Geospatial scientist vs gis technician

The differences between geospatial scientists and gis technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a geospatial scientist, becoming a gis technician takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a geospatial scientist has an average salary of $111,782, which is higher than the $58,307 average annual salary of a gis technician.

The top three skills for a geospatial scientist include GIS, R and python. The most important skills for a gis technician are patients, patient care, and GPS.

Geospatial scientist vs gis technician overview

	Geospatial Scientist	GIS Technician
Yearly salary	$111,782	$58,307
Hourly rate	$53.74	$28.03
Growth rate	16%	9%
Number of jobs	42,718	8,922
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	41	44
Years of experience	4	6

Geospatial scientist vs gis technician salary

Geospatial scientists and gis technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Geospatial Scientist	GIS Technician
Average salary	$111,782	$58,307
Salary range	Between $74,000 And $168,000	Between $39,000 And $86,000
Highest paying City	-	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	American Water
Best paying industry	-	Utilities

Differences between geospatial scientist and gis technician education

There are a few differences between a geospatial scientist and a gis technician in terms of educational background:

	Geospatial Scientist	GIS Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Geography	Geography
Most common college	University of California, Berkeley	University of California, Berkeley

Geospatial scientist vs gis technician demographics

Here are the differences between geospatial scientists' and gis technicians' demographics:

	Geospatial Scientist	GIS Technician
Average age	41	44
Gender ratio	Male, 81.0% Female, 19.0%	Male, 68.4% Female, 31.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 18.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	9%	11%

Differences between geospatial scientist and gis technician duties and responsibilities

Geospatial scientist example responsibilities.

Develop and implement tools in both IDL/ENVI and Erdas to automate preprocessing and enhancement of imagery data for exploitation and interpretation.
Test multiple HSI detection algorithms against hundreds of different camouflage schemes and materials.
Compare the performance of multiple HSI detection algorithms to detect and discriminate among different camouflage schemes and materials.
Develop probabilistic models of disease progression to predict future healthcare utilization and capitation revenue.
Communicate defects, encounter during regression test and followed-up with developers until all issues are resolved.
Require to acquire geospatial information and extract essential elements from a wide array of multi-intelligence data to include Sigint and Masint.

Gis technician example responsibilities.

Manage computer programming and maximize enhancements to GIS database.
Generate GIS database updates manually and manage automated unix-base system to apply records to client database.
Provide application development and support, infrastructure maintenance, and license management.
Update attribute information and reconcile as-built construction record drawings with corresponding GPS data.
Trouble shoot ArcGIS relate issues.
Create site-specific map sets utilizing ArcMAP, ArcTools.

Geospatial scientist vs gis technician skills

Common geospatial scientist skills

GIS, 36%
R, 35%
Python, 15%
Visualization, 14%

Common gis technician skills

Patients, 14%
Patient Care, 9%
GPS, 7%
Database Management, 5%
Spatial Data, 5%
CAD, 4%