---
title: "Geographic Information Systems Technologist and Technician"
description: "Assist scientists or related professionals in building, maintaining, modifying, or using geographic information systems (GIS) databases. May also perform…"
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/geographic-information-systems-technologist-and-technician"
last-updated: "2026-10-09T10:57:55.138Z"
---

# Geographic Information Systems Technologist and Technician

**Category:** Computer and Mathematical · **SOC code:** 15-1299 · **O\*NET-SOC code:** 15-1299.02

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.

Also advertised as: Geospatial Technician; GIS Admin (Geographic Information Systems Administrator); GIS Analyst (Geographic Information System Analyst); GIS Analyst (Geographic Information Systems Analyst); GIS Applications Specialist (Geographic Information Systems Applications Specialist); GIS Assessment Tech (Geographic Information Systems Assessment Technician); GIS Coordinator (Geographic Information Systems Coordinator); GIS Developer (Geographic Information Systems Developer).

## At a glance

- **Median annual wage:** $116,580 (BLS OEWS, May 2025)
- **Median hourly wage:** $56.05/hr
- **Wage range (10th–90th percentile):** $55,940 to $188,470, with the middle half between $79,370 and $157,500
- **Total US employment:** 435,370
- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's
- **Preparation required:** Medium preparation — O\*NET rates this "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed"
- **Projected growth:** +5.1% over 2025–2035 (BLS EP, 2025–2035)
- **Annual job openings:** 27,000 openings a year
- **AI-resilience score:** 16/100 — a NueCareer heuristic over O\*NET work activities and context, not a BLS or O\*NET figure

## Pay

National wage distribution, BLS OEWS, May 2025, across 435,370 US jobs.

| Percentile | Annual wage |
| --- | --- |
| 10th | $55,940 |
| 25th | $79,370 |
| 50th (median) | $116,580 |
| 75th | $157,500 |
| 90th | $188,470 |
| Mean (average) | $122,230 |

### Pay by state

The 15 highest-paying states, by median annual wage. The cost-of-living-adjusted column divides the state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, so the columns answer different questions: the first is what the job pays there, the second is what that pay buys there.

| State | Median annual wage | Cost-of-living adjusted | Employment |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DC | $156,590 | $142,483 | 17,200 |
| MD | $144,680 | $137,844 | 19,060 |
| CO | $139,580 | $135,446 | 11,800 |
| VA | $139,030 | $137,512 | 17,000 |
| DE | $137,470 | $137,734 | 860 |
| CA | $134,440 | $121,423 | 80,150 |
| WA | $128,940 | $120,490 | 14,360 |
| CT | $127,720 | $123,270 | 3,100 |
| NM | $127,090 | $137,824 | 1,650 |
| HI | $120,100 | $109,230 | 2,080 |
| NY | $116,990 | $108,403 | 11,460 |
| SC | $112,260 | $119,745 | 4,300 |
| TX | $111,530 | $114,912 | 57,020 |
| VT | $111,530 | $113,855 | 1,320 |
| OH | $109,780 | $118,331 | 6,150 |

39 more states with published wage data are omitted here. The full table for all 54 states is at https://nuecareer.com/careers/geographic-information-systems-technologist-and-technician/salary-by-state, or as JSON at https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/geographic-information-systems-technologist-and-technician.

## Outlook

BLS projects employment to move from 471,200 in the 2025–2035 base year to 495,300 by the end of the cycle — a gain of 24,200 jobs, or +5.1%. Faster than average: 5.1% against 3.5% projected for all occupations over the same cycle. About 27,000 openings a year are expected on average, counting openings from growth as well as from workers leaving the occupation permanently. Source: BLS EP, 2025–2035.

## How to get in

- **Typical entry education:** Bachelor's degree (BLS Employment Projections).
- **Preparation level:** Medium preparation — O\*NET's preparation band for this occupation is "Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed".
- **Related work experience typically required:** None.
- **Typical on-the-job training:** None.

