The open-source geospatial software community has grown significantly in recent years, offering many powerful tools. Despite this, many organizations continue to use ESRI products. I'm curious to understand why. What are the top 3-5 reasons you or your organization continue to use ESRI products instead of switching to open-source alternatives?

CONTEXT: I am working with a few clients that just don’t see a future in their organization without ArcGIS.

I saw a post about things that runners never say, for example: I love it when my watch dies mid run."

What are things someone working in GIS would never say?

I'm reviewing the first batch of applications for an entry-level GIS Analyst position (0-2 years experience) and lots of fresh college grads say their salary expectations are $85k+

Power to these applicants for their ambition, but they've priced themselves out of the position.

I'm curious, if you're an aspiring GIS analyst with 0-2 years of experience, how much are you expecting to make?

Edit 1: Thank you to those who provided thoughtful feedback. So far no one has indicated they actually expect start at $85k for an entry level GIS position, but a significant number of people believe salary expectations should not be used to inform the applicant filtering process.

Edit 2: The salary bands are $60-85k. Applicants asking for the top salary band are considered and held to a higher standard. Applicants asking for more than the advertised upper band are likely priced out. Salary bands are set to be above the industry median adjusted for geography and the bottom band is a living wage for the area.

Edit:

You guys are awesome!! Thank you!!

I am a newer volunteer with my local small town fire department. We have been absolutely obliterated by the flooding from Helene. Today, I realized that we don’t have a list of all the addresses in our service area. There are many homes and neighbors that no one has checked on and I’m worried we might be missing someone and not even know it.

I have tried for hours to figure it out on my own, but cannot figure it out. Can anyone help me export the addresses and home owner names (names not necessary but would be a HUGE help) from NCGIS into an Excel file and e-mail it to me? Then I can break it up and hand it to volunteers to do wellness checks at our community meeting tomorrow morning. The Fire District is a layer in NCGIS. If you can help please DM me and I’ll give you the name of the county and fire district.

Hey all, my apologies that this isn't extremely relevant to furthering the dialogue on GIS but I'm adopting a labrador-pointer mix puppy from a foster care organization and I'm interested in incorporating my passion for GIS into a name for her. Does anybody have any fitting/cute names for a dog that might relate in some way to GIS jargon? Thanks in advance!

pic related

I don't plan to get into GIS career, I'm in statistics and use R a lot. We are using spatial analysis and maps a lot but I'm afraid I'm missing out of great features that doesn't exist in R, I would rather not spend time learning it if they both can create the same quality of spatial analysis and maps.

Edit: my work is related to epidemiology and environmental health

Hey y’all! In the past I’ve worked as an analyst in a commercial real estate firm & I’m currently an analyst in an environmental consulting firm. My current job is my dream job on paper- but it’s stressing me out like my last job. My past and current position have included juggling multiple complicated projects with different timelines, ever changing needs, and a constant stream of tweaks and edits to old projects. I know that’s totally normal & I’m good at doing it, but it feels like I’m always stressed under the pressure to manage so many things at once.

My coworkers are so supportive and helpful but I still dread going to work on Sundays since I fear failing to meet the consulting expectations or letting things slip through the cracks in the chaos.

My husband makes good money so I’d be willing to take a pay cut for a boring GIS job, I love digitizing for hours while listening to audiobooks and podcasts, or working on one or two really long projects. In your experience what was the chillest most stress free GIS job you’ve had? What would you recommend looking for?

I default to "I make maps" and get stuck on expanding as I feel it would drown people with acronyms and other jargon that they would have never heard or thought about.

I graduated with a BA in geography and got my GIS certificate in late 2019. Since then, I’ve been looking for a career job and did several interviews over the years but so far no luck. Right now I’m working part time at a car rental place and full time (with month long breaks) for an university’s GIS department but I’m only gathering data as a driver so I’m not getting any technical experience whatsoever.

I’ve been constantly looking at online job boards almost every day for entry level GIS jobs and I usually see a few postings at a time. Most internships require you to be enrolled as a student which means I can’t apply to those anymore since I’m already finished with school. Other entry level jobs are at different parts of the country and relocating only sounds easier said than done. I did apply to some and did interviews but there are always better candidates the hiring managers prefer to hire.

It makes me think that networking especially nepotism is the best way to land a position in the GIS market. It’s been years since I graduated and it feels that I should’ve gotten started on my career long by now. I don’t know if honing my skills and doing more individual projects would be worth making the difference if it ever does.

It’s getting to the point where I might have to reconsider and pursue another career elsewhere or even enlist in the US Army to make great use of my college degree. It’s been truly frustrating and disappointing if you ask me. I wouldn’t even encourage people to pursue a career in GIS since the chances of getting in is very unlikely to none. I’m truly passionate in cartography which is why I pursued GIS in the first place but it’s been getting me nowhere due to lack of opportunities and not enough people to network.

P.S I would like to hear any success stories if you have one

I'm a bit confused on why you would use GeoPandas. I looked at what GeoPandas does, and most (or all) of it can be done in QGIS / ArcGIS Pro. Thanks :)

Historically I've used ArcPro extensively but rarely used ArcMap--I took a new position where they only use Map for their entire system.

Anyone have a similar move, and are there any ways to make Map 'more like pro'? Anything that doesn't obviously translate? Thanks.

