Whether you’re on campus or off, attending class in-person or remotely, whether you’re learning geospatial mapping tools (Geographic Information Systems) in class or as part of a class, or in an internship or CEL placement, participating in Hudson Valley Mappers activities, or you’re just interested in learning more about the tools and how you can use them – greetings, and feel free to get in touch with me any time for help.
I’d like to share with you this message from Joe Kerski, Education Manager at Esri, the developer of the software tools like ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, various mobile mapping tools, and ArcGIS Story Maps tools we rely on most heavily at Vassar. I second Joe in saluting your decision to learn GIS, and encourage you to listen to his take on current trends in GIS, why it matters, and skills for you to work on developing. Some of the latter may seem obvious and are probably helpful in almost any field, but Joe’s take on them is worth a listen (and endearingly dorky).
- Be Curious
- Know how to work with and be critical of data
- Know geographic and technical foundations
- Be adaptable
- Develop good communication skills
Another seemingly obvious suggestion he makes earlier in the video is to start developing your professional network now. That’s easier to do than you might think, but not as many students have taken my advice to do this by joining professional GIS networks. Joe tells you to consider him as part of this network, and I can say from my own experience communicating with him that it’s not just talk.
Again, feel free to get in touch with me any time for help.