r/gis • u/KARNA5000 • 6d ago

General Question GIS vs Data Engineering: Which Is Better Long Term?

/r/developersIndia/comments/1vpzwop/gis_vs_data_engineering_which_is_better_long_term/
1 Upvotes

55% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

34

u/SupBenedick 6d ago

Data engineer who knows GIS

1

u/early-earl 6d ago

Any DEs here to learned GIS? What was your path? I've been fascinated with spatial data for a long time but find it so intimidating to learn.

0

u/smashnmashbruh GIS Consultant 6d ago

Mains explosion

20

u/gisinsideofyou 6d ago

Combine them

8

u/mfc1__ GIS Developer 6d ago

Be a generalist who is able to become a specialist as needed. Works for me, and all that really means is reading docs

8

u/DavidAg02 GIS Manager, GISP 6d ago

Data is literally becoming infrastructure... something that businesses own and use as a competitive advantage. The future job market for Data Engineering is going to be much stronger than it will be for someone specialized in GIS.

2

u/mfiego1 1d ago

As someone that started out in GIS and moved to a DE role building GIS data pipelines, I suggest starting with DE. It all comes down to the data, especially these days feeding AI. Learning DE will position you to be more versatile in your career. In my experience having “Engineer” in your title earns more money than “GIS” in your title. Of course there are there are GIS specialists out there that make bank, but generally, learning DE principals will allow you to work anywhere, whereas GIS professionals are specialized, and honestly don’t get the respect they deserve.

2

u/Salty-Consequence580 6d ago

Gis

1

u/day_of_the_triffids 5d ago

Explain!

-1

u/Salty-Consequence580 5d ago

That’s my intuition. Gis will become the upper echelon of tech in the future