The standard GIS job titles, for me, have always lacked descriptive specificity. They pretty much suggest everyone is a generalist, which is not true. As a result, GIS job postings typically describe GIS jacks-of-all-trade. Also, job titles aren't really commoditized - the GIS Analyst in one company is equivalent to the GIS Technician another company, and really does no analytical work whatsoever. And how about those ranks of Tech I or Tech II, or Analyst IV!? Come on!
Well, I've referred to the future but the future is now. I'm proposing the below new GIS job titles - these would be the roles I'd start with for my own team.(Cut me some slack for a very personal and partial and potentially insular GIS world view.)
Any thoughts?
Update (02/25/2019)
#future of gis Don't forget the management level: GIS Coordinator #gio or similar.
Yes, absolutely - I had a Manager in there somewhere and somehow dropped it. Will add back in.
You need to add a position related to Enterprise Geospatial Administrator to "manage" the Web GIS part of the house.
*I am also partial to Enterprise Geodatabase Admin instead of "SDE Admin".
George is spot on with adding the Enterprise Geospatial Administrator role. I can say this need is so prevalent that we've grown from this being a 1 person job into 3 as our enterprise and GIS projects have taken off.
While I am conflicted right now if this should be covered under a Geo Admin role (just how things seem to be most places I have been) or if it should be blended with a few of these existing roles or one of its own. There's a subject matter expert (SME) which can exist within each of these defined roles or as 1 person across all these roles. The part I am unsure about is most often called a System Analyst (https://www.computerscience.org/careers/systems-analyst/). As an administrator I've held all your mentioned roles and been a SME but tasks defined by a SA are also a big part of my efforts as I have to stay on the bleeding edge of GIS and all the enterprise systems to find advantageous upgrades or new capabilities that can fill gaps and improve existing systems. I tend to put this more inline with that Geo Admin role because its more technical but does involve some business analyst (BA), project management (PM) or minor management skills without the focus being on a managerial or clerical (document) side.
On any given day, at any given hour I might be one or more of those listed. And that's this week: not sure about the future....
Well, yes, depending on company or department size, many of us are forced to wear multiple hats. What I decry is a situation where you have 10 GIS Analysts and 5 Tech's each wearing 9 hats.
Joe Borgione wrote:
On any given day, at any given hour I might be one or more of those listed. And that's this week: not sure about the future....
We have 4 analysts and 1 tech and they can all say the same thing I did. Not saying it's right, just saying it is....
I am listed in our directory as "Minister of Information".
How about:
But in reality, all I'm known as is "The dude who showed me how to use the GPS". Speaking of GIS position titles with the word "Dude", let us not forget Old GIS dude left. Now i need to pick up the pieces. Wonder if that title was on his office door?
Thanks, everyone, for the great feedback... I don't expect this to revolutionize your work environment any time soon. But it's great to hear how organizations are different or similar. I'm sure to continue thinking about this. So keep the feedback coming.