JobAfterNext

Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians

Assist scientists or related professionals in building, maintaining, modifying, or using geographic information systems (GIS) databases. May also perform some custom application development or provide user support.

Wages

BLS doesn't publish wages for Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians separately. These are the figures for Computer Occupations, All Other (15-1299), its parent occupation.

Median annual wage, U.S.$116,580
Employment, U.S.435,370
Median hourly wage$56.05
Annual wage percentiles, U.S., May 2025
10th25thMedian75th90th
$55,940$79,370$116,580$157,500$188,470
By state (51)
StateEmploymentMedian annualLocation quotient
Alabama2,630$106,3300.44
Alaska710$105,9600.78
Arizona5,510$105,2400.61
Arkansas1,120$86,9400.31
California80,150$134,4401.57
Colorado11,800$139,5801.47
Connecticut3,100$127,7200.65
Delaware860$137,4700.63
District of Columbia17,200$156,5908.75
Florida13,710$105,3700.49
Georgia20,630$104,6101.51
Hawaii2,080$120,1001.18
Idaho1,040$98,7000.43
Illinois11,160$99,3600.65
Indiana3,340$93,5400.37
Iowa3,850$107,3400.88
Kansas1,340$103,3800.33
Kentucky1,850$89,4200.33
Louisiana5,020$77,0000.93
Maine900$107,9900.50
Maryland19,060$144,6802.46
Massachusetts6,170$109,5900.61
Michigan7,440$105,6800.60
Minnesota4,180$91,7500.51
Mississippi1,450$86,9400.45
Missouri14,340$101,0401.74
Montana540$81,9700.38
Nebraska2,280$92,4800.79
Nevada2,610$100,2200.60
New Hampshire970$91,7200.51
New Jersey12,010$108,3101.00
New Mexico1,650$127,0900.67
New York11,460$116,9900.42
North Carolina15,090$104,8501.09
North Dakota730$78,3300.60
Ohio6,150$109,7800.40
Oklahoma3,320$102,5200.69
Oregon2,450$97,3500.45
Pennsylvania14,580$107,2300.86
Rhode Island830$102,2100.59
South Carolina4,300$112,2600.67
South Dakota240$105,3700.18
Tennessee10,930$76,4701.19
Texas57,020$111,5301.45
Utah6,680$97,4701.37
Vermont1,320$111,5301.56
Virginia17,000$139,0301.48
Washington14,360$128,9401.44
West Virginia3,380$107,1401.72
Wisconsin4,680$88,1300.57
Wyoming170$94,5200.22

Similar occupations

Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.

#OccupationJob ZoneSimilarity
1Cartographers and Photogrammetrists40.976
2Remote Sensing Technicians40.956
3Surveying and Mapping Technicians30.952
4Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists40.945
5Electrical and Electronics Drafters30.943
6Logistics Analysts40.939
7Transportation Planners40.937
8Geographers40.935
9Geodetic Surveyors40.934
10Business Intelligence Analysts40.927

One skill away

Among the 50 occupations most similar to Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.

OccupationSkill to buildLevel gapSimilarity
Remote Sensing TechniciansMathematics0.880.956
Business Intelligence AnalystsMathematics0.880.927
SurveyorsMathematics1.120.926
Information Security AnalystsQuality Control Analysis3.120.924
Conservation ScientistsScience3.500.908
Data Warehousing SpecialistsProgramming3.750.906

Software to learn next

Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians, excluding software Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.

SoftwareSimilar jobs using itLift
Geomechanical design analysis GDA software6 of 2019.8x
Bentley Systems InRoads Suite4 of 2036.9x
Corel CorelDraw Graphics Suite5 of 209.6x
Bentley GeoPak Bridge3 of 2034.6x
Microsoft PowerShell5 of 208.0x
Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D5 of 207.7x
Microsoft Project11 of 202.5x
MapInfo3 of 2027.7x
Trimble Terramodel3 of 2027.7x
Reporting software3 of 2019.8x

Skills

From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.

