Great perspective, Matt. Thank you for sharing these foundational insights. Reflecting on over two decades in the geospatial and enterprise architecture space, your point on continuous learning resonates deeply. When many of us started out, GIS was largely confined to desktop geoprocessing tools and localized workflows. Today, the field has undergone an incredible transformation. The next generation isn't just managing spatial data; they are bridging the gap between traditional geography and modern cloud engineering, data platforms, and autonomous architectures like GeoAI and Agentic GIS.
To add to your point on building confidence through challenges: for the next generation of professionals, those challenges will increasingly mean stepping out of the comfort zone of standard GIS tools and learning how to articulate the value of spatial intelligence to broader IT and executive teams. Tackling projects that seem "just out of reach"—whether that means diving into advanced spatial data science, graph analytics, or cloud-native orchestration—is exactly how a junior professional transforms into an indispensable architect.
Your roadmap for goal-setting and mentorship is spot-on. True success in this industry comes from a willingness to take initiative, share knowledge, and actively contribute to the community.
Excellent read, and highly recommended advice for anyone looking to build a resilient, long-term career in the spatial domain!
Excellent post and great advice for GIS professionals at every stage of their career. Your focus on continuous learning, confidence, opportunity, and leadership is a strong reminder that growth in GIS comes from both technical skill and service to others.
Hello Matt,
Thank you for your service! And thank you for your insight on your experiences across the Air Force as well as in the field of GIS.
As a graduate student, I see that many aspects of the GIS Industry are promoting strong skillsets (Ex, leadership and mentorship) that many Veterans carry with them from their experiences. On the flipside, as you mentioned, the tech is changing fast! To the point that workforces are also desiring that candidates have a strong GIS technical skillset. For veterans new to GIS, what resources would you recommend for those interested in strengthening their skillsets in order to keep up with the demands of a changing workforce? On top of the resources you listed out, I know of Esri's Young Professional Network and Esri MOOCs. I was wondering if there were any other Veteran GIS Programs or networks you would also recommend, similar to Veteran Programs like Warrior Scholar Project and Service2School.
Hi Kevin,
Great question, and honestly I don't know of many Veteran focused GIS Programs. The only one that jumps to mind is Bootcamp GIS. I don't have any experience with them, so milage may vary.
From my experience between the Air Force and Army, if you knew about GIS you were either in an engineering or intelligence role and had some sort of training on it. I'm largely self-taught...just look at how thin my GIS training manual was when I was a young airman. My drafting manual is at least 4 times thicker!
Now, all that said, how do you how do you keep up with changing workforce? Like everything else, there's not a simple answer, but a couple principles I use is 1) keep a growth mindset and 2) show up with a good attitude. My reason is simple: I can train you on any technical task but only you can choose to recieve, understand, and apply that knowledge. That doesn't mean you can't be critical, set boundaries, and focus on your goals, but work is generally a team sport and some things, like being a good leader, you can only learn from experience.
My other reccomendation, for anyone that wants to get into GIS, is pair it with your interests. GIS provides solutions to many problems but you have to know what those are. I can't tell you what specific problems are in epidemiology, but I know we have the tools to be involved with it.
I hope that helps, and thanks for the question!
Matt
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