Mapping Jobs - What Are They and How to Get One

By ZipRecruiter Marketplace Research Team

The qualifications to get a mapping job depend on the type of work you do. If you are in the geography or GIS fields, you typically need an associate degree or a bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject, such as GIS or geography, or a certificate in GIS along with other coursework. In data mapping, employers usually require a bachelor’s degree in database architecture, computer science, or information technology. Additional requirements for mapping jobs include strong analytical problem-solving and organizational skills, attention to detail, and the ability to be on the road for long periods to travel to remote sites.

Mapping jobs are available in a wide range of industries, including geography and cartography, GIS, construction, and technical fields, such as database administration and software engineering. In geographic mapping, jobs include a cartographer, geographer, GIS technician, surveyor, or mapping technician. Your responsibilities vary significantly depending on the mapping job. As a surveyor, for example, your duties are to travel to sites, take measurements, and gather other location-based data, which is then collected into databases for mapping technicians to access and convert into maps for others to use. In data mapping, database architects and developers design and implement methods of mapping data between different models.