Skills
Geographer Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in geographers, and how to build and show them.
What skills do geographers need?
Geographers need technical skills such as gis, remote sensing, and spatial statistics, plus people skills like curiosity and communication. They also use tools such as ArcGIS Pro and QGIS.
Technical (hard) skills
- GIS
- Remote sensing
- Spatial statistics
- Cartography
- Research methods
- Python
People (soft) skills
- Curiosity
- Communication
- Analytical thinking
- Attention to detail
Tools, equipment and technology
- ArcGIS Pro
- QGIS
- Python
- Remote sensing software
- R
- GPS
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how geographers put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “GIS” and “Remote sensing.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “curiosity,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as GISP near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our geographer glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Geographer training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.