Remote sensing technician to cartographer
A remote sensing technician already meets 59% of what the cartographer role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
48.1/ 100
1 How much of what a cartographer is expected to do is already part of a remote sensing technician’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the cartographer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A cartographer role treats 13 of its required skills as things a remote sensing technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- apply digital mapping
- cartography
- collect mapping data
- compile GIS-data
- create GIS reports
- create thematic maps
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A cartographer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a remote sensing technician background worth leading with.
- already held remote sensing techniques natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held compile GIS-data information skills
- already held geomatics natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
- already held photogrammetry engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held collect mapping data information skills
- already held geodesy natural sciences, mathematics and statistics
All 23 carried skills, including the 13 the cartographer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn draft legends required
- still to learn improve user-friendliness required
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held use traditional illustration techniques optional
- optional, not held design customised maps optional
- optional, not held design graphics optional
- still to learn handle geospatial technologies required
- optional, not held use digital illustration techniques optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held use software for data preservation optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn empirical analysis required
- optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
- optional, not held perform scientific research optional
- optional, not held perform surveying calculations optional
- optional, not held process collected survey data optional
- optional, not held report analysis results optional
- optional, not held ICT system programming optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a cartographer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 draft legends practise this
- 02 improve user-friendliness practise this
- 03 handle geospatial technologies practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held apply digital mapping skill
- already held cartography knowledge
- already held collect mapping data skill
- already held compile GIS-data skill
- already held create GIS reports skill
- already held create thematic maps skill
- already held execute analytical mathematical calculations skill
- already held geographic information systems knowledge
- already held geography knowledge
- already held geomatics knowledge
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held topography knowledge
- already held use geographic information systems skill
- already held assist scientific research skill
- already held collect data using GPS skill
- already held geodesy knowledge
- already held geology knowledge
- already held photogrammetry knowledge
- already held remote sensing techniques knowledge
- already held solve location and navigation problems by using GPS tools skill
- already held study aerial photos skill
- already held surveying knowledge
- already held use CAD software skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held surveying methods optional
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
22 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held ICT system programming optional
- optional, not held identify customer's needs optional
- optional, not held surveying methods optional
- optional, not held use digital illustration techniques optional
- optional, not held use traditional illustration techniques optional
- optional, not held apply desktop publishing techniques optional
- optional, not held archive scientific documentation optional
- optional, not held conduct field work optional
- optional, not held conduct quantitative research optional
- optional, not held conduct scholarly research optional
- optional, not held design customised maps optional
- optional, not held design graphics optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
- optional, not held operate scientific measuring equipment optional
- optional, not held perform scientific research optional
- optional, not held perform surveying calculations optional
- optional, not held process collected survey data optional
- optional, not held report analysis results optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
- optional, not held use software for data preservation optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
18 held skills the cartographer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Earth science knowledge
- not needed by the target role civil engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect real-time geolocation information skill
- not needed by the target role computer simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct research on climate processes skill
- not needed by the target role create cadastral maps skill
- not needed by the target role create strategic maps skill
- not needed by the target role develop geological databases skill
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role geophysics knowledge
- not needed by the target role interpret geophysical data skill
- not needed by the target role interpret visual literacy skill
- not needed by the target role keep task records skill
- not needed by the target role log transmitter readings skill
- not needed by the target role operate remote sensing equipment skill
- not needed by the target role prepare geological map sections skill
- not needed by the target role research remote sensing technologies skill
- not needed by the target role study radar images skill
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn empirical analysis required
- optional, not held ICT system programming optional
- optional, not held surveying methods optional
- optional, not held desktop publishing optional
- optional, not held legal research optional
- optional, not held scientific research methodology optional
Other moves recorded from remote sensing technician
Common questions about this move
Can a remote sensing technician become a cartographer?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A remote sensing technician already covers 59% of what a cartographer is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 13 of which the cartographer role treats as required.
What skills does a remote sensing technician need to become a cartographer?
4 required skills are missing, plus 22 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is draft legends.
How hard is the move from remote sensing technician to cartographer?
Its learning distance is 48.1 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.