substantial demand for such individuals with consulting firms, software development firms, and scientific laboratories. In all these cases, students who pursue a Ph.D. are expected to make significant new contributions to the advancement of current technology, develop new ways to analyze information, or contribute to scientific research and discoveries.
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