Cartographers and Photogrammetrists
Architecture and ConstructionO*NET 17-1021.00United States
Research, study, and prepare maps and other spatial data in digital or graphic form for one or more purposes, such as legal, social, political, educational, and design purposes. May work with Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
- Median annual earnings
- $81,457
- Projected change
- +7.5%
- Typical education
- Certificate
- Employment
- 16.37K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
35.7% of the workforce
Growing to 17.59K by 2035
Explore this career by location
Compare nationwide estimates with state or county job-market data.
Showing United States
Loading available locations…
Build the skills
ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
Loading related ASU learning
The work
What cartographers and photogrammetrists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Compile data required for map preparation, including aerial photographs, survey notes, records, reports, and original maps.
- Delineate aerial photographic detail, such as control points, hydrography, topography, and cultural features, using precision stereoplotting apparatus or drafting instruments.
- Prepare and alter trace maps, charts, tables, detailed drawings, and three-dimensional optical models of terrain using stereoscopic plotting and computer graphics equipment.
- Study legal records to establish boundaries of local, national, and international properties.
- Inspect final compositions to ensure completeness and accuracy.
- Revise existing maps and charts, making all necessary corrections and adjustments.
- Identify, scale, and orient geodetic points, elevations, and other planimetric or topographic features, applying standard mathematical formulas.
- Collect information about specific features of the Earth, using aerial photography and other digital remote sensing techniques.
- Examine and analyze data from ground surveys, reports, aerial photographs, and satellite images to prepare topographic maps, aerial-photograph mosaics, and related charts.
- Build and update digital databases.
- Determine map content and layout, as well as production specifications such as scale, size, projection, and colors, and direct production to ensure that specifications are followed.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $53,411
- 25th percentile
- $65,440
- 50th percentile
- $81,457
- 75th percentile
- $102,421
- 90th percentile
- $129,696
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $81,457 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+7.5%faster than average
202516,366 jobs
2035 projected17,590 jobs
1,224 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Certificate
- 35.7%
- Bachelor's degree
- 31.5%
- Associate degree
- 11.2%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 11%
- Some college
- 10.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Cartographers59 postings
- 02Geospatial Technicians18 postings
- 03Geospatial Specialists14 postings
- 04Mapping Technicians13 postings
- 05Cartographic Technicians11 postings
- 06Cadastral Technicians10 postings
- 07Right of Way Technicians2 postings
- 08Survey Field Technicians2 postings
- 09Artists/Illustrators1 postings
- 10Mappers1 postings
- 11Revenue Accountants1 postings
Top employers
- 01Leidos14 postings
- 02Garmin International9 postings
- 03Arctic Slope Regional Corporation5 postings
- 04Wiser5 postings
- 05Clario4 postings
- 06County Of Siskiyou4 postings
- 07Avangrid3 postings
- 08Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania3 postings
- 09County Orange-Health Care Agency3 postings
- 10Hamilton County3 postings
- 11Southeast Connections3 postings
- 12Alisto Engineering Group2 postings
- 13Anveta2 postings
- 14Booz Allen Hamilton2 postings
- 15Central Intelligence Agency2 postings
- 16Ducks Unlimited2 postings
- 17Iberdrola2 postings
- 18Las Vegas Valley Water District2 postings
- 19Lvi Associates2 postings
- 20NV52 postings
Keep looking
Related careers
Architectural and Engineering Managers
- Median pay
- $170,557
- Employment outlook
- +6.9%
Electrical and Electronics Drafters
- Median pay
- $74,471
- Employment outlook
- +0.1%
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects
- Median pay
- $112,237
- Employment outlook
- +6.9%
Surveying and Mapping Technicians
- Median pay
- $54,082
- Employment outlook
- +8.5%