Careers in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are growing at a faster rate than the average occupation, and College of Charleston students are positioned to capitalize. The College’s Santee Cooper GIS Lab is considered a top resource in the Southeast and every year, hundreds of students learn how to use the sophisticated ESRI ™ software systems. Projects range from business and logistics applications to archaeological and environmental studies.
“GIS is a toolkit, it can be used in any field,” explains Norm Levine, Ph.D. geology professor and director of the Santee Cooper GIS Lab. “It is really just visualizing the data in a different way – understanding it spatially. Companies use GIS data to make better strategic decisions, create specific maps, and conduct research.”
GIS skills are also in demand. The geospatial industry as a whole is expected to add at least 330,000 jobs between 2008 and 2018, according to Directions Magazine. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of geographers (geospatial workers) is expected to grow 35-percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations. Employment growth will be fastest in the professional, scientific, and technical services industry.
Every year, students at the College of Charleston complete 20 to 40 real-world projects, like recreating all the hazardous transportation maps for the S.C. Department of Transportation or using GIS to complete microhabitat mapping in the ACE Basin for S.C. Department of Natural Resources. A Master of Environmental Studies student is creating storm water management guides and maps for the Charleston region. The maps that he is creating will be the most complete known database of water quality issues in the region.
“The key to the success of the programs at the College of Charleston is the practical experience students gain in both their classes and independent projects that place them in the top tier of graduates in geospatial sciences,” Levine says. As director of the Lowcountry Hazards Center at the College, Levin works closely with numerous state and federal agencies, he is also currently the national chairman of the Geological Society of America’s Environmental and Engineering Geology Division.
College of Charleston graduates who have a GIS background now work for agencies like NOAA, USGS, DNR, and DHEC. There are currently a number of graduates who work for ESRI, one of the world’s leaders in GIS technology. And others work in oil and geologic consulting firms, or have gone on to graduate school.
The rate of adoption of geospatial technology by new agencies continues to grow, so GIS jobs will continue to grow at the same rate, which is great news for students interested in learning GIS at the College of Charleston.
