Cartographers and Photogrammetrists vs Landscape Architects: Similar Pay, 7.4% vs 4.4% Growth

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists vs Landscape Architects: what changes?

Consider Cartographers and Photogrammetrists if you want to research, study, and prepare maps and other spatial data in digital or graphic form for one or more purposes, such as legal, social, political, educational, and design purposes. Consider Landscape Architects if you would rather plan and design land areas for projects such as parks and other recreational facilities, airports, highways, hospitals, schools, land subdivisions, and commercial, industrial, and residential sites. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Cartographers and Photogrammetrists and Landscape Architects. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists

National median pay (2025): $81,390
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Compile data required for map preparation, including aerial photographs, survey notes, records, reports, and original maps.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 900

Know before you choose

This is a small national occupation (14,700 jobs in 2025), so location and employer concentration can matter more than the national median suggests.

See the full Cartographers and Photogrammetrists brief

Landscape Architects

National median pay (2025): $79,870
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.
Work to investigate: Confer with clients, engineering personnel, or architects on landscape projects.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 1,700

Know before you choose

Training continues through internship/residency after the degree path.

See the full Landscape Architects brief

How the national numbers differ

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists has the edge on projected growth

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists is at 7.4% projected growth, compared with 4.4% projected growth for Landscape Architects.

Landscape Architects has the edge on annual openings

Landscape Architects is at 1,700 annual openings, compared with 900 annual openings for Cartographers and Photogrammetrists.

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Compare actual offers, expected paid hours, schedule, and benefits before treating either career as the higher-paying option.

52.5/ 100

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists

51/ 100

Landscape Architects

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists vs Landscape Architects

Dimension	Cartographers and Photogrammetrists	Landscape Architects
Median pay (2025)	$81,390	$79,870
Pay percentile	73.8 percentile	71.9 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	7.4%	4.4%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	900	1,700
2025 employment	14,700	23,500
How you qualify	Bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree; Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 4	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	Internship or residency follows qualifying education. Check its duration, pay, and licensing requirements.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Cartographers and Photogrammetrists brief Read Landscape Architects brief

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists vs Landscape Architects: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists

Landscape Architects

How the national numbers differ

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists has the edge on projected growth

Landscape Architects has the edge on annual openings

National pay benchmarks are very similar.

Cartographers and Photogrammetrists vs Landscape Architects

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