-
Esri Student Assistantship Program: Everything You Need to Know to Apply
In my 8 years at Esri I have attended over 35 conferences and the memories that stick out the most are when I engage with Esri’s student assistants. Interacting with the student assistants is always a highlight for me as I enjoy hearing about their GIS journeys and how their conference experience is supporting their…
-
How to Expand Your Network Through Meaningful Conversations
Feeling nervous about approaching a company booth at a career fair? Thinking “I’m not good enough to make an impression”? Not sure how to create that connection with the person across the table? If these feelings are a familiar sound to you, then we are on the same boat. From my experience, I find that when I let the…
-
Coffee, Conversations, and Careers: My Esri User Conference Story
This year I had the incredible opportunity of attending the 2026 user conference as a student assistant. This experience was more than I could’ve imagined and introduced me to so many incredible pathways to which I could use GIS. From hands-on learning to professional networking, it was truly an amazing experience I am so…
-
A Day in the Life of a Water Account Manager
Young Professional Network Edition: What's it like to live a Day in the Life of a Water Account Manager If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to work at the intersection of technology, environmental stewardship, and community impact, then step into the shoes of a Water Account Manager for a day. Water touches every aspect…
-
From No Clear Path to the Esri Map Gallery: How I Found My Place in GIS
How a student with no clear path found his place in GIS, and what got me there For most of my undergraduate years, I felt like I was a step behind everyone else. While classmates seemed to know where they were going, I did not. I had no clear path, no obvious calling, and a quiet, constant sense that other people had…
-
GIS Career Pathways: Esri Intern
If you’re interested in pursuing a career in GIS, you might be wondering: What skills do I already have that would be valuable? What skills do I need to develop? Do I enjoy the technical side of GIS, or the storytelling and communication side? As an Esri intern, I asked many of the same questions before starting my summer…
-
How Curiosity About GIS Shaped My Urban Planning Journey
My name is Ludwig Spove, and I am an urban planning master student at Roskilde University in Denmark, and in this blog post I will talk about my experiences learning GIS in relation to urban planning and personal development. The unexpected beginning During the introduction week of my bachelor's in urban planning, one…
-
Establishing a Foundation as a GIS Professional: Develop Your Own Independent Study
Hi everyone, my name is Nico Mora. For the past 11 months, I have been working toward my master’s degree in GIS at the University of Redlands. The university offers two graduate tracks: a Master of GIS, which culminates in an internship, and a Master of Science in GIS, which culminates in a major individual project…
-
Introducing the Esri YPN Miami Chapter
We’re excited to officially announce the launch of the newest Esri Young Professionals Network (YPN) Chapter, Miami! This new chapter was created to bring together and support the next generation of GIS professionals across South Florida, the Southeast United States, and Latin America & The Caribbean. Miami’s unique role…
-
Networking Without Making It Awkward
Okay so real talk - I didn't really dread the word "networking." I just had a completely wrong understanding of what it meant. Seriously, when I joined this industry, I quite literally set up a reminder to text all the employees about job opportunities. Look. That was me. Clueless, eager, and absolutely unhinged about it.…
-
When Malaria Changed How I Think About Healthcare Accessibility
When Malaria Changed How I Think About Healthcare Accessibility About the Author Rachael Andrew is a GIS master's student from Nigeria with interests in public health, healthcare accessibility, and spatial analysis. Her research focuses on using geospatial technologies to better understand healthcare access and support…
-
From ‘Funemployed’ to Esri UC Panelist: A Year of Advice for GIS Job-Seekers
Fresh out of grad school last summer, I was entirely uncertain about what I wanted the next chapter of my life to look like. I was dragging my feet on applying to jobs, and to be honest, I was very much in denial that I needed to actually face the real world. At the same time, I was determined that my next chapter be…
-
GIS Career Pathways: Software Engineer
