The Value and Future of
GIS Professional Certification
Rebecca Somers
Somers-St.Claire
GIS Management Consultants
Fairfax, Virginia
February 2015
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Copyright © 2014-15 Rebecca Somers and GISCI
Overview
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GISP® and other GIS certifications
Why obtain certification?
Future directions in GIS certification
What it means now
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GIS Certifications
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GISP® Certification
• GIS Professional Certification
• Issued by GISCI
– AAG, GITA, GLIS, NSGIC, UCGIS, URISA
– Since 2004
• Certification of GIS achievement, competency,
and professionalism:
– Experience
– Education
– Contributions
• Portfolio; exam to be added in 2015
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Other GIS Certifications
• ASPRS—suite of certifications including:
– Certified photogrammetrist (1975)
– Certified mapping scientist (GIS/LIS, RS) (1991)
– Certified GIS/LIS technologist
• Esri Technical Certifications
– Since 2010
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Other Credentials
• Certificates
– Completion of an education program
• Badges and “micro-credentials”
– Indicate accomplishments
• Licensure
– Legal requirement
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Why Obtain Certification?
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Why Get Certified?
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Document GIS professional achievement
Professional recognition
Greater earning and advancement potential
Credentials used to prescreen
Credential creep (DiBiase, 2014)
Growing preference for GIS certification
Grow the GIS profession
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2014 GIS Certification Survey
• 878 Responses (88% GIS was primary job)
• 62% had over 10 years GIS experience
• Employer Type
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32% Private Companies
17% City Government
17% County Government
5% Federal Government
5% Education
4% Non-profit
6% Other (mostly utilities)
• Largely US (87%)
Tripp Corbin, 2014
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Copyright © 2014-15 Rebecca Somers and GISCI
Most Well-known GIS Related
Certifications
Certification
2014
2013
GISP
89%
81%
Esri Technical
82%
76%
Certified GIS/LIS Technologist
(ASPRS)
CMS (ASPRS)
25%
18%
11%
9%
CP (ASPRS)
10%
8%
Other
7%
7%
Never heard of one
5%
8%
Tripp Corbin, 2014
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GIS Certification Survey
• Do you believe certification benefits GIS
Professionals and users?
– 44% say Yes
– 22% say No
– 34% Not sure
Tripp Corbin, 2014
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GIS Certification Survey
• When hiring new GIS staff, does your
organization consider having a GIS related
certification as a plus over those that don't?
– Yes: 30%
– No: 38%
– Not Sure: 32%
Tripp Corbin, 2014
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Growing Preference for
GISP® Certification
• More than 100 recent (Oct-Nov 2014) job
listings included a preference for GISP®
Certification
• Public & private sectors
• All types of jobs, including:
– GIS manager
– Geospatial analyst
– GIS coordinator
– GIS technician
– Project planner
– Department director
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Growing Recognition of
GISP® Certification
• States are endorsing the GISP® Certification,
including:
– North Carolina
– New Jersey
– Ohio
– Oregon
– California
– Montana
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Earning Potential
• 41% with GISP® certification earn more than
$70,000 per year compared to 20% without.
• Average salary for GISP® is $69,000.
• Average salary without GISP® is $56,000.
Tripp Corbin, 2014
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Future Directions in
GIS Certification
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GISP® Certification
Development and Status
1990s
Feasibility &
Discussion
1997
2015
2004
2001
GISCI
URISA
Certification
Committee
More than
7000 GISPs
Dev. of GISP®
Certification
Process
Current GISP® Certification Process: Portfolio—experience,
education, contributions
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Professional Certification
Development
1990s
1997
2001
2004
2011-12
2015
GISCI
Start accred.
& exam
7000 GISPs
GISCI GISP® Certification
Feasibility
1989
Comm. GISP® Cert.
2002
~2005
2009
2013
NCCA/ICE (Nat. Commission for Certifying Agencies/Institute for Credentialing Excellence)
NCCA/NOCA
Certification Standards
2003
ICE
Update
2012
ANSI/ISO
ANSI/ISO 17024: Personnel Certification
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Update
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Professional Certification
Standards
• NCCA and ANSI set professional certification
standards
• NCCA and ANSI accredit certifying organizations
• GISCI plans to meet these standards and
achieve accreditation for the GISP® Certification
and any other certifications it may develop
Certification is for protection of the public, not
just advancement of the profession.
