The digital age has made travelling to new places much easier—instead of stopping frequently to ask for directions, you can simply feed the location into a GPS app like Google Maps within a few minutes and reach your destination without any hiccups.
With the rapid advancements in satellite technology, you can map even obscure and difficult to reach regions of the planet and make exciting discoveries. You can find the applications of geo-informatics in every major industry including agriculture, meteorological surveys and even the tourist and hospitality industry.
If you are curious about geo-informatics and want to know the benefits of pursuing a course in the subject, this blog can help you. It also lists some exciting career possibilities of a geo-informatics engineering degree.
What is geo-informatics engineering?
Geo-informatics, or popularly known as GIS, can be considered an amalgamation of geographical sciences with information technology. The subject deals with the study and analysis of geographical data obtained with the help of advanced IT infrastructure such as satellites.
The geographical data obtained is processed and analysed to gather further insights into specific features of the region such as the topography and soil composition. GIS technology cuts through different fields of research and has industrial applications in land-use management, urban planning, agriculture, population studies, archaeology and telecommunications among other fields.
Why should you pursue a geo-informatics course?
Here are some benefits of pursuing an engineering course in GIS.
- Growing career prospects: One of the main advantages of pursuing your education in GIS is the plethora of career opportunities in the domain. There is a wide variety in the type of roles available to GIS graduates owing to the usage of this technology in different fields. From an epidemiologist to an urban planner, you can choose any role that catches your attention.
- Rapidly developing field: With the increase in the availability of geospatial data, many current and upcoming organisations like Google are foraging into the cartography industry by developing mapping apps. This in turn, has increased the market for GIS in different domains. According to a market research survey, the global GIS market is expected to churn a turnout of $17.5 billion by 2023.
- A chance to make a difference: If you are enthusiastic about humanitarian and environmental causes, a GIS degree can help you put your knowledge to noble uses. You can plan urban layouts to minimise environmental damage, help in the conservations efforts of a wildlife habitat, or identify natural disaster prone areas to help the indigenous populations adapt to harsh climates.
What are the career prospects of a geo-informatics degree?
Whether you want a desk job or want to work outdoors, you can find the perfect job for yourself in this industry. Here are the career possibilities after you complete your geo-informatics degree:
- Urban planners
- Location intelligence specialists
- Defense intelligence consultants
- Earth scientists
- Climate scientists
- Oceanography experts
- GIS developers
- Geological mapping experts
- Environmental planning experts
- Natural resource management experts
With these roles, you can get a chance to shape the way the rest of the world interacts with the planet. The degree can improve your understanding of the interdependence between geological and social factors that can lead to solving some of the world’s most challenging issues.