Hello Esri YPN community! My name is Tyler Moon, and I am a Senior Software Engineer at Esri. Specifically, I work on developing and supporting the ArcGIS Velocity product. With enough GIS knowledge to understand the customer use cases, combined with a passion for creating reliable and powerful software, my skills and…
-
Charting Your Course: A New Way to Navigate the Path to GISP®
If you’re just starting out in the geospatial profession—or even thinking about it—you’ve probably asked yourself a simple question: What does a successful GIS career actually look like? The answer has never been one-size-fits-all. And that’s exactly why the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) developed the Pathways to…
-
GIS Career Pathways: Product Management
Hello Esri YPN community! I’m excited to have the opportunity to tell you a bit about product management and the path that led me here. My name is Jill Edstrom-Shoemaker, and I lead the ArcGIS Enterprise and data management product management teams here at Esri. Every day I work with incredible individuals across Esri, our…
-
What to Expect from the YPN Program at Esri UC 2026
The Esri User Conference (UC) 2026 is fast approaching. For over 11 years, YPN has been fostering community, connection, and career growth for emerging GIS leaders, and this year, we’re marking the occasion with exciting events and activities designed to help you network, learn, and celebrate. YPN Highlights at Esri UC…
-
Mapping the Unseen: How to Make GIS Projects Tell the Real Story
Hi! I’m Rachael Andrew, a GIS postgraduate student and an aspiring geospatial professional. GIS is powerful, but too often maps are beautiful visuals that don’t tell the full story. Whether you’re a student, early-career professional, or a seasoned GIS expert, the challenge is the same: how do you turn raw data into maps…
-
Watching the Tide Roll In with GIS
As a spatial manifestation of hard data, GIS visualizations are an ideal method for science communication. Geospatial analysts serve as a global form of translator, turning abstract numbers and measurements into infinitely scalable visualizations- the same map can be adapted for the professional or the uninitiated. My name…
-
When Maps Become Evidence: How GIS Professionals Shape Better Decisions
A map used to feel like an answer. You opened it, found a road, located a river, checked a boundary, or searched for a city. The map told you where something was. For many people, that is still what a map means: a useful picture of the world. But GIS changes that picture. In GIS, a map is not only a place to look. It is a…
-
The Joy of Learning: Navigating GIS as a Second Career
My first informal geospatial project My name is Udit Bhatta, and I am a graduate student at Mississippi pursuing a PhD in geospatial technology. Before I enrolled in a master's degree in 2023, I was leading Nepal’s first green school initiative (Vajra Academy) as both the school principal and the director. Apart from what…
-
From Ghana’s Survey Fields to Illinois School Safety: My GIS Journey
When emergency responders enter a school, every second matters. Knowing exactly where a classroom, stairwell, or exit is located can make the difference between confusion and a coordinated response. Today, I help build those maps. They’re called Indoor maps. My journey to this work started thousands of miles away in Ghana,…
-
Beyond Spreadsheets: How GIS Brings Water Quality Data to Life
Hello, I am Arushi Kapoor, a PhD researcher and GIS enthusiast passionate about environmental data and spatial analysis. In this post, I explore how Geographic Information Systems strengthen water quality research while building career-ready skills that matter in today’s environmental and geospatial fields. Whether you are…
-
How to apply GeoAI to understand wildfire-induced building loss
Hi everyone, my name is Gina Girgente and I am finishing up my M.S. GISc degree at the University of Denver in June. My thesis researched how geoAI can be used to understand wildfire-induced building loss, and I think the workflow that was developed can be helpful for emergency management professionals, urban planners, and…
-
Requesting a reference for a job search
Following up on Dawn Wright's recent post, "Mentorship Matters: Responsiveness Leads to Reputation", and Lisa Berry's earlier one, "Mentorship Matters: 5 Tips for Approaching Mentors", at the end of this post, I offer a few tips regarding mentorship. But most of the post is about requesting a letter of reference for a job…
-
May | National Military Appreciation Month
Hello Everyone, My name is Christopher Mayes and I am an emerging GIS young professional who has just started His geospatial journey at Esri as a Support Analyst. You may notice this blog is not directly tied to GIS. While the content itself is not directly related to GIS, I do believe it is incredibly important to…
