Hacker News Reader

GIS seems interesting but it also doesnt seem like it pays well. Being niche isn't bad per-se but I would expect it to be more lucrative.

In some ways it seems like GIS is to software engineering as business analyst is to data science. Not in nicheness, because business analyst isnt so niche. But doesn't pay as well and less programming, more GUI/business tools.

Are these impressions wrong?

View on HN

Not wrong necessarily, if "traditional GIS" is your chosen application of geospatial skills. (By "traditional GIS" I mean creating one-off analyses by interacting primarily with enterprise desktop/GUI tools like ArcGIS).

But when combined with software engineering expertise, geospatial knowledge can be as lucrative as any other software job. (I am a geospatial software engineer.)

Thanks for the insight. I gained a sliver of insight into GIS when trying to do some data analysis on lakes. I discovered that there is a lot to it. Its an interesting space, especially for those interested in geography or the outdoors.

It is niche, but it's almost always a cost center role and heaviest users of GIS are govt and utilities, which have constraints on remuneration.

It can be lucrative in the right industry with domain knowledge (eg mining or oil&gas).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com