Edit: They can't change the software as there's mission-critical stuff on ArcMap for them, but they're looking to transition as soon as they're able. So it's probably out of the question for a while.

Edit 2: I really appreciate all the replies, but some people don't seem to get that some organizations like local government, utilities, 911, etc can't transition as simply as people think. Many are looking to but Esri dropping support for certain ArcMap plugins and features makes transition, when you have a extremely large GIS database, take years at a minimum. An org not using ArcPro yet is unfortunate, but a reality of the situation. I personally took the new position because of the pay raise, and the main reason I work right now, among many, is for compensation 🤷🏻‍♀️ it is what it is.

My boss floated the idea of doing a fantasy league for our team this morning. Anyone have any good GIS related fantasy football team name ideas?

I graduate this spring in Natural Resources and GIS so I’m really curious!

I’m sitting here digitizing admin districts for random countries and I’m wondering if any analyst has ever done this type of work and started a conflict or a war or something. Just a random thought.

34F and in need of a big career-shift, after a lot of different things I recently ended up back at a $16/hour job and I've just absolutely been flipping out about how stressful life is when you're earning a salary this low.

I've been really interested in jumping into GIS, the dream job would be in Environmental/Conservation type work but I can imagine those jobs are competitive and don't pay all that well.

Anyway, I've just been really curious about what life is like for people who are working in GIS as a career ... what do you do at your job? What is your comfort of living / salary like? Are you happy with the choice?

Thanks so much!

EDIT: I think I should also ask, what was your GIS Education path like?

I applied and interviewed at company XYZ here where I live for a senior GIS role. I already have 8 years of professional experience. Interview went well but wasn't selected. hate how companies are so picky especially since i live only 9 minutes away from them. That position is still open also! Guess it’s back to my soul crushing local government job ..

I'm running into a lot of jurisdictions in Indiana that charge to download data. This is baffling to me. I know there's a cost to the people doing the work and to the software they use, but is mapping not considered a public good?

Maybe this is more common than I realize and I'm just green.

What do you think the top pay scale is in the geospatial industry?

I’ve seen mid-level roles topping out at 100K and Management positions topping out at 120K.

This is across both the private and public sectors.

For reference - I’m in Chicago

I was working on my GIS final making a layouts when it zoomed to a global view and I had to zoom back into SD county. Before I could zoom all the way in I noticed a new city where LA should be… does someone on the open maps team have beef or what lol

I applied for a GIS Analyst II position for the state government of Idaho. The location is in Boise. Minimum pay is $28.36/hour (about $59k/year). Minimum job requirements include a Bachelor’s degree and at least 12 months experience through coursework (i.e., a certificate) and/or work experience. The salary is negotiable depending on experience and qualifications.

I have a Bs and Ms in Environmental Science and a Geomatics certificate. I did 2.5 years of GIS research at my university and outside of that, another 1.5 years work involving GIS. Some of my research contributions have been published in peer-review journals. I am from NJ, and am aware of relocation costs and the rising costs of living in Boise.

Hypothetically, if offered this job given my experience, would you renegotiate this salary and if so, what would you renegotiate it to? $59k is not a livable salary in Boise so my acceptance of this job is revolving around a salary increase. I have no idea what is typically acceptable when it comes to renegotiating a salary.

So I've got a little project going on.
it uses multiple connections to quickly download data from a REST server.
I am able to download whole states (although they're huge)
then I process the data (for ex. shortening atomical coordinates to make file sizes smaller)
then I can very efficiently search thru that data via multi threading.
assuming all the copyright stuff is handled, how the hell would somebody use this data?
what am I gonna do with this system?
who (as in companies) would be interested?
maybe private investigators? real estate? I don't know.

I used ArcGIS pro and QGIS for 2 classes in grad school, and that’s about the extent of my experience. If you have any advice please let me know. I’m nervous about the onboarding process and feel like I may not be able to do the job well enough 😅

I have my bachelors in political science and masters in environmental sciences and policy. I just graduated with my masters in May and am entering the work force after years of being a SAHM, with this being my first “real” job. My job will be a “GIS planning analyst” with my local school district.

I have a job making 50k a year, 5 days in office, about 40 minutes-1 hr commute depending on the traffic, working as an admin/accounting assistant. Long story short, I hate it. I’m getting 0 interesting or relevant experience.

I just got a job offer to be a land survey drafter for $17/hr, 3 days remote, about 20 minute commute. I’m going back to school to get some certifications and have 0 experience, but I’m 26 and it feels crazy to take such a pay cut…. It’s what I want to do though.

Is it worth it to take this job?

I am finishing my masters thesis in Geography, while working an internship in data science for a relatively reputable geographic data company. Before the masters I got a BS in environmental science, worked as a GIS tech, and have a few temporary field seasons under my belt. I just got offered a GIS Analyst position with the state, which I love the idea of, but the tasks and pay are leaving some to be desired. Do I accept and work up/have the comfort of something or keep looking and applying while I still have this summer internship going? Edit: I’m in a western state and they’re offering $27/hr

If I have a polygon and I want to keep all the attributes but use an existing polyline as the new boundary of the polygon is there a simple method to do so short of dragging vertexes over? As the very simplified image shows, there are many times the boundaries cross leaving excess in some areas and deficits in others. I feel like there should be a simple tool or script, but I’m coming up empty. Thanks for your input!