BUILDING A CAREER IN GIS

What is GIS? it is a computer system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data > data that has location.

This is actually a question which everyone who doesn't know about GIS asks themselves. I have came across this quiz severally being asked by my friends. Below is a hierarchy kind of, steps to building your GIS career.

 

GIS Intern

Almost every higher level (Technician, Analyst, etc.) position will require some hand-on job training.  The best way to achieve this is through an internship.  Internships are mostly low-paying, part-time jobs but they are the best way to get further GIS training and to develop your GIS skills in a real world setting.  Learning GIS out of a textbook is a great way to get started, but in reality, few GIS tasks are solved as neatly as the “follow steps 1-10” of your workbook.  Getting an internship has become more competitive in recent years.  To be a competitive candidate for an internship, only apply once you’ve taken a solid groundwork of GIS courses especially an “Introduction to GIS” class, a second advance GIS class, a separate cartography class (if available), and a class covering databases.  While an internship provides on-the-job training, you will mostly be expected to learn on your own so it’s important to already have a good baseline to start from.

GIS Technician/Specialist

1-2 years hands on experience with GIS based software. If you first took an internship you should be able to aim for these types of jobs. The job titles Technician and Specialist tend to be used interchangeably.  They are both journey level positions.  GIS Technicians should have a solid grasp on the most common GIS tasks.  Examples of those are: the ability to edit vector data, create data in a GIS software application from a multitude of sources (paper documents, Excel files, hand written maps, etc.), be able to work with external databases (such as Access and SQL Server) including understanding structured query language (SQL), understand projections and coordinate systems, work with GPS receivers to collect data, and  strong cartographic design skills.   While it’s not the only software package out there, a good majority of GIS positions are looking for proficiency in ArcGIS.  Having a good grasp on working with KML and KMZ files is also critical as some companies are using Google Maps and Google Earth for some tasks. Common tasks involve cartographic output (mapmaking) and data manipulation. A lot of positions are also starting to look for some basic programming experience.

GIS Analyst

At least 2-3 years experience with GIS based software. At this level you should be performing more complex analyses and RDBMS. In addition, an analysts should also be primarily concerned with application development and should have a fair amount of programming experience (s. For example, if you work with Esri’s ArcGIS software, python and SQL will be needed.  Analysts, having built on their skills developed as a GIS Technician, should have strong skills in cartographic design, analytical geography, database design and management, programming, project management, and communication (including strong writing skills).  Supervisory responsibilities and project management are also common responsibilities with the Analyst supervising technicians and interns.  There is also a growing demand by employers for Analysts to be knowledgeable about open source GIS.

GIS Coordinator or Manager

Depending on the company or agency, usually the manager has at least 5-6 years of experience in the field. The manager would also be required to have budgetary and project management experience. Depending on the size of the staff, this position may or may not also involved technical responsibilities. At the executive level, having a GIO, a Geographic Information Officer, is emerging as a new position in the GIS field. A GIO is a counterpart to the traditional CIO, Computer Information Officer.


As a GIS student or a GIS professional, you should keep yourself up-to-date by attending conferences and reading GIS based magazines. Ongoing GIS training is also important to keep up with advances in in this rapidly developing technical field.

In Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, we have a student based Training club called GDev where we  share GIS skills as GIS students to better our future.

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