Labor launches online career path for mapping tech jobs

The Labor Department is providing recruiters and aspiring mapping technologists with an interactive, online guide to career advancement partly to promote government jobs in what Labor says is a growing field.

The model for geospatial technology competency, which Labor released on July 8, is one of 16 industry roadmaps available through an online clearinghouse that outline requirements needed to perform in occupations ranging from advanced manufacturing to water resources.

On a list of industry occupations profiled on the website, a sun icon appears next to the title of geospatial information scientists and technologists to flag the jobs that are among the clearinghouse's new and emerging "bright outlook" occupations. Bright outlook fields are projected to have at least 100,000 job openings and employment growth of at least 20 percent during the next decade or so.

Using an illustration shaped like a pyramid made out of building blocks, the site details the knowledge, skills and abilities required to work in the geospatial technology industry. The building blocks are labeled with individual competencies that users can click on for more information.

The geospatial pyramid includes eight levels of proficiency, from personal effectiveness requirements -- such as interpersonal skills -- to management competencies. The management requirements for geographic information system scientists and technologists, for example, include the ability to design GIS software and develop technical priorities, client reports or budgets.

A federal human resources official might use the tool by rolling a computer mouse over the blocks that make up the academic competencies level to view pop-up summaries of the required subject matter expertise, such as a grasp of geography. A description for the geography block reads, "Understanding the science of place and space. Knowing how to ask and discover where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment." The official then can click on the same block to see more specific geography knowledge and skill criteria.

A search for geospatial technology on USAjobs.gov, the federal government's job search engine, returned 32 hits on July 12. The results include a position that has a salary of $123,758 as a supervisory IT specialist at the U.S. Geological Survey; numerous requests for resumes to meet the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's future employment needs; and eight slots for Air Force GIS specialists, each commanding a salary of $47,448.

In 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated the median wage for GIS scientists and technologists was $37.02 an hour, or $77,010 annually, the clearinghouse website noted.

Labor developed the geospatial tech competency model over two years by reviewing existing skill standards, curricula and certifications, as well as seeking the help of employers and universities. The pathway to advancement covers the fields of geography, surveying and mapping, computer science, information science and other specialized areas of application that comprise geospatial technology. The GeoTech Center, a government-industry-academic partnership funded partly by the National Science Foundation, validated the model.

The GIS community seems pleased with the outcome.

On July 8, Wendy Nelson, executive director of the GIS professional association URISA, wrote in its blog that Labor's announcement of the model was "a big deal."

ESRI, a federal GIS contractor that serves nearly every agency and employs 2,700 people, backed a similar framework the University of Southern Mississippi created in a 2002 white paper on developing a successful and sustainable higher education GIS program. "The University of Southern Mississippi has carried out one project that can serve as a resource for input into the design of a curriculum for programs aimed at the workforce," the white paper stated.

Labor officials said their new model builds on the university's project.

Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis said in a statement, "The geospatial model serves as a guide for those who want to both find a good job and map out a long-term career pathway in any of several geospatial technology fields including surveying and mapping, computer science and information science."