## What the work involves

- Produce data layers, maps, tables, or reports, using spatial analysis procedures or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, equipment, or systems.
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology, equipment, or systems.
- Create, analyze, report, convert, or transfer data, using specialized applications program software.
- Review existing or incoming data for currency, accuracy, usefulness, quality, or completeness of documentation.
- Select cartographic elements needed for effective presentation of information.
- Enter data into Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases, using techniques such as coordinate geometry, keyboard entry of tabular data, manual digitizing of maps, scanning or automatic conversion to vectors, or conversion of other sources of digital data.
- Maintain or modify existing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) databases.
- Create visual representations of geospatial data, using complex procedures such as analytical modeling, three-dimensional renderings, or plot creation.

## Skills and knowledge

### Essential skills

- Reading Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Critical Thinking — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Listening — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Writing — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Speaking — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Monitoring — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Active Learning — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 2.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Transferable skills

These are the skills that carry into other occupations, and they drive the related-occupation and career-change rankings on this site.

- Complex Problem Solving — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Judgment and Decision Making — importance 3.1 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Coordination — importance 3.0 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Social Perceptiveness — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Programming — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Quality Control Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Analysis — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Systems Evaluation — importance 2.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Knowledge areas

- Geography — importance 4.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Computers and Electronics — importance 4.2 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- English Language — importance 3.5 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Engineering and Technology — importance 3.4 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Design — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Mathematics — importance 3.3 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

### Abilities

- Oral Comprehension — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Near Vision — importance 3.9 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Deductive Reasoning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Inductive Reasoning — importance 3.8 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Written Comprehension — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale
- Oral Expression — importance 3.6 on the O\*NET 1–5 importance scale

## Who it suits

O\*NET rates every occupation on the six Holland (RIASEC) interest areas, on a 1–7 scale. This occupation's strongest areas are Conventional (C), Investigative (I), Realistic (R).

| Interest area | Score (1–7) |
| --- | --- |
| C — Conventional | 5.88 |
| I — Investigative | 5.19 |
| R — Realistic | 4.26 |
| A — Artistic | 2.31 |
| S — Social | 1.93 |
| E — Enterprising | 1.93 |

### Personality fit

These scores are **derived by NueCareer**, not published by any government agency: they are cosine similarities between a personality type's trait profile and this occupation's O\*NET interest and work-style ratings, expressed 0–100. Treat them as a starting point for exploration, not as evidence that a type belongs in a job.

| Type | Fit score (0–100) |
| --- | --- |
| ISTJ | 90.4 |
| INTJ | 80.7 |
| ISTP | 76.1 |
| ISFJ | 71.0 |
| ESTJ | 67.3 |

Best-fitting types: ISTJ. The bank also flags this occupation as introvert-friendly, meaning O\*NET work-context ratings put it low on public contact and performing for the public.

## Related occupations

O\*NET's primary related occupations, in its own ranked order.

- [Surveying and Mapping Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/surveying-and-mapping-technician) — median $54,240
- [Data Scientist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/data-scientist) — median $120,230
- [Cartographer and Photogrammetrist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/cartographer-and-photogrammetrist) — median $81,390
- [Geographer](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geographer) — median $102,040
- [Geodetic Surveyor](https://nuecareer.com/careers/geodetic-surveyor) — median $75,440
- [Database Architect](https://nuecareer.com/careers/database-architect) — median $139,500
- [Remote Sensing Scientist and Technologist](https://nuecareer.com/careers/remote-sensing-scientist-and-technologist) — median $122,570
- [Computer Systems Analyst](https://nuecareer.com/careers/computer-systems-analyst) — median $105,850
- [Bioinformatics Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/bioinformatics-technician) — median $81,490
- [Remote Sensing Technician](https://nuecareer.com/careers/remote-sensing-technician) — median $62,280

## Sources

- **O\*NET** — O\*NET 31.0 Database, August 2026. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS OEWS** — BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS EP** — BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2, 2025–2035. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **BEA RPP** — BEA Regional Price Parities by State, 2024. https://www.bea.gov/data/prices-inflation/regional-price-parities-state-and-metro-area

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology

JSON representation of this page: https://nuecareer.com/api/v1/careers/geographic-information-systems-technologist-and-technician