Networking Introduction for Mentorship

Question

Good Evening Everyone!

My name is Andrew Yount and I have been in the GIS community for sometime now. I am looking to broaden my knowledge, experience and start reaching out and making connections. I have come to this community looking for some mentorship and advice.

I am currently an serving in the United States Air Force. I am a Geospatial Intelligence Targeteer and have used various different GIS programs to tackle difficult intelligence problems all over the world. I have been on several projects with NGA and have worked mission sets in South America, Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.

I am currently a senior at Arizona State University studying GIS and should be graduating next fall. I currently have a 3.95 GPA and have already started looking into masters programs for GIS. I heard Penn State had a really solid program. In addition to obtaining my BS in GIS, I have been taking python programming courses and am on my way to my Python programming certificate. I have been doing all of this while serving on active duty.

My goal is to obtain a PhD in GIS and lead a small team of GIS analysts who problem solve and use GIS to solve complex intelligence questions. That is the dream. I currently have a little over 2 years left on my military contract but I would like to set myself up for success in the GIS community. I am only 22 years old, but I have a good head on my shoulders and would love some mentorship from some of the people who have been around the field for a while.

The major questions I have for the forum are as follows:

What is the next step in my path to becoming a project lead on a GIS team?

Any recommendations for certifications or masters programs? I graduate in a year so its time for me to start researching some graduate programs.

When submitting resumes for GIS positions what do agencies look for? What will really catch someone's attention on a GIS resume?

I would love to start getting out in the field and networking. Maybe find a mentor or two to help guide me through the early stages of my academic and professional career. No one in my family has ever graduated college. I feel like I am fighting an uphill battle searching for guidance.

Feel free to contact me or introduce yourself on this thread. I look forward to hearing from everyone!

DanPatterson · Answer

If you get stuck on any python stuff, there is a pretty strong community here.

Some missives from the past and present can be found in the python blog

Python Blog - Esri Community

Feel free to message me if you need help.  I work largely on the analysis side using python and the scipy stack.

As for education, it isn't necessarily where you go, but what you do there.

If you are interested in the intelligence and defence side of things, you should make it known to your chain of command.  I have had a number of military students over the years that have continued their career paths in GIS and spatial intelligence either in the military or associated agencies (Canada though).