Cartographer

Cartographers collect data on the natural and artificial elements of the landscape (topography), e.g. mountains or roads, as well as on other diverse topics that affect our environment. Such data can include settlement geography or infrastructure, social, economic or political aspects. On the basis of this data, cartographers plan and design printed, digital and multimedia maps and produce them. Their work is based on geographic information systems, which they set up and manage themselves. Since people's living space is constantly changing, cartographers have to regularly update and renew maps and atlases.

Cartographers find employment

• in surveying offices and offices
• in architectural offices for local and regional planning
• at manufacturers of geographic information systems

The salary level for Cartographer in Germany is: from 3782 up to 5798 EUR per month

Why is Cartographer?

Cartographers visually develop the earth through maps. You plan and produce functional cards and also take economic aspects into account.

Variety of cards

What possibilities are there to simplify soil mapping for flood protection? How is environmental information prepared in such a way that it can be queried in a generally understandable form and, on the other hand, offer specialists further information and work opportunities on the screen? Cartographers deal with these and similar questions. You will oversee the development of digital and printed maps from conception to the finished product.

They process geodata in such a way that regions of the earth as well as celestial bodies can be reduced in size and displayed in two dimensions. Certain distortions are therefore inevitable. The objects are not depicted in their true shape, i.e. figuratively, but symbolically, using various symbols, colors or writings - on city maps, road and hiking maps, route planners, sea and river maps, world maps, star maps, globes or atlases. However, the work of the cartographers is not only in demand with topographic maps, but also with so-called themed maps. For example, it is about settlement geographic, infrastructural, social, economic, political, administrative or historical aspects of our earth. The creation of official maps is also one of their tasks.

Science with attention to detail

Cartographers mostly manage the data they need for their work digitally. For this they use geographic information systems (GIS). Since you are involved in building such systems yourself, computer science skills play a major role in this profession. Occasionally, however, they also use analogue source materials, e.g. collections of measurement data or historical maps.

Those who have completed a master’s degree often take on management positions and can also work in science and research. Cartographers are responsible, for example, for gaining new knowledge from the database of geographic information systems. With their help or the statistical figures and research results obtained from them, they produce, update or reproduce the corresponding maps or atlases.