SkillTypeImportanceLevel
Reading ComprehensionEssential skill 3.88 4.00
Critical ThinkingEssential skill 3.62 4.00
Complex Problem SolvingTransferable skill 3.62 3.62
Active ListeningEssential skill 3.50 3.50
MonitoringEssential skill 3.38 3.62
WritingEssential skill 3.38 3.38
SpeakingEssential skill 3.38 3.25
Active LearningEssential skill 3.12 3.50
Judgment and Decision MakingTransferable skill 3.12 3.38
CoordinationTransferable skill 3.00 3.00
ProgrammingTransferable skill 2.88not rated
Quality Control AnalysisTransferable skill 2.88not rated
Systems EvaluationTransferable skill 2.88 3.12
Systems AnalysisTransferable skill 2.88 3.00
Social PerceptivenessTransferable skill 2.88 2.88
Service OrientationTransferable skill 2.75 2.75
Time ManagementTransferable skill 2.75 2.75
Operations AnalysisTransferable skill 2.62not rated
Learning StrategiesEssential skill 2.62 3.12
MathematicsEssential skill 2.62 3.00
Operations MonitoringTransferable skill 2.62 2.62
InstructingTransferable skill 2.50 3.00
ScienceEssential skill 2.38not rated
Technology DesignTransferable skill 2.38not rated
PersuasionTransferable skill 2.38 2.38
TroubleshootingTransferable skill 2.38 2.38
Management of Personnel ResourcesTransferable skill 2.38 2.25
NegotiationTransferable skill 2.25 2.25
Operation and ControlTransferable skill 2.12not rated
Management of Material ResourcesTransferable skill 1.88 1.38
Equipment SelectionTransferable skill 1.62not rated
Management of Financial ResourcesTransferable skill 1.62 1.00
Equipment MaintenanceTransferable skill 1.38not rated
InstallationTransferable skill 1.25not rated
RepairingTransferable skill 1.12not rated
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
Knowledge
NameImportanceLevel
Geography 4.40 5.92
Computers and Electronics 4.15 5.32
English Language 3.53 3.86
Engineering and Technology 3.35 4.16
Mathematics 3.26 4.32
Design 3.26 4.13
Customer and Personal Service 3.22 3.67
Administrative 3.15 3.89
Education and Training 2.92 3.76
Administration and Management 2.72 3.74
Law and Government 2.70 2.58
Transportation 2.58 2.04
Communications and Media 2.53 2.47
Public Safety and Security 2.53 2.34
Building and Construction 2.30 2.39
Production and Processing 2.23 2.29
Sales and Marketing 2.06 2.11
History and Archeology 2.02 1.82
Telecommunications 1.98 1.63
Sociology and Anthropology 1.74 1.50
Personnel and Human Resources 1.74 1.31
Mechanical 1.68not rated
Economics and Accounting 1.61 1.07
Foreign Language 1.54 1.54
Psychology 1.51 1.27
Philosophy and Theology 1.49 1.12
Physics 1.39not rated
Biology 1.28not rated
Fine Arts 1.22not rated
Chemistry 1.15not rated
Therapy and Counseling 1.14not rated
Medicine and Dentistry 1.10not rated
Food Production 1.05not rated
Abilities
NameImportanceLevel
Oral Comprehension 3.88 4.12
Near Vision 3.88 3.88
Deductive Reasoning 3.75 3.88
Inductive Reasoning 3.75 3.75
Oral Expression 3.62 4.12
Written Comprehension 3.62 4.00
Information Ordering 3.62 3.62
Flexibility of Closure 3.62 3.38
Written Expression 3.50 3.88
Category Flexibility 3.50 3.25
Problem Sensitivity 3.38 3.62
Selective Attention 3.38 3.12
Speech Recognition 3.25 2.75
Visualization 3.12 3.38
Far Vision 3.00 3.25
Originality 3.00 3.12
Perceptual Speed 3.00 3.00
Fluency of Ideas 2.88 3.25
Speed of Closure 2.88 3.25
Mathematical Reasoning 2.88 3.00
Speech Clarity 2.88 2.62
Number Facility 2.50 2.75
Visual Color Discrimination 2.50 2.25
Time Sharing 2.38 2.25
Trunk Strength 2.12 1.62
Memorization 2.00 2.00
Finger Dexterity 2.00 1.62
Arm-Hand Steadiness 1.88 1.25
Control Precision 1.88 1.12
Wrist-Finger Speed 1.88 1.00
Auditory Attention 1.75 1.12
Manual Dexterity 1.75 1.12
Hearing Sensitivity 1.62 1.12
Depth Perception 1.62 1.00
Spatial Orientation 1.62 0.75
Dynamic Strength 1.38 0.38
Peripheral Vision 1.12not rated
Response Orientation 1.12not rated
Sound Localization 1.12not rated
Stamina 1.12not rated
Dynamic Flexibility 1.00not rated
Explosive Strength 1.00not rated
Extent Flexibility 1.00not rated
Glare Sensitivity 1.00not rated
Gross Body Coordination 1.00not rated
Gross Body Equilibrium 1.00not rated
Multilimb Coordination 1.00not rated
Night Vision 1.00not rated
Rate Control 1.00not rated
Reaction Time 1.00not rated
Speed of Limb Movement 1.00not rated
Static Strength 1.00not rated

