CAREERS IN GIS

Archive for September, 2009

Staying ahead of the curve is necessary when trying to attain a job in GIS.  Better yet, knowing what is possible is often even more necessary when trying to attain a job in GIS.  Your experience and educational background in GIS may relegate you to very narrow exposure of what can or should be done with GIS.  You may not be aware how to best apply your skills or in what directions you can travel with the knowledge that you have attained.  Teachers and professors may be presenting you information that is crucial to your education but does not expand your horizons or allow you to push the envelope.  What can enlighten you?  Blogs.

Off the Map, a blog site related to GIS, mapping, spatial applications, the “geoweb”, etc. posted an article, about a year ago listing the Top 25 Blogs in GIS, GeoWeb, and Cartography.  I must say that I could not have made a better list.  The list comprises other blogs that provide news, information, innovation, insight, curiousity and general “That’s awesome!” articles about anything and everything dealing with GIS and what you can do with it.  I am not saying that you should subscribe to every blog’s RSS feed on the list but you should pick your 5 favorites that you want to follow regularly.

Once again we return to the question of how will these blogs help you find a job.  The answer is that you never know where a good idea may come from.  Who is to say that you will not see something that is so cool that you cannot get it out of your head?  Furthermore, what is stopping you from commenting on a post or contacting the person who is working on what is keeping you awake at night?  Do not be afraid of dropping someone an email and saying, “I want to help.”  Do not fall into the negative mindset of “why would they want my me”.  You would be completely surprised how many innovative ideas out there are getting very little support.  You may find a new partner to do business with.  It does not matter if they live 1000 miles away.  The Internet makes the world a lot smaller than you think.  Take a look out there and see what exists.  Find a person, company, group, etc. that shares the same passions as you.  Combine that with the promise of making some money as well and you have the recipe for something great.

Subscribing to various social media conduits can help you in many ways when it comes to staying relevant in the world of GIS and/or searching for jobs.  Better yet, all you have to do in many cases is sign up for an account.

One professional networking site that you may or may not be aware of is LinkedIn.  LinkedIn allows you to build a profile showcasing your experience and lets you connect with other professionals in your field.  Once you create an account on LinkedIn, I highly suggest subscribing to a few groups.  “GIS” and “GIS and GeoTechnology Professionals” are two groups that I recommend.   “GIS and GeoTechnology Professionals” even has subgroups related to local government, careers and professional development and mobile mapping/field GIS.  Within these groups you can become part of various discussions along with receiving interesting news about what other users may be doing or better yet, who may have jobs available.

Twitter is another networking conduit that is extremely useful.  Sign up for a Twitter account and just do a simple search on “GIS”.  You will return quite a few hits for all sorts of information related to GIS…jobs, data, classes, user group meetings, etc.  TheGISForum and GetGISJobs are two Twitter feeds that you will definitely want to subscribe to.  There are many others though that may or may not be worth your time.  Exploring these avenues leaves nothing to lose and everything to gain.

A good way to find a job in the GIS industry is to stay on top of what new innovations may be out there in terms of software, technology, or analysis methods.  Attending conferences and meetings will give you exposure to new things and possibly give you new creative ideas on how you can apply your talents.

So which conferences should you attend?  Where do I begin?  Most major GIS software companies offer conferences that highlight their own software.  ESRI (ArcGIS), Intergraph (GeoMedia), Pitney Bowes (MapInfo), GE (Smallworld), Autodesk (AutoCAD Map), etc. all have major conferences in the United States and around the world that can or should be attended if it is within your means.  Then there are related industry/research conferences….AAG, Where 2.0, FOSS4G, URISA, GIScience, GITA, NACIS, SCGIS, etc.  Beyond that there are regional conferences held by specific city or state organizations.  (I’m not listing all of those or the list will just keep going.)  These are usually your best best since the conferences are usually smaller and give you a chance to network.

You need to be aware of not only what is current but what are others doing.  This gives you a strategic advantage when you apply for a job.  You need to bring something new and fresh to a position otherwise you are just like everyone else who is applying.

You may say that these larger conferences are great but I cannot afford or do not have the time to attend them.  That does not mean that you need to be shut out of the conferences completely.  Many conferences post a good number of their presentations and proceedings on the Internet.  Click here to see a huge number of presentations given at the Where 2.0 conference.  If you go here, you can see the presentation lineup from the FOSS4G 2008 conference.  You can get some of the presentations from the 2009 ESRI International User conference through this link.  A little digging on the Internet can go a long way.

Looking for GIS jobs over the web is an art form.  Of course there are the obvious GIS job posting websites listed on the right side of this page.  GIS Jobs Clearinghouse, GISjobs.com, etc.  The problem with these websites is that everyone else is searching them for GIS jobs as well.

This anecdote will give you a good idea of your competition.  Just over 10 years ago while working for a GIS consulting firm, I posted a position for a entry level GIS Technician on the GIS Jobs Clearinghouse.  Within one day I had over 50 resumes faxed to me.  Within the first week, I had received hundreds of resumes from all over the United States and all over the world as well…Canada, Ukraine, India.  Do not think that only local people are applying for jobs available in your neck of the woods.  Also, do not think that sorting through hundreds and hundreds of resumes is the easiest task either.

So should you even bother applying for jobs on sites like that?  Of course you should.  It will never hurt your chances if you are qualified for the job.  But if you are applying for a job that is on the other side of the country or the world, ask yourself how likely it would be for those doing the hiring to contact you.  Are they going to pay for you to travel to them to do an in person interview?  Some will and some won’t.  Preliminary interviews can always be done over the phone but it is extremely rare for someone to finalize a job over the telephone.  They will want to meet you in person at least once.

The short answer is that it can’t necessarily hurt you.  If you have just graduated from college or are just starting out in the GIS industry, I definitely encourage you to get a GIS certificate if you have not already.  It can only help your chances in finding a job.

You need to consider a few things first though….

1)  Look carefully at the different certificate programs offered by colleges and universities.  What sort of classes are in the curriculum?  How many classes are required to complete the program?  What I am trying to say is that not all GIS certificates are equal.  No all-powerful oversight committee or accreditation body decides which schools can offer certificates and which ones cannot.  That decision is usually left up to the educational institution in question.  These certificate programs are no doubt put together with the best intentions, but be wary of what you enroll for.  For this reason, the Association of American Geographers (AAG) and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) published the Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIS & T) Body of Knowledge.  This book was put together to give a comprehensive picture of what you should expect from different GIS programs.  The book costs $25 but you may be able to get a copy of it through your local library.  With this knowledge you can compare and contrast offerings from different schools.

2)  If you have many years of experience with GIS software and applications but never received a formal GIS certificate, will that count against you?  Once again, it can’t hurt you.  But what are you expecting to come away with from the certificate program?  I would hope that it would add to what you already know.  Paying a lot of money for a piece of paper that does not challenge your abilities or make you more knowledgeable does not necessarily make you better or more qualified for the job you want.

3)  A degree in the GIS carries a lot more weight than a certificate.  At the same time, I have met plenty of esteemed geographers who don’t have a clue about GIS.  Knowing about maps or geography does not necessarily mean you know how to apply it.  Applied geography is the essence of GIS.  GIS is not just about learning technology as many may think.  It’s about learning technology with a spatial perspective in mind.  Do not lose sight of that when diving into a GIS certificate program.