Careers Outlook

Enjoy a Data-Centric Career with Real-World Impact

Best Engineering Job — Cartographer²

#10

Best Science Job — Geographer³

Because GISc applies data science and technical skills to real-world opportunities and challenges, the career options for graduates of Kent State University’s online Master of Geographic Information Science (M

GISc) and GISc graduate certificate programs are diverse and plentiful.

Depending on your interests, you can find lucrative and satisfying roles in urban planning, real estate, public health, insurance, agriculture, disaster relief, sustainability, climate change or other environment-related fields.

GISc professionals make important contributions to efforts to manage and mitigate the effects of human-induced climate change, with growth in this area contributing to the increasing number of GISc jobs. O*NET OnLine, the U.S. Department of Labor’s jobs database, predicts faster than average growth of 8-10% in jobs for geographic information systems technologists and technicians through 2031.¹

Expand Your Career Horizons with Kent State

In Kent’s GISc graduate programs, you’ll learn from professors with diverse professional backgrounds who have won awards from NASA and grants from NOAA, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. Our faculty will expand your knowledge and viewpoints, challenging your understanding of how GISc functions across different sectors and allowing you to develop the confidence to make solid, well-informed decisions as you further your own career.

Average post-graduation salaries for key Master of GISc roles:

Because master’s degree holders nationally earn average salaries 16% higher than those with only a bachelor’s degree,⁴ a Master of Geographic Information Science degree could help you reach salary outcomes at or above these figures.

$138,709

Senior Geomatics Software Engineer⁵

$105,067

Survey Manager⁶

$74,452

Senior CAD Designer⁷

$85,220

Geographer⁸

$86,336

Senior GIS analyst⁹

$68,900

Cartographer¹⁰

$72,835

LiDar Analyst¹¹

$118,527

GIS Software Engineer¹²

GISc Professionals Find Rewarding Work in These Fields:

Technology
Risk management and finance
Agriculture and forestry
Government
Nonprofit and non-governmental organizations
Consulting
Educational services
Pharmaceutical and biotech
Transportation services
Petroleum and energy

Explore the Field

GISc Professionals at Work

Predictive Flood Mapping with the USGS

GISc professionals are making critical contributions to our ability to understand and respond to extreme weather events. In March 2023, a study based on data from satellites in the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, reported a sharp increase in the intensity of extreme drought and rainfall over the last 20 years.¹³

Fortunately, satellites and other geographic information systems technologies can help protect people from some of the worst effects of extreme weather. A 2004 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publication explained that flood maps predicting the depth and flow of flood waters over wide areas can be built from LiDar data combined in a computer model and drawn with a GIS system.¹⁴

In 2020, the USGS unveiled its National Water Dashboard a live resource for monitoring various data points related to environmental water. The National Water Dashboard combines data from the National Weather Service and the National Integrated Drought Information System with mapping technologies to potentially help members of the general public, as well as emergency management services professionals, monitor and respond to extreme drought and rainfall events.

More Food, Lower Costs and Less Pollution from Farms

You can use your graduate degree in Geographic Information Science to help meet global needs for nutrition while lessening the environmental cost of food production.

A World Economic Forum (WEF) report published in 2018 noted that food systems are currently responsible for “20-30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of freshwater withdrawals and 70% of biodiversity loss.”

The WEF predicted that precision agriculture, using remote sensing technology as part of a larger technology initiative, could have a dramatic impact by 2030. Specifically, the report predicted savings of up to 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide, 180 billion cubic meters of water and $100 billion in production costs. All of that while producing up to 300 metric tons more crops on the same land.¹⁵

Sources