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Professional Certification
Standards
• Validated by a Job Analysis
– The tasks job incumbents perform
– The knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to
perform them
• Independent
• Accreditation
– Assessment instrument—process & result
– Certifying organization’s operations
– Certifying organization’s governance
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Job Analysis and Certification
Development
Job Definition &
Certification Purpose
Job Analysis
KSAs
Tasks
Linkage & Validity
Certification/Assessment Specification
Psychometric
Validation/review
Assessment
Instrument
Resources: Lit.,
References, BoK,
Best Practices
Certification
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Professional Certification
is Based On
• Job Analysis
– Essential method for determining the content of a
certification assessment
– Must adhere to accepted methodology
– Must demonstrate and document job-relatedness
– Unambiguously required by psychometric standards
• Not directly derived from
– Competency model or skills list (GISCI used the GTCM
Tier 4, core technical competencies, as a guideline)
– General BoK (GISCI used GIS&T BoK used as reference)
– Best practices
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GISP® Certification Update
• Addition of an exam to strengthen the GISP®
certification
• Align with Job Analysis
• Prepare for accreditation
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Job Analysis
• First direct job analysis for GIS professionals
• Several focus groups of job incumbents
spanning all sectors, job types, and levels of
experience (more than 50)
• Validation survey--more than 350 individuals
spanning all sectors, job types, and experience
levels
• Results vary somewhat from GIS&T BoK and
GTCM—mostly in emphasis
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Exam Development
Job Analysis
Exam Blueprint
Exam Content
Pilot
Cut Score
Final Exam
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Alignment of Portfolio
Requirements
• Validate (with respect to Job Analysis results)
• Adjust (to Job Analysis results)
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Preparation for Accreditation
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Exam (to supplement portfolio)
Process validation and documentation
Operational adjustments
Governance adjustments
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Moving Forward
• Not only validate GISP® certification through
accreditation…
• GISP® certification will serve as foundation for
other certifications
– New GIS certifications
– Linkage to related certification
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Additional/Specialty GIS
Certifications
• Sponsoring organization or interest group
discuss with GISCI—define job/certification
• Determine relationship to GISP® certification
• GISCI follow standard certification development
process (job analysis, validation, etc.)
• SMEs, job incumbents, and resources from
across industry
• Certification granted and operated by GISCI
• Business driver—membership/activity for
sponsoring organization
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Additional/Specialty GIS Certifications
“Sponsor”
GISCI
Relationship to GISP ®
Job Definition &
Certification Purpose
Industry-wide Job
Incumbents & SMEs
Job Analysis
Tasks
Job
Description/Scope
KSAs
Linkage & Validity
Certification/Assessment Specification
Psychometric
Validation/review
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Assessment
Instrument
Guidance on
Resources
Certification
Membership/
Services
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Additional GIS Professional
Certifications Based On
• Job Analysis
– Essential method for determining the content of a
certification assessment
– Must adhere to accepted methodology
– Must demonstrate and document job-relatedness
• Not based on
– Competency model or skill list, BoK, or best practices
– These are references
• Certifying organizations follow Professional
Certification standards, practices, and guidelines
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What it Means Now
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What to Expect
• Two-part GISP® certification process: Portfolio
and Exam
• Begin application process at any time with
either component
• 6 years to complete application
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GISCI Geospatial Core Technical
Knowledge Exam® Blueprint
Knowledge Area
Weight
Conceptual Foundations
Cartography and Visualization
GIS Design Aspects and Data Modeling
GIS Analytical Methods
Data Manipulation
Geospatial Data
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12%
14%
29%
17%
15%
13%
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What to Expect: Exam
• Exam pilot winter 2015
• GISCI Geospatial Core Technical Knowledge
Exam® mid 2015
• All GISP® certification applicants will be required
to take the exam once it starts
• Initially, the exam will be offered at testing
centers on specific dates
• Exam availability will increase shortly thereafter
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What to Expect: GISP
Certification
• Minimal change in the portfolio component
• Recertify without exam
• Process changes coming in July 2015
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What to Expect: GISP
Certification Changes
• July 1, 2015: Changes take effect
– 3 year certification and recertification periods
– Every new applicant must take exam
– New fee structure
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Certification application fee: $100
Certification exam fee: $250
Certification portfolio review fee: $100
Annual renewal fee: $95
Recertification: every 3 years; no fee—covered by renewal fees
• Until July 1, 2015: Current process remains
– 5 year certification and recertification (“renewal”) periods
– Current certification and recertification fees
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What to Expect: GISP
Certification Changes
• July 1, 2015: Changes take effect
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GISCI Directions
• More than just an exam…
• Accreditation:
– Alignment of GISP® certification and GISCI with
accepted professional certification development
standards and practice
– Validation of GISP® certification
• Stronger foundation for additional/related GIS
certifications
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What To Think About
• Which certifications are right for you?
• GISP® certification:
– Get certified for what you already have achieved
– Certification can help advance your career
– Help grow the GIS profession
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For More Information
• Rebecca Somers, GISCI Exam Development
Project Manager: rsomers@somersstclaire.com
• www.gisci.org
• Bill Hodge, GISCI Executive Director:
bhodge@gisci.org
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For More Information
• Rebecca Somers, “GISCI’s GISP® Certification,
Evolution, and Future Directions”, URISA GIS Pro
2014 Proceedings. Also available at gisci.org.
• Tripp Corbin. “GIS Certification: To Certify or Not
Certify”, URISA GIS Pro Proceedings 2014.
• David DiBiase, “Credential Creep in the GIS
Field—For Good or for Ill?”, Esri blog 2014.
(http://blogs.esri.com/esri/esri-insider/2014/11/14/credential-creep-in-the-gis-field-for-good-or-for-ill/)
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