Feature -- by Mark Sproxton

Image Courtesy Department of Natural Resources. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, All rights reserved.

Creating maps for the Geological Survey of Canada, the cartographic specialist sees many different aspects of the terrain. Using the latest in computer and software developments, she continually produces maps to help companies explore and develop non-renewable energy sources and help government determine policies to manage the land.

While the basic purpose of these maps hasn't changed drastically over time, the same can't be said for the technology used to produce them. "Cartographers have gone from pencil and/or pen and ink drafting, to scribing/negative artwork/photomechanical production, to computer drafting, to full GIS operators in the past generation or so," explains Elizabeth Macey, a GIS, cartographic, data specialist who has experienced many of those changes in her 10 years at this position.

"The technology continually changes, so one must be willing to alter one's skills/type of work performed to remain employable/relevant. Who knows where it will go from here."

An interest in geography first turned Macey's attention to the world of maps. But she said she found a hard time finding meaningful employment with her bachelor degree in geography. Having enjoyed the cartography courses she took for her degree, she returned to school, to Sir Sandford Fleming College in Ontario and completed the cartography program there. Fifteen years later, she hasn't looked back.

Now she enjoys a straight-forward work week of Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with every other Friday off in a comfortable office setting. While she also enjoys the creativity that's required to produce an effective map, sitting in front of a computer most of the day can be counted as one of her dislikes of the work. "It can also be a bit isolated. I work with a team of cartographers, but am probably in the minority. Some places that would hire a cartographer will only have one on staff."

Aside from the federal government, cartographers also work for provincial and municipal governments, at universities, oil and gas companies, forestry companies and in the graphics industry. A typical day for Macey sees her use a powerful GIS (geographic information system) called Arc/Info creating geological maps and then using smaller computer programs to create things like the legend, code lines and add text. But not all the work is done on the computer. Macey must also check with geologists to ensure their work is consistent.

"Liaising with the geologist is also done on a fairly regular basis," Macey explained. "As well, I work with the data, putting it in the correct format for client access and archiving it properly for future (use). I also do other graphics work for our researches, including creating slides, posters, PowerPoint presentations, and assisting others with the graphics software we use."

Not only does creating these maps require a pattern of continually learning new programs and technology, but cartographic specialists must also pay attention to detail, have a desire for accuracy, a good grasp of aesthetics and visual acuity and have good communication skills. And in the future, these skills will likely be key to finding work, Macey predicted.

"I think the combination of accurate and attractive maps will always be in demand. It is true that lots of software out there allows lay-people to create their own; unfortunately they are often not cartographically correct. It remains to be seen if that matters to the client/map user. I think in the short-term 'anything goes' maps will abound, but once map users become aware of the deficiencies of these maps, there will be a return to properly trained cartographers. I also think that the GIS component will be emphasized for those hiring cartographers. It will no longer be adequate to be a cartographer, only. One will need to have database management skills to manage the mapped/mappable data."

For those considering this line of work, Macey offers the following advice: "You need to be artistic and mathematic at the same time. There seems to be a bit more emphasis on the information management/data side of things at the moment, but I still think that aesthetics/readability of the map product are of equal importance. Don't lose sight of the fact that the map is meant to communicate information, it is not simply a collection of information."