GIS vs Data Analysis
Why a bit of a pivot might be good.
I have worked with geographic information systems for over two decades. And I have always considered GIS to be a type of data analyst — a spatial data analysts, focusing on 1s and 0s that can be tied to a location. People live in a location, they shop based (somewhat) on geography. There are geographical patterns in nature. Some cities have hotter housing and job markets, others … not so hot. This geographic data is most valuable when analyzed in an environment where the organizing frame is geographic.
But over the years, I have started to think of myself more as a data analyst who uses GIS tools. And I apparently am not the only one. Consider this featured snippet that came up when I did a Google search for “GIS job outlook.”
The number of GIS jobs is forecast to grow only 1% in this decade (versus 25% growth in data analysis jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics). And some of the career advisors at UC Davis are encouraging GIS analysts to learn more general data analysis skills to ‘bridge’ and pitch themselves to that greater demand.
Through out my career, I have done SQL queries. I have done visualization work (maps are pictures, no?) I have written Python routines to automate tasks. Spreadsheets? Sure, I used those regularly. I have been working as a data analyst for all these years!
GIS was a hot skillset for a while. That is less true today, although GIS is still a respectable job. The demand for GIS over the past few decades was met by new graduate programs and online and on-the-job training. Businesses expanded hiring, and if makes sense for them to have a GIS desk or department, they probably do by now. And as the field grew, it matured, and it plateaued. It is a testament to a working job market … supply and demand are in better equilibrium, and the existing GIS workforce is productive and nimble enough to meet the need.
GIS is specialized. Maybe too specialized, too insular. Wages and salaries for GIS lag behind that for data analysts in general. A quick look at the first 10 remote GIS jobs on Indeed gave me an average of $55,100 per year. For data analysts, that number is significantly higher … almost $77,000. Perhaps the market needs to work its magic? If GIS experts move to related fields and jobs go unfilled, some employers will start offering higher salaries.