Tips from a (former) GIS Undergraduate Student to other GIS students
Reuploaded since reddit mods haven't got back to my message and reddit's spam filter is removing it no matter where i post it...
I have graduated from college (wooo!) and wanted to share advice that helped me out. I hope you find it useful!
Volunteer to boost your resume or if you lack GIS work experience
When I first started my GIS major, I wanted to get work experience alongside my classes. The thing was I began my degree when Covid started, so landing a GIS internship when most organizations were laying off people was not realistic.
I knew I needed something on my resume so I decided volunteering was the best way to go.
I googled ‘GIS volunteer opportunities’, saw a listing through United Nation’s volunteer portal, and got something pretty quickly. It was an online position that I did on my own time for 6 months. It was very fun! I highly recommend any Geography student do some type of GIS volunteer work before you graduate.
As of writing this post, I checked the website and it looks like the UN doesn’t have any positions listed but there is a website dedicated to GIS volunteer positions:
https://www.giscorps.org/become-a-volunteer/
Also, every job interview I had has always asked me about this volunteer role lol.
Speaking of jobs….
Make a GIS Portfolio
Start a portfolio NOW. Add anything you created from your courses to it! A GIS portfolio makes you stand out from the competition when applying to internships/jobs, and may even be required for some job applications.
This is a VERY detailed video about what it should include (Yes it’s an hour long but the information is worth it!! ).
Network
You have heard it a MILLION times but network!! Connect with your local GIS organization and try to attend a conference. If you can’t for whatever reason, search for online GIS organizations and see if you can join their online zoom meetings.
Learn to Code
I have run into Python, R, Javascript, and HTML/CSS during my undergraduate work and various internships/jobs. Be ahead of the curve and learn it on your own. I would HIGHLY recommend Python if you want to start with a language and don’t have a course at your university. Just start with a basic ‘intro to python’ video and then complete python gis tutorials.
Make a separate account for GIS stuff
Just to keep things organized and in one place, I recommend you make a separate email for GIS. For some of my courses I was required to sign up for GIS software/sites and I wanted to have access long after graduation so I made a separate account for it.
Example email: [email protected]
Take Advantage of (Online) Communities
Being in GIS forums/groupchats/servers/etc has helped me so much! From feedback with assignments to how to market myself when looking for a job, joining groups is beneficial.
I LOVEEE the GIS Discord server and highly recommend you join.
(Link to server https://disboard.org/server/769917190182404127 )
Keep Learning!
This is the most important thing I want you to leave with. GIS is constantly evolving and in order to be on top, you need to be up to date on new technology and software updates etc.
Personally, I would be learning new stuff during semester breaks and take advantage of the free courses Esri MOOC has.
