Whether the “COVID economy” has been good, bad or indifferent for your career, you’d probably jump at the opportunity to do better than you’re doing right now.

If so, developing a data science skill set might be your best path forward. Data science is a burgeoning field with median salaries of $90,000. That professional demand is matched by an academic one: In 2018, the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science called for integrating the geospatial perspective into the growing number of data science degree programs and encouraged departments to think about ways to train students in geospatial data science.

After hearing this mandate and meeting with an advisory board of Philadelphia-area GIS practitioners who identified a vital need for professionals with specialized geospatial data science training, Temple University’s College of Liberal Arts developed the United States’ first professional science master’s (PSM) in geospatial data science (GDS). Temple’s internationally renowned faculty conduct research on timely issues such as COVID-19 and environmental protection using innovative spatial analysis techniques. And the program exposes students to industry-standard tools such as SQL, R, Python and other emerging technologies with an emphasis on open source tools.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE