I am seeing so many people getting laid off...from banking to manufacturing. How is the economy affecting Geospatial jobs? Are there jobs available? Are there opportunities for career advancement or is everything in a holding pattern? Are we in a state where I had better hold onto my current GIS job so that I don't become the last hire and the first to be left go? What are your opinions?
I hesitantly voted for advancement still being possible, but I see it as being very dependent on the type of employer. I don't see the abundance of private sector openings I used to see other than temporary and contract work, but I still see a fair number of local government openings. This may be a sign that GIS has become so important and relevant to the daily operations of local units of government that GIS professionals have become somewhat indispensible to those agencies. That being said, I have heard of some layoffs in city government, particularly among junior level technical staff. From my observations, it doesn't seem to be all that widespread at this point though. Local government GIS funding mechanisms are so diverse that many agencies will probably weather the economic storm without much problem, while others may struggle and eventually have to lay off staff. State government is an entirely different story since most states are struggling with severe budget deficits.
As far as layoffs, it has hit our county government. In the GIS department there, they had 5 positions. Two were cut because of county budget issue. One had been filled and the other was still vacant. The position they got hit we the GIS Technician. The analysts amd coordinator were left. This layoff hit other county areas too like: sheriff's dept., inspections, maintenance, etc.
Well...we've seen layoffs with the big COTS software vendors like Intergraph, AutoDesk, etc. but growth in federal government workers. I have noticed that the big contract-based integration companies like SAIC, Northrup Grumman, BAE, and Booz Allen are also in a hiring "blitz "for folks with clearances. With this stimulous bill going in to effect soon I would expect to see a steady demand for jobs in the Geospatial vertical markets geared towards Utilities, Natural Resource Management and anything to do with Public Safety. Hopefully it will all work out for the best for everyone!
Adam Estrada - The GIS Forum
We're fortunate that Illinois statute authorizes counties to collect a fee specifically for the development and maintenance of the county's GIS program on most documents recorded in the office of the County Recorder. There's no doubt that the downturn in the real estate market has impacted the amount being collected in most counties around the state, but we're all generally doing alright. The uptick in mortgages being recorded due to refinancing has partially offset the decline in documents related to sales being recorded. I know that Illinois isn't the only state with a similar fee at the county level, but it's fairly unique among the states. While no funding source is ever a sure thing, the fee we have seems to be more stable than tax receipts, and I'm very glad we have it.
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