Job orientation

[Marvin]

Professionals working with maps, we have a few here.

HandsomeRob, who doesn't visit all that often - several times a year I suppose, works for a US company who does maps for many US companies including National Geographic (I believe), if you find his maps, they look very much like something out of National Geographic.

http://www.cartographersguild.com/showthread.php?t=1347

Go to the Finished Maps Forum, he's got lots more of this style.

Thanks, GP, I will have a look at some of his other maps, have seen the two on that link, seems to be pretty professional. Isn't so much of a problem, though, if you have access to proper mapping software like ArcMap (not just some image editing tool like Adope Photoshop), like I currently do through the Uni.

I see mapping as a dying industry, however. The GIS industry is getting smaller, not growing. More and more such activity is done by computers. Still there are great examples of mapping as art in the world, even outside the Guild.

I wish you luck in your pursuit of a career in infographics. As Toff said, I don't know where I could point you to find what you're looking for.

GP

Growing GIS functionalities are rather a sign for more and more options and possibilities, rather than fewer. If you are talking about the GIS industry, you are not just talking about mapping, but also about an ever growing number of tools for geographic and geostatistical analysis and processing of data. This pretty much widens the possible steps and interaction possibilities, and just think about the developers of such tools who really never loose their jobs...

As for mapping, I would agree if you are talking about standardized serialized products such as national maps issued by federal institutions. But for the private sector? Space is such an unlimited dimension, you can look at what is known to us about the universe down to each building or park in it, the possibilities of what can be mapped is limitless and impossible to exhaust. The only question is the question of interest, especially interest on the demand side.

And as I have now found out, there seems to be plenty of interest, as evidenced by such a great number of mapping companies. I discovered the very important keyword that everyone here interested should write down with double underline: CUSTOM CARTOGRAPHY. Really found a lot of distinguished, choice-driven, creative, individual portfolios of various companies, so it's just about finding the right one, one that has an interest in extending their client space by those clients who could profit from your personal cartographic style, preferences and affectations.