Meet Eddy, 25, and find out about life as an apprentice globemaker at Bellerby & Co Globemakers in London. Part of our Bitesize world of work series.
Eddy:
Hello. I'm Eddy. I'm 25 years old and I'm a globemaker.
When I was a child, my father always insisted that I looked at maps and looked at globes to learn about the world. I discovered Bellaby & Co, the company I work for, whilst I was searching online for more creative opportunities. I applied for an apprenticeship and I spent six months learning how to make a globe. We are one of the only company that creates handcrafted globes from start to finish and we create a representation of the world in three dimensional space.
The globe can change from a terrestrial, so the world we live in, and the celestial, which shows all the stars in the sky. In this job, I get to combine my passion for travel as well as my passion for creativity. I spend my days cutting segments of map, which we call gores, and then applying them onto a sphere, making sure that it's nice and smooth and that everything aligns. Working on such a small version of the world demonstrates how truly large it really is.
So the subjects that have come in very useful in my career are Maths, because as globemakers we need to calculate the circumference of a sphere, and of course Geography, for understanding where everything in the world is. There are many people involved in the process of making globes such as the cartographers who make the map, the globemakers who apply the map onto a sphere, the painters who colour it in and, of course, the woodworkers, who create the bases the globe will go on.
Eddy's boss:
Eddy is an amazing employee. He's really committed. He's got an incredible attention to detail. We have quite a small team here and it's really important that everyone gets on really well and Eddy is definitely one of the people that keeps everyone with a smile on their face.
Eddy:
I really love my work because, not only do I make the world, but also I get to hold the whole world in my hands.
My job combines my passion for travel with my creativity.
- Eddy is learning to make beautiful globes by hand
- He is training as an apprentice after finding his employer on Instagram
- The subjects that have come in very useful in Eddy's career are Maths, because as globemakers they need to calculate the circumference of a sphere, and of course Geography, for understanding where everything in the world is
- Eddy has to work carefully to position continents, oceans and cities on each globe he creates.
Eddy's globemaking company is quite unique but he's learning skills that apply to the world of cartography - this is the study and practice of making maps. A similar role to a globemaker is a cartographer. Cartographers collect information about the geography of an area to design and produce maps, charts and plans.
What to expect if you want to be a cartographer
- Cartographer average salary: £24,000 to £45,000 per year
- Cartographer typical working hours: 37 to 42 hours per week
What qualifications do you need to be a cartographer?
You could get into this role via a university course, a college course, an apprenticeship, working towards this role or applying directly.
Sources: National Careers Service
This information is a guide and is constantly changing. Please check the National Careers Service website for the latest information and all the qualifications needed.
For careers advice in all parts of the UK visit: National Careers Service (England), nidirect (Northern Ireland), My World of Work (Scotland) and Careers Wales (Wales).
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