Looking for a GIS Peer / Mentor - Parcel Mapping

Question

Hi there! I am looking for a GIS peer / mentor, or even a soundboard of a young professional involved with Environmental Geography. I currently work in federal government parcel mapping, and I'd love someone to talk to in the environmental space.

What kind of careers are out there?

What brought you to your current position?

Are there any trainings or certificates you'd recommend?

Please let me know if you are interested! We can talk via email or Esri Community.

AmirBar-Maor · Answer

@SusanJarvis

Thousands of parcel mappers from all around the globe participate in the Parcel Fabric Meetup. The meetup is free to join and includes presentations from organizations on a variety of topics. Next year, we anticipate a presentation from SP Global (Premier Data Services) and the Bureau of Land Management on PLSS (Public Land Survey System).  All the meetups are recorded and can be found on the Parcel Fabric Community (video board).

Parcel mapping attracts professionals from a variety of backgrounds as parcels are used for a variety of uses (ownership, leases, taxation, easements, planning...). Are you looking to develop in a specific area? Do you like specific areas like spatial analysis? Least Squares Adjustment? editing? automation? field data collection...

I think all federal agencies have a variety of environmental-related programs. To name a few: forest management, invasive species, off-road vehicles, national parks, water management, wild horses... so you might 'in-house' opportunities.

KatieSmith · Answer

Hi @SusanJarvis, way to take initiative in advancing your GIS career! 😊 For starters, I'd certainly encourage you to explore Esri Academy's course catalog, which includes hundreds of free learning resources.

Read this short blog for a roundup of new and free GIS training options, as well as some Esri technical certification opportunities.

I'd also strongly encourage you to sign up for Esri's free massive open online courses (MOOCs). You'll get free access to ArcGIS software as you build skills through step-by-step exercises, videos, quizzes, polls, forums, and more. Here's the 2025 MOOC schedule.

Please let me know if you'd like any more info--I'm happy to help!

And thank you @RosemaryBoone for tagging me. 😊

RosemaryBoone · Answer

Thank you for your post Susan! I'm going to tag some of my colleagues to give some answers/insights into your questions.

@AmirBar-Maor and @ChristopherOxendine  - Susan currently works in the federal govt parcel mapping, can you provide some resources or folks she can reach out to? Take a look at her questions above an any insights would be much appreciated.

@KatieSmith - do you have any Esri Academy or trainings you'd suggest for Susan? See her post above.