How to hire a GIS Technician

How to hire a gis technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step gis technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a gis technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new gis technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a GIS Technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The gis technician hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine Employee vs Contractor Status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect gis technician also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list shows salaries for various types of gis technicians.

   Type Of GIS Technician	Description	Hourly Rate
   GIS Technician	A GIS Technician is responsible for making maps and customizing geographic information systems applications. They also provide technical support to users or clients regarding the maintenance, development, or operation of geographic information systems databases.	$18-41
   Geographic Information Systems Geographer	A Geographic Information Systems Geographer collects, analyzes, and interprets geospatial data. They produce specialist mapping products.	$15-49
   Gis Internship	A GIS (Geographic Information Systems) intern is responsible for assisting the data analyst team on project management operations, data processing procedures, and advocacy program planning. GIS interns shadow all the processes of the organization, performing administrative and clerical duties under the supervision of a direct manager... Show More	$19-45

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common Skills:

   • Patients
   • Patient Care
   • GPS
   • Database Management
   • Spatial Data
   • CAD
   • Python
   • Customer Service
   • Data Collection
   • Esri Arcgis
   • Vital Signs
   • Digitizing
   • Data Entry
   • Geospatial Data

   Check All Skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage computer programming and maximize enhancements to GIS database.
   • Generate GIS database updates manually and manage automated unix-base system to apply records to client database.
   • Provide application development and support, infrastructure maintenance, and license management.
   • Update attribute information and reconcile as-built construction record drawings with corresponding GPS data.
   • Trouble shoot ArcGIS relate issues.
   • Create site-specific map sets utilizing ArcMAP, ArcTools.

   More GIS Technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the gis technician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A gis technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a gis technician in Hawaii may be lower than in Massachusetts, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level gis technician. Additionally, a gis technician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average gis technician salary

   $58,307yearly

   $28.03 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level gis technician salary

   $39,000 yearly salary

   Updated March 31, 2025

   Average gis technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. Salary	Hourly Rate
   1	Massachusetts	$76,510	$37
   2	Maryland	$73,242	$35
   3	New Jersey	$69,944	$34
   4	Oregon	$67,130	$32
   5	California	$65,423	$31
   6	Virginia	$64,360	$31
   7	Washington	$63,629	$31
   8	Ohio	$60,773	$29
   9	Michigan	$60,051	$29
   10	Alabama	$58,838	$28
   11	Illinois	$57,899	$28
   12	Georgia	$56,973	$27
   13	Florida	$56,519	$27
   14	Arizona	$56,412	$27
   15	Wisconsin	$56,074	$27
   16	Minnesota	$54,599	$26
   17	Texas	$54,344	$26
   18	North Carolina	$54,233	$26
   19	Missouri	$53,409	$26
   20	Colorado	$51,818	$25

   Average gis technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
   1	American Water	$104,265	$50.13	1
   2	Mears Transportation Group	$78,899	$37.93
   3	Tenet Healthcare	$74,573	$35.85
   4	Aqua	$71,292	$34.27
   5	Eversource Energy	$70,962	$34.12
   6	Cambridge Systematics	$68,480	$32.92
   7	HealthTrust	$68,404	$32.89
   8	Duke Energy	$66,396	$31.92
   9	Progress Energy	$65,926	$31.70
   10	Mission Regional Medical Center	$65,505	$31.49
   11	Sanborn	$64,797	$31.15	2
   12	North Shore High School	$64,295	$30.91
   13	Collier County Library	$64,293	$30.91
   14	Collier County Government	$64,056	$30.80
   15	Alliance of Professionals & Consultants	$62,140	$29.88	1
   16	My Florida Regional Mls	$61,687	$29.66
   17	ICONMA	$61,313	$29.48
   18	Health First	$61,065	$29.36	5
   19	HDR	$60,946	$29.30	2
   20	TalentBurst	$60,866	$29.26

4. Writing a GIS Technician Job Description

   A job description for a gis technician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a gis technician job description:

   GIS Technician job description example

   The GI Technician assists in providing patient care under the direct supervision of the Registered Nurse. Assists with the care of the GI patients, neonate through the geriatric years. Maintains a clean, safe patient environment and performs job responsibilities in a safe manner.
   Essential Functions Assists physicians with Endoscopic procedures. Performs personal care for the comfort and well-being of the patient; including but not limited to assisting patients with bedpan and/or with ambulating to the restroom, transfers to bed, wheelchair and/or stretcher, turning and positioning patients. Escorts patients as needed. Sets up rooms for procedures including setting up computer with patient's name and procedure, making occupied and unoccupied beds. Assists with room/unit inventory, ordering and distribution of supplies. Cleans endoscopes either by sterilization or high-level disinfection. Assists with oxygen therapy by maintenance of oxygen therapy, safety measures and care of oxygen equipment. Performs vital signs and documents in the medical record (pulse, respiration, blood pressure).
   
   Physical Requirements
   Work requires walking, standing, sitting, lifting, reaching, bending, stretching, stooping, pushing, and pulling. Must be able to lift and support the weight of 35 pounds in handling patients, medical equipment, and supplies. Must speak and understand English in good understandable terms. Must have manual and finger dexterity. Physical abilities testing required.
   
   Education, Experience and Certifications High School Diploma or GED required. Surgical or GI Technology training preferred and/or NA I or NA II with Department of Facility Services preferred. Basic Life Support for Healthcare Provider from AHA required. Successful completion of the SGNA GI Associates Program required within 6 months of employment. Must maintain 6 educational contact hours annually in the GI field of study. Computer skills preferred.
   
   About Us
   
   Atrium Health is one of the nation's leading healthcare organizations, connecting patients with on-demand care, world-class specialists and the region's largest primary care network. A recognized leader in healthcare delivery, quality and innovation, our foundation rests on providing clinically excellent and compassionate care.
   
   We've been serving our community since 1940, when we opened our doors as Charlotte Memorial Hospital. Since then, our network has grown to include more than 40 hospitals and 900 care locations ranging from doctors' offices to behavioral health centers to nursing homes.
   
   Our focus: Delivering the highest quality patient care, supporting medical research and education, and joining with partners outside our walls to keep our community healthy.
   
   About the Team
   
   Our Mission Statement, Vision and Values
   
   Our Mission: To improve health, elevate hope and advance healing - for all.
   
   Our Vision: To be the first and best choice for care.
   Our Values: We recognize that employees are our most valuable asset. We have identified four core values we hold in the highest regard: caring, commitment, integrity and teamwork.

   Copy This Example

   

5. Post your job

   To find gis technicians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any gis technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level gis technicians with the right educational background.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your gis technician job on Zippia to find and recruit gis technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as dice, engineering.com, stack overflow, it job pro.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   To successfully recruit gis technicians, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   Sometimes, it's not enough to interview gis technician candidates, so you can ask them to do a test project. If you are not a technical person and don't know what a test project should be, you can use these websites:

   • TestDome
   • CodeSignal
   • Testlify
   • BarRaiser
   • Coderbyte

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new gis technician

   Once you've found the gis technician candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new gis technician. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a gis technician?