Cartographer jobs

The simple answer is within, which is an important fact to keep in mind given that cartography is essentially an inside profession. People's mental images of maps tend to conjure up images of outside pursuits like surveying and exploration; but, with the advent of specialization, this picture has become more out of date. It is possible that opportunities for field labor may present itself, such as ground-checking the information collected from airphotos, although these opportunities are more the exception than the norm.

The longer answer is that cartographers find work in both the public sector (particularly in government and education) and the private sector. This is because cartographers are in high demand. The following list provides information on the Canadian government agencies that are considered to be the most significant in the field of cartography on both the federal and provincial levels. However, chances may also be found with commercial mapping organizations, educational institutions including colleges and universities, and a wide variety of industries, particularly for cartographers who have experience working with GIS. This trend is expected to continue, particularly now that desktop mapping has made high-quality cartography accessible to anybody who has access to a microcomputer. The current rate of map production is higher than it has ever been, and it is expected to continue to rise in the future.

The Government of the United States

The Surveys, Mapping, and Remote Sensing Sector of Natural Resources Canada is widely regarded as the most reputable mapping institution in all of Canada. In addition to producing maps, the company's several departments are active in the fields of geodesy, surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing, and geographic information systems (GIS). The Earth Sciences Sector of Natural Resources Canada is the primary organization responsible for cartography in the Canadian government. A variety of subfields within this industry are concerned with the creation of maps in addition to geodesy, land surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing, and geographic information systems (GIS). One of these divisions is called the Centre for Topographic Information, and it is responsible for a variety of tasks, including the production of large-scale topographic maps that cover the whole nation and the maintenance of the National Topographic Data Base. The Data Dissemination Division is an additional division that is responsible for publishing geological maps at different sizes in addition to the maps and data that are included in the Atlas of Canada. There are many different kinds of cartographers working in this industry, some of them are at the forefront of study and development in the cartography of today. The Center for Geographic Analysis and Visualization employs cartographers of many specializations, some of whom are considered to be at the very cutting edge of study and development in cartography at the present time.

Mapping and related work is performed by a large number of different government agencies. The Geological Survey (which is a part of NRCan), the Atmospheric Environment Service and the Water Planning and Management Branch (both of which are parts of Environment Canada), the Directorate of Geographic Operations (which is a part of National Defense), the Canadian Hydrographic Service (which is a part of Fisheries and Oceans), and the Geography Division are the most important of these agencies (Statistics Canada). Several of them are involved in pioneering work in the fields of computer cartography and geographic information systems (GIS). A collection of about two million maps is kept at the National Archives' Cartographic and Audio-Visual Archives Division, which deserves special recognition since it is responsible for the upkeep of the collection.

Governments at the provincial and municipal levels

The mapping operations that take place at the provincial level are similar, to some extent, to those that take place at the federal level; nevertheless, there are inevitable variances due to the differences in authority. Topographic maps at scales that are not covered by the federal government are generated by each province's version of a "surveys and mapping branch." Maps are also produced by the ministries that are responsible for geology, transportation, tourism, forestry, land registration, and so on.

Computer cartography and geographic information systems (GIS) play a significant role in the work that provincial mapping agencies do, much like the one that federal mapping agencies play. This is particularly true in the context of topographic mapping and land registration. Additionally, the majority of province administrations have their own own cartographic archives. Cartographers may be found working in the planning and public works departments, as well as assessment offices, at the regional and local levels of government.

Institutions of Higher Education

It should be noted that many university departments, especially departments of geography, geology, and engineering, also employ staff cartographers to produce maps and other graphics for teaching and publication purposes. While it is obvious that these are the places where the majority of teaching cartographers are employed, it should be noted that this is the case. Although the majority of their work is done in black and white, academic cartographers are sometimes brought in to assist with significant projects like the development of atlases. For instance, the University of Toronto is responsible for the production of both the Economic Atlas of Ontario and the Historical Atlas of Canada. The majority of educational institutions also have map libraries, which are potential places of employment for cartographers.

Private Sector

The issue is highly complicated, however there are certain general categories that may be distinguished between. To begin, there are businesses that are involved in a wide variety of environmental-related activities. Some examples of these businesses include oil companies, firms that specialize in surveying and photogrammetry, public utilities, engineering and construction businesses, planning and consulting firms, and so on. The majority of them make considerable use of computer cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), and remote sensing, and provide good work possibilities for cartographers. Second, there are the commercial enterprises that specialize in producing smaller-scale thematic mapping, such as school atlases, wall maps, road atlases, and street plans. These companies may be found in the private sector. Third, there are the companies that sell computer mapping, remote sensing, and geographic information system (GIS) technologies. These companies have responsibilities for cartographers in research and development, as well as in applications and marketing. The establishment of the Geomatics Industry Association of Canada as a means for the country's businesses engaged in this field to be represented is indicative of the significance of the contributions made by the private sector. In addition, the production of aeronautical charts, which are essential for pilots of airplanes, is handled by NAV Canada, which is a firm that deals with the supervision of the civil aviation traffic in Canada.

These are the areas where cartographers make their livings, but what kind of salaries do they bring in? It goes without saying that this varies depending on factors such as education level, responsibilities, years of experience, and employer.