Geographical information systems officer : Career development

With no typical route for career development, career progression depends on where you start. In geographical information systems (GIS), teams are often made up of a range of professionals, including cartographers, computer programmers, data analysts, information officers/managers and project managers. If there is any such thing as a typical route for a GIS officer, it might be to progress on to project manager, and then to overall GIS manager, but there are other possibilities.

With so many areas to choose from, within both the private and the public sector, successful career development depends on clarifying your own particular interests early on. You could choose to focus on one of the following areas:

• spatial analysis;
• applications development;
• sales and marketing;
• information management within the public or commercial sectors.

It is helpful to be aware that if you progress towards GIS management, your role is likely to shift balance from specific GIS activities to more managerial duties.

You may be able to move into other project management work outside GIS. Some people with a GIS background go on to set up their own consultancies. New GIS modules in computer science and geography degrees as well as in postgraduate courses present a few opportunities in academia.

There are also opportunities to work overseas once you have gained experience. Australia, Canada, Europe and the USA are all widening the applications of GIS and so offer some employment possibilities.