Software used

Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.

All 127
  • Cascading style sheets CSS hot
  • Docker hot
  • Extensible markup language XML hot
  • Git hot
  • GitHub hot
  • Go hot
  • Google Angular hot
  • Google Workspace software hot
  • Hypertext markup language HTML hot
  • JavaScript Object Notation JSON hot
  • Jenkins CI hot
  • Kubernetes hot
  • Linux hot
  • Microsoft .NET Framework hot
  • Microsoft ASP.NET hot
  • Microsoft SQL Server hot
  • Microsoft SharePoint hot
  • Microsoft Visio hot
  • Microsoft Visual Basic hot
  • Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications VBA hot
  • Microsoft Visual Studio hot
  • Microsoft Word hot
  • Node.js hot
  • Oracle Java hot
  • Oracle PL/SQL hot
  • PHP hot
  • Perl hot
  • PostgreSQL hot
  • R hot
  • React hot
  • SAP software hot
  • SAS hot
  • ServiceNow hot
  • Shell script hot
  • Tableau hot
  • Teradata Database hot
  • The MathWorks MATLAB hot
  • Transact-SQL hot
  • TypeScript hot
  • UNIX hot
  • jQuery hot
  • ADO.NET
  • Adobe ActionScript
  • Adobe Dreamweaver
  • Agronomic modeling software
  • ArcGIS Web AppBuilder
  • Autodesk Land Desktop
  • Autodesk MapGuide
  • Autodesk Topobase
  • CDA International Manifold System
  • Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
  • Coordinate geometry COGO software
  • Drupal
  • ESRI ArcEditor
  • ESRI ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst
  • ESRI ArcGIS Spatial Analyst
  • ESRI ArcIMS
  • ESRI ArcInfo
  • ESRI ArcPad
  • ESRI ArcSDE
  • ESRI ArcView
  • Email software
  • Enterprise application integration EAI software
  • Ext JS
  • Formula translation/translator FORTRAN
  • Global positioning system GPS software
  • Google Earth Pro
  • Hydrological modeling software
  • IBM WebSphere
  • ITT Visual Information Solutions ENVI
  • Job control language JCL
  • LAMP Stack
  • Landmark Graphics GeoGraphix
  • Leica Geosystems ERDAS IMAGINE
  • List processing language LISP
  • Management information systems MIS
  • Microsoft Azure DevOps Services
  • Microsoft Dynamics
  • Microsoft OneNote
  • Microsoft SharePoint Server
  • Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition VBScript
  • National Land Cover Database NLCD
  • Oracle JavaServer Pages JSP
  • RESTful API
  • Relational database management software
  • Relational database management system RDMS
  • SAP BusinessObjects Crystal Reports
  • Software development tools
  • Software libraries
  • Soil Survey Geographic SSURGO
  • State Soil Geographic STATSGO Database
  • Sun Microsystems Java
  • Trimble Pathfinder Office
  • Unified modeling language UML
  • Web application software
  • Web browser software
  • dBASE

Where it concentrates

BLS doesn't publish wages for Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians separately. These are the figures for Computer Occupations, All Other (15-1299), its parent occupation.

Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.

Metro areaEmploymentLocation quotientMedian annual
Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ5005.29$118,120
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA16,6805.25$184,430
Lexington Park, MD1,0005.05$144,680
Parkersburg-Vienna, WV3503.46$106,330
Warner Robins, GA6903.26$100,260
Elizabethtown, KY4503.14$106,330
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX10,1002.79$129,470
Fayetteville, NC9702.65$101,800
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA16,9302.55$161,700
Burlington-South Burlington, VT8402.51$121,850

More metros, other thresholds