URISA's Salary Survey Results Published - Noted in GIS Monitor Park Ridge, Illinois — August 1, 2007 — More than 2,400 individuals participated in the latest URISA Salary Survey, a significant increase over the previous three surveys released in 1998, 2000 and 2003. The latest publication includes a much wider-range of detailed information. Additions include more job titles and questions pertaining to the increase/decrease of department size, professional certification, specific computer skills and soft skills, salary fluctuation, and zip/postal codes for better geocoding. Here are some highlights: On average, survey respondents earned $60,050 in 2006, which represented an increase of 13.8 percent over the 2003 average of $52,750. Salaries varied according to job title, location, type of employer and other factors:

• Consultants experienced the greatest average increase (from an average of $71,280 in 2003 to a current average annual salary of $96,786).
• Respondents employed by county government enjoyed the most significant average salary increase (a 33.3 percent increase over the 2003 average).
• Certified GIS Professionals (GISPs) earn, on average, nearly $9,000 more per year compared to those who are not certified $66,308 vs. $57,669).

Most respondents (63.7 percent) were employed within some level of government and held GIS-related job titles (84.6 percent), such as GIS Manager, GIS Analyst, GIS Coordinator, etc. Nearly two-thirds (63.8 percent) of respondents indicated that their organizations have increased the number of GIS staff in the past five years. On average, respondents work an average of 42.5 hours in a typical week. They have an average of 13.8 years of professional experience and 9.6 years of GIS professional experience. The average age of those responding was 39.0 years. 85 percent have earned a bachelor's degree or higher. Three-fourths (75.3 percent) indicated that, at a minimum, a bachelor's degree is required for their position. 28 percent of respondents are Certified GIS Professionals (GISP), and more than half (58.2 percent) of those who are not certified are planning to apply for GISCI certification within the next three years. According to the results of this survey, respondents' jobs require them to be at least somewhat proficient with a variety of GIS software. Similar to the results of the 2003 survey, ESRI products were most popular. The leaders included ArcGIS (91.2 percent), SDE/GeoDatabase (47.9 percent), ESRI Extensions – Network Analyst, 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst (46.2 percent), ArcIMS (37.9 percent), ArcView (34.3 percent), and ArcPad (26.7 percent). The publication (available on CD-ROM) is available for purchase on the URISA website (http://www.urisa.org/2007_salary_survey). The 500+ page document includes comprehensive results and cross-tabulations according to job title, location, certification status and more. Raw data from the survey is included on the CD-ROM.