How To Become A Gis Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a gis internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Dr. Christopher Brown Ph.D.

A GIS intern creates and maintains GIS datasets for spatial data and metadata. A GIS intern's responsibilities include geo-modeling, spatial analysis, base map elements, and presentation map creation and all areas of research, coding, and updating in compliance with data management unit (DMU) practices.

The benefits of a Gis internship are various. Some among them include valuable work experience, gaining an edge in the job market, developing and refining skills, receiving financial compensation, networking with professionals, and transitioning into a permanent job. In order to qualify for the position, a person requires a bachelor's degree. A high school diploma can suffice, since this is an internship that can lead to a permanent job.

The internship comes with certain benefits. For example, a GIS intern makes an average of $16.00 an hour! That's $33,274 a year! Furthermore, the median salaries for GIS careers range from $54,170 per year for drafters to $137,943 for senior geomatics software engineers.

What general advice would you give to a Gis Internship?

Dr. Christopher Brown Ph.D.

Professor, New Mexico State University

Start researching early, really early, as in when are still in college. ID 3 jobs you would really want to have, unpack the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed, then make sure you acquires these KSAs in your work at University. Secure and internship or co-op in college, as these often lead to permanent jobs. Doing this let's prospective employers get to know you and your work ethic, and this makes you a preferred candidate. Learn all you can about the people who are interviewing you, make reference to key things you learn, and get to know them as much as you can in an interview. After the interview, send a thank you email, noting how much you enjoyed meeting them and how excited you are about the potential job.

ScoreGis InternshipUS Average

Salary

4.9

Avg. Salary $63,117

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.1

Growth Rate 9%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.99%

Black or African American 6.24%

Hispanic or Latino 8.82%

Unknown 4.70%

White 67.73%

Gender

female 29.35%

male 70.65%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress Level

4.1

Stress level is moderate

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

6.7

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

9.4

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a gis internship

Explore gis internship education requirements

Most common gis internship degrees

Bachelor's

76.9 %

Master's

10.2 %

Associate

8.9 %

Start to develop specific gis internship skills

Skills	Percentages
GPS	11.76%
Arcgis Online	10.24%
Python	6.84%
Data Collection	6.64%
Esri Arcgis	5.14%

Complete relevant gis internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New gis interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a gis internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real gis internship resumes.

Research gis internship duties and responsibilities

Manage client data and perform database extraction regularly to make timely data updates.
Code custom python script tools to manipulate data sets and produce maps for analysis and presentations.
Utilize ModelBuilder to create tools that automate routine and bulk tasks; explore python language to develop similar scripts.
Base on the LIDAR data and research 3D high resolution model of Norfolk's terrain and an animation are created.

Prepare your gis internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your gis internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a gis internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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