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Gis consultant vs geospatial technician

The differences between gis consultants and geospatial technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a gis consultant and a geospatial technician. Additionally, a gis consultant has an average salary of $94,013, which is higher than the $42,643 average annual salary of a geospatial technician.

The top three skills for a gis consultant include data analysis, desktop and esri arcgis. The most important skills for a geospatial technician are python, visualization, and production tasks.

Gis consultant vs geospatial technician overview

GIS ConsultantGeospatial Technician
Yearly salary$94,013$42,643
Hourly rate$45.20$20.50
Growth rate9%21%
Number of jobs16,7227,845
Job satisfaction3-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a gis consultant do?

A GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Consultant manages digital mapping data and performs analyses to answer geographical questions. They work for a wide range of industries, including technology, law enforcement, transportation, and construction.

What does a geospatial technician do?

Geospatial technicians majorly assist other geospatial analysts and project managers to build, manage, and make use of GIS databases to identify spatial relationships. Their job is to create customized maps and GIS applications or software. Furthermore, they are expected to review and interpret all GIS data, maps, and graphs. They are also expected to analyze applications of software, create data reports, and digital 3D models. Their job duties also involve updating satellite navigation systems and providing technical support to users.

Gis consultant vs geospatial technician salary

Gis consultants and geospatial technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

GIS ConsultantGeospatial Technician
Average salary$94,013$42,643
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $133,000Between $30,000 And $59,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between gis consultant and geospatial technician education

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

GIS ConsultantGeospatial Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common majorGeographyGeography
Most common collegeUniversity of California, BerkeleyUniversity of Pennsylvania

Gis consultant vs geospatial technician demographics

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

GIS ConsultantGeospatial Technician
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 77.1% Female, 22.9%Male, 74.6% Female, 25.4%
Race ratioBlack 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%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 Percentage11%11%

Differences between gis consultant and geospatial technician duties and responsibilities

Gis consultant example responsibilities.

  • Construct, implement and manage state-wide seismic hazard and infrastructure mapping projects.
  • Install and configure of ArcServer and ArcSDE.
  • Load data layers into ArcSDE and grant access to end users.
  • Locate, photograph, and record GPS coordinates at each storm drain inlet and outfall.
  • Visualize the data using ArcMap 10.1 and compare GPS collect data to the data collect.
  • Work with IIS 6.0 and IIS 7.0 along with debugging and security features to web applications.
  • Show more

Geospatial technician example responsibilities.

  • Manage mapping-grade GPS operations for field crews and map all data.
  • Lead projects and report to management the status of co-workers feature extraction.
  • Generate GIS database updates manually and manage automated unix-base system to apply records to client database.
  • Perform imagery 3D analysis and extraction from satellite imagery using BAE SocetSet version 5.6.0 and ESRI ArcMap 10.1.
  • Perform data collection from LiDAR and manipulate GIS files for a wide variety of clients
  • Used ESRI ArcGIS software to create and maintain data, and produce custom maps in an efficient manner.
  • Show more

Gis consultant vs geospatial technician skills

Common gis consultant skills
  • Data Analysis, 16%
  • Desktop, 13%
  • Esri Arcgis, 12%
  • Database Design, 7%
  • Python, 5%
  • Spatial Data, 4%
Common geospatial technician skills
  • Python, 17%
  • Visualization, 10%
  • Production Tasks, 8%
  • Remote Sensing, 8%
  • Esri, 7%
  • Extraction, 7%

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