Our definition of cartography describes it as the ‘art, science and technology’ of mapmaking, a definition which illustrates the breadth of the discipline.
The terms ‘mapmaking’, ‘geodata visualisation’ and ‘cartography’ essentially mean the same thing: taking geographical data and transforming it into a map.
Making maps is an exciting and creative profession with a wide range of career possibilities. As new technology continues to evolve, the discipline progresses in tandem, creating new roles in an increasing number of professions. If you love maps, can pore over them for hours and wonder how they are made, then cartography may be the career for you! It is an exciting opportunity to combine design, technology and geography.
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The two main groups of employers of map producers are public organisations and commercial companies. The examples below which utilise cartography and geodata visualisation give an idea of the breadth of the profession:
Other professions such as land surveying, satellite remote sensing, aerial photography, geographical information systems, photogrammetry, hydrography, and geodesy as well as cartography are sometimes grouped together as ‘geomatics’ or the ‘geosciences’. However, cartography remains essential to the successful visualisation of spatial data, and the demand for skilled cartographers is strong.
As well as design and production, the practice of mapmaking involves other areas. The following occupations involve specialist training, at undergraduate or postgraduate level.
You can take a degree in:
Courses in cartography in further and higher education in the UK are limited, there are no dedicated courses in cartography at NVQ or degree level, but cartography forms an element in a number of courses in related subjects, including geography, GIS and geomatics. Currently Newcastle University, Glasgow University and Canterbury Christ Church University offer cartography-related courses.
Employers may also accept degrees in other subjects like computer science, software engineering or graphic design. A postgraduate qualification may help you to find work in a specialist field of cartography like GIS.
Due to the absence of specific training courses in the discipline, those wanting to enter the cartographic professional usually need to be taken on by a company and trained on the job.
Membership of the British Cartographic Society is useful for establishing contacts within the industry and for keeping up to date with technology and current publications. The BCS hold an annual conference and other events which provide good networking opportunities to keep up to date with developments in the industry.
The International Map Industry Association (IMIA) brings together producers and traders of maps and map data worldwide. Their website carries job vacancies: www.imiamaps.org.
Lis-Maps, run by the BCS Map Curators’ Group, concentrates on map librarianship matters but also discusses the wider aspects of cartography. Joining instructions can be found at: www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/lis-maps.html.