Career Opportunities in Geoinformatics
| Sector | SJob Description |
|---|---|
| IT | GIS programmer, GIS developer |
| Environment | Environmental Planning & Management and EIA |
| Government (State and Central) | Coordinator, Scientist, Research Associate, GIS Executive etc. |
| Geology | Geological and Geomorphologic Mapping; Terrain and Cadastral Mapping, Mining |
| Disaster Management | Assessment and Relief Measures |
| Agriculture | Crop inventory, Detecting Crop Stress, Prediction |
| Military | Schedule and fight wars and Coping up with War After-Effects |
| Urban | Town Mapping, Monitoring Surface Water and Targeting Ground Water |
| Educational Institute | Lecturer, Reader, Scientific Officer, Professor |
| Organizations like ISRO and NASA USGS | Scientist, engineers in Natural Resource management, Disaster Management, Climate Change, forecasting and prediction |
Various Positions Available in Geoinformatics
- Geoinformatics Manager –M.Sc in Geoinformatics / M.TechGeoinformatics and Surveying Technology
- GIS Engineer – M.Sc in Geoinformatics / B.Tech in Geoinformatics
- Senior GIS Engineer – M.TechGeoinformatics and Surveying Technology
- Scientist – M.Sc in Geoinformatics / M.Tech in Geoinformatics
- GIS Analysts / consultant – M.Sc / M.TechGeoinformatics and Surveying Technology / Remote Sensing / PGD in Geoinformatics
- GIS Business Consultant / Development – M.Sc in Geoinformatics
- GIS Programmer – M.Sc in Geoinformatics / M.TechGeoinformatics and Surveying Technology
- GIS Executive – M.Sc in Geoinformatics
Major users of geoinformatics applications and therefore employers are the Central and State governments. Central government agencies are under the Department of Space – National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA Hyderabad), North East Space Application Centre, (NESAC Shillong), Regional Remote Sensing Application Centre (RRSAC Kharagpur, Dehradun, Jodhpur, Nagpur and Bangalore), Indian Space Research Organization, (ISRO Bangalore), Advanced Data Processing Research Institute (ADRIN Hyderabad) and Space Application Centre (SAC Ahmedabad) apart from Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) and Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR). State governments offer jobs in their individual National Informatics Centre (NIC) and Space Application Centers with various State Electricity Boards lined up to implement geoinformatics as well. With the private sector discovering the benefits of geoinformatics, there is growing demand in top companies like Google, TCS, Reliance Industries, Reliance Communications, Reliance Energy, CyberTech Systems, Geofiny Technologies, Magnasoft Technology Services, etc. Then there are environmental agencies, national survey and mapping organizations, mineral exploration, utility companies, emergency services, public health and epidemiology, international organizations, United Nations, crime mapping, transportation and infrastructure, tourist industry, market analysis and e-commerce and so on. Professor, reader and research positions are available in academic institutions, and the prospects of starting one’s own enterprise.
Job profiles range from Scientist, Project Coordinator, Project Scientist, Technical Assistant, Research Scholar, Research Associate, GIS Expert, GIS Environment Analyst, etc. in government jobs to Project Manager, Senior System Executive, Image Analyst, GIS Business Analyst, GIS Engineer, GIS Programmer, Geo-Spatial Software Engineer, etc. in the commercial sector.
Salary ranges vary widely depending on the location, discipline and experience. Approximate starting salary is Rs.2, 50,000 per annum with higher positions averaging Rs.5, 00,000 upwards.