Anybody here a GIS pro?

[+supertbone]

Last year I got my bachelors in Business Management (I am a project manager for a very large mortgage company) and I have been contemplating going back to school to get an MBA but recently I have been thinking of going a different route and studying GIS instead. Since I was a very little kid, maps fascinated me. I have worked on a survey crew and there I learned to create topo maps and learned some AutoCAD. Also I have used government GIS systems for gathering property tax and assessment records for my current employer. Geocaching has fueled that passion since I have discovered various mapping utilities like Google Earth. I am thinking about taking this hobby to the next level.

 

Does anyone out there do GIS work professionally? Does it pay well? What would I need to do for a career change?

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Edited June 16, 2007 by supertbone

[+webscouter.]

You should look up OlatheGIS. She is a GIS master.

[+dkwolf]

First thing I'd do is find a university offering a degree in GIS. I think there are a few out there, or there are more that offer a 'certificate' in GIS. Not really sure what that means. I do small-scale work in GIS at my job, and I will tell you this: The future possibilities for that area are completely limitless. In 5-10 years, that is a skill that is going to be invaluable in the workforce. Heck, the 3 of us in my office that use it on a regular basis have no more training with the software than a couple 2-3 day seminars; and already we have been able to use the technology to shave nearly 4 months off of some projects. If you like maps and like data analysis, GO FOR IT!!

 

I see that you're in California. Every year, ESRI (makers of the ArcGIS platform) have a huge user conference in San Diego. Might want to look into that.

[+hydnsek]

I have a non-caching friend in her 40s, who after years as an environmental specialist in watershed issues (in California), decided to make a career change to GIS, and enrolled in an online certificate program at one of the Pennsylvania universities (forget which offers it). She was able to combine her new marketable skill with her old passion, and has a good job in water quality control with the State of Oregon. Of course, government work doesn't pay like Microsoft, but she loves what she's doing.

Edited June 16, 2007 by hydnsek

[cmdrico7812]

supertbone:

 

I have a BS in urban planning and GIS and a masters of urban and regional planning and I spend 75% of my time at work doing GIS work. I use it mostly for map creation and editing. I work for a small community planning consulting firm in Michigan and I am in charge of their geospatial department. The first piece of advice would be to learn the software. ESRI ArcGIS is, by far, the largest and most commonly used software package available, but there are others. I would check out local universities and see if any of them have any introductory classes and take one of those to see if you'd like it. There's a lot more than map creation involved in GIS. If you want to make money in it you really need to know your stuff. Inter- and Intranet mapping services are big right now so if you know anything about servers and hosting it would be most beneficial. If you really want to get into it GIS isn't so much Geographic Information Systems; it's Geographic Information Sciences; and it truely is a science. While you need to know the geography side of things you really need to be able to pair it with a computer science background to do really well in the field. Hope this helps.

 

Eric

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

PM Survey481 and Chris481, both very active cachers and GIS experts.

 

Survey owns a GIS business in Tuscaloosa Alabama right by the U. of Alabama campus... you may find a school to go to and a job while you're in school!

[Rupert2]

I work in the business and can say that it is very competitive right now. Last year my company placed an ad for a summer intern. We probably recieved 50 or so resumes from grad students on up thru those with 20 years of experience (yes, for a $12 per hour position). Although I really enjoy my involvement in the field, it is probably not the most profitable business to be in right now.

[+PirateKatz]

I've gradually made the transition from an Archaeologist to a GIS Specialist (which I do full time now) and am currently working on my Master's in GIS. If you think you're interested in GIS, you may wish to request a demo of ArcGIS 9.2 from ESRI. You can get a free 2 month demo of ArcGIS and all its extensions from their webpage.

 

ESRI offers numerous online classes at its Virtual Campus and they range from $25 up. Several schools also offer online Graduate Certificates, as well as Master Degree's in GIS. I believe this includes Penn State, USC, and several others (which I can't think of right now). It also seems that many universities and community colleges now have GIS programs.

 

I've found that many GIS/CAD professionals are self-taught but I would recommend taking at least one intro class just to get your feet wet. If you really are considering making a career change, you may wish to to get into a certificate or graduate program. I believe the professional certification in GIS (GISP) will play a very important role in the future and a large chunk of their requirements are academic.

 

I hope this helps!

 

Last year I got my bachelors in Business Management (I am a project manager for a very large mortgage company) and I have been contemplating going back to school to get an MBA but recently I have been thinking of going a different route and studying GIS instead. Since I was a very little kid, maps fascinated me. I have worked on a survey crew and there I learned to create topo maps and learned some AutoCAD. Also I have used government GIS systems for gathering property tax and assessment records for my current employer. Geocaching has fueled that passion since I have discovered various mapping utilities like Google Earth. I am thinking about taking this hobby to the next level.

 

Does anyone out there do GIS work professionally? Does it pay well? What would I need to do for a career change?

 

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[+Team B Squared]

I have a bachelors and masters degree in GIS and do it full time for a living. If you have any questions please feel free to email me.