geographers:

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Links to Salary Surveys

We urge you to regard the following links as a mere beginning.

Unfortunately, finding useful salary information for geographers is difficult because few geographers work under the job title "geography." We may call one area "economic geography," but economic geographers may work under job titles as varied as statistician, business consultant, city real estate tax appraiser, corporate location analyst, college professor, real estate analyst, as well as a host of other titles, none of which include the word economic, or even geography.

Another confusing aspect of the issue is that, in many general job classifications (including the US government), geographers are classed as Social Scientists and in others, they are classed as Earth Scientists. Either broad classification masks a great variety of positions and salary levels. Unfortunately, Social Scientists tend to draw lower salary ranges than their Earth Science counterparts, and when geographers are classed with Social Scientists, such as psychologists and social workers, the average salary tends to be lower than when they are classed with Earth Scientists, such as geomorphologists or climatologists or environmental scientists.

In another quirk of the classification game, GIS (Geographic Information Systems) specialists are often classified with Computer Scientists, along with programmers and systems analysts. It is a computer-based specialty, but its application is informed by the knowledge of geographic principles behind it. GIS has come a long way beyond its original development as a computer-based aid to cartography, and it is being used in many, many areas now, including medical geography (mapping the spread of disease), international development (examining the relationship between political development and other social and economic factors), real estate location analysis (looking for the best location for a retail business), and so on.

It is easier to find salary information when you have a specific job title and industry to research, but if you don't, we suggest that you go back to the work section of the site, and look for job titles of work that appeals to you. Then, using those titles, under the appropriate industry, you can find salary levels for those jobs.

Geography-specific Sites

The Unofficial Cartographers' Salary Survey

Salary Survey Results (caddjobs.com)
http://www.caddjobs.com/survey/results.asp?survey=country&vtitle=all
A smaller, informal collection of salary information, this from CADD specialists, some of whom are geographers, although few, if any, work under that title.

Salary Survey Results (civiljobs.com)
http://www.civiljobs.com/survey/results.asp?survey=country&vtitle=all
A small, informal collection of salary information from civil engineer specialists, some of whom may have a background in geography.

Regarding Wages and Salary Levels in GIS and Business Geography
http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/thrall/class/giswages.htm
More informal information on GIS salary levels, this collected by Professor Grant Thrall, Univ of Florida, Gainesville.

Related Sites

Science's Next Wave (AAAS - 1998 Salary Survey by Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology)
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/survey/
While geography is not specifically listed, other related disciplines are, including economics, political science and computer science. Median salaries are listed for those employed in academics, business and government.

Consultant Salaries
http://www.cob.ohio-state.edu/dept/fin/jobs/mco/salary.htm
Various companies and their typical starting salaries in consulting.(While this site does not identify consultants by their specialty, we know of many geographers who work as consultants.)

General Sites with Salary Surveys

What Am I Worth? (The Riley Guide)

Salary Surveys and Other Information (JobSmart)
http://www.jobsmart.org/tools/salary/sal-surv.htm
Includes both specific and general survey information, plus extras such as cost-of-living comparisons, guides to printed surveys, salary issues and negotiation strategies. The section,"Profession-specific Salary Surveys," are linked on the site to more than 45 categories, each of which may have several surveys.

Salary Surveys (InfoWorld 1998 Compensation Survey)
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayCareers.pl?98entcar.welcome.htm
Primarily covering IT professionals, the site also includes short articles on issues beyond salaries, such as training, bonuses, raises and work hours, as well as comparative salary information on management levels.

The International Salary Calculator (Homefair)
http://www.homefair.com/homefair/cmr/salcalc.html
Information on relocation costs, cost of living in different area and real estate prices.

Wall Street Journal
http://careers.wsj.com/?content=cwc-salaries.htm
The Salaries and Profiles section has many recent WSJ articles, as well as salary data organized by industry and job function, regional profiles, a section on negotiating and a salary calculator.

Datamasters Computer Industry Salary Survey
http://www.datamasters.com/dm/survey98.html
Billed as the 1998 Computer Industry Salary Survey, the site is organized by geographic region and subdivided into managerial and professional staff salary levels.

Careerplanning (About.com)
http://careerplanning.miningco.com/business/jobsearch/careerplanning/msub9.htm
Includes links to articles variously related to salary, with tips on benefits, negotiating and calculating cost-of-living in different parts of the country.

Salary survey links (About.com)
http://jobsearchtech.about.com/business/jobsearchtech/msub31.htm
A long list of sites to search for salary information in many different industries and businesses.

Geographers:

getting jobs
planning careers
at work