Things I Wish I Knew in My First GIS Job
Your first GIS job won’t look like you imagined. You won’t be running models or building dashboards. You’ll be renaming layers, fixing projections that don’t match, and wondering why nothing is documented. For instance, you may encounter a dataset with missing or incorrect values or a workflow established by someone who didn't provide instructions.
School provides the tools, but the real world teaches you how to utilize them. And it’s not always clean. Here’s what I wish I’d known before entering my first GIS role.
That clean dataset you downloaded? Someone like me had to build it.
I pulled data from websites in college and never gave it a second thought. Elevation models, land cover, and road networks were ready to go.
Then, I started working in land surveying at Qk4. I remember the first time I processed raw survey data and turned it into CAD plats and road design files. That was my wake-up call: this data doesn’t just appear. Someone collects it, someone cleans it, someone like me.
That perspective sticks with you. It makes you more cautious, more respectful of data—and more aware of what’s missing when you start a project.
Breaking production data is a rite of passage—but it still sucks.
At my current job, I accidentally push changes to production data. Every time that sick feeling hits, it is followed by scrambling to undo it.
Luckily, everything was recoverable. But those moments taught me the value of a clean 'sandbox'- a separate environment where you can test changes before applying them to the main geodatabase, proper 'versioning'- keeping track of changes made to a file or dataset, and not assuming a script “just works” because it ran fine last time. You quickly learn that small mistakes can have significant ripple effects—and that testing serves as your safety net.
Document everything—your future self will thank you.
This one sounds obvious, but it’s the most overlooked. I’ve made it a habit to write down every process I touch—geoprocessing steps, script parameters, or field setup details.
Half the time, I forget I wrote it down. Then, months later, I run into the same workflow, and that one-liner in a notebook or text file saves me hours.
Document as if you’re going to hand your work off to someone else. Because one day, that “someone else” will be you. Pro tip: Step-by-step instructions with screenshots can go a long way.
Python isn’t just for programmers.
In college, I avoided Python because I assumed it was too technical and abstract—not for someone like me. I was wrong.
Once I started working on real projects, I found myself needing Python. How else could I rename 80 layers? Automate a weekly export? Fix a field calc error that crashes the GUI? Python was the answer.
Now, I use it constantly. I’m still not a developer, but that’s not the goal. You don’t need elegant code. You need a working code. Google the errors, borrow from GitHub, and learn enough to complete the job.
Most people don’t understand GIS—and that’s your opportunity.
You’ll get vague requests like “Can you map this area?” That could mean ten different things.
You can get frustrated or ask better questions: What’s the goal? Who’s using the map? What decision does this support?
Your job isn’t just to make maps—it’s to translate between raw data and real-world needs. The more you understand what people want, the more valuable you become.
Don’t rush into automation until you understand the workflow.
There’s early pressure to automate everything—to prove you know your stuff. But automating a broken process means you’re replicating bad decisions faster.
Before you write a script, walk through the task manually. Understand what each step does. Then, automate it. You’ll save yourself a ton of rework down the line.
If you create a script for the process, use comments to explain what each method does so it's easier to follow along.
You’ll make mistakes. Don’t let them define you.
You’ll get something wrong. You’ll miss a deadline. You’ll say no to a request and then spend hours wondering if you should’ve just said yes.
It doesn’t make you a bad employee. It makes you new.
Early-career GIS work is messy. You’ll do support tasks, and you’ll learn more from broken tools than finished ones. The key is staying calm, owning mistakes, and learning from missteps. It's not about being perfect; it's about being resilient and always striving to improve.
What I’d do differently now
If I were starting over, I’d stop trying to learn everything at once. GIS is massive—nobody’s good at all of it. I’d focus on getting confident with one tool that adds value. For me, that became Python. For someone else, it might be database management, survey workflows, or mobile data collection.
I’d also stop pretending I had to figure it all out alone. Some of the best advice I’ve received came from just asking, “Hey, how do you usually do this?” Most people are happy to help—you just have to speak up.
And I’d keep better track of what I was learning. I don’t mean journaling or making a portfolio every week. I mean jotting down a few notes after a messy project: what worked, what broke, what I’d do differently next time. That informal feedback loop will teach you more than any course.
Resources That Helped Me Get Here
Here’s a short list of tools, references, and platforms I return to often. These made a real difference early in my career and continue to support my work today.
Python + GIS
The ArcPy docs
Automating GIS Processes (open source-focused, great logic)
GIS Stack Exchange and Stack Overflow
GIS Learning + Community
Esri YPN Blog
GPN Vanguard Cabinet
Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP)
Advice Sources
Esri Communities (Python, ArcGIS Pro SDK, etc.)
LinkedIn (follow people who share real work, not just buzzwords)
YouTube – especially Open Source Options and GeoDelta Labs
Closing
Your first GIS job probably won’t be glamorous. You’ll do grunt work. You’ll fix things someone else broke. You’ll fight insufficient data and worse directions.
But if you keep showing up, stay curious, and write stuff down, you’ll start building momentum. You don’t need to be a GIS wizard on day one. What matters most is being reliable, humble, and always learning. These qualities will set you on the path to success in the GIS field.
That’s what matters.
About the Author
Chris Lyons is a GIS Analyst III with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet. He’s worked in geospatial technology for nearly a decade and is passionate about helping early-career professionals build confidence, skills, and clarity in GIS. He’s also a member of the Geospatial Professional Network’s Vanguard Cabinet and the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP).
