Cartographers and photogrammetrists collect, measure, and interpret geographic information in order to create and update maps and charts for regional planning, education, emergency response, and other purposes.

Although cartographers and photogrammetrists spend much of their time in offices, certain jobs require extensive travel to locations that are being mapped.

A bachelor’s degree in cartography, geography, geomatics (the discipline that combines the science, engineering, math, and art of collecting and managing geographically referenced information), or surveying is the most common path of entry into this occupation. Cartographers and photogrammetrists must be licensed in some states.

Employment of cartographers and photogrammetrists is projected to grow 29 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations. The increasing use of maps for government planning should fuel employment growth. For this reason, job prospects are likely to be excellent.

This occupation supported 12,100 jobs in 2012 and 12,300 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 1.7%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 19.8% in 2022 to 14,500 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 12,500, compared with an observed value of 12,300, 1.6% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 29.8% in 2024 to 15,900 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 14,900 jobs for 2024, 6.3% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.