We want to hear from YOU! Leave a comment of your best advice to young pros entering a GIS career 👇
To get you started, here's some advice we've received from various young pros we've engaged with:
My best advice would to be network with similar professionals, such as neighboring government in my case. Get to know the kind of work that they are doing, so you have a partner in your career. Their experience, troubles and stories can help you succeed in the future. Attend conferences and gain as much knowledge as you possibly can. Don’t be afraid to try something different than anyone else, and definitely don’t be afraid to ask questions. —Amanda Hagan, Amanda Hagan, Senior GIS Specialist, Delaware County
Network; go to industry events and put yourself out there. I have learned more at conferences, just speaking to people than I did in the majority of my college courses. When you meet people you learn their thought process and point of views, and take that into consideration when forming your own. Not only does it make you more aware, but building those connections is a huge part of being successful in business. Having a contact to call or team up with on a project has allowed me to grow in my position. —@Zachjaffe, GIS Coordinator, LandTech Consultants
Don’t let your position within your organization or years of experience hold you back, get involved early and stay involved consistently throughout your career, you don’t have to be the expert in the room, just be willing to learn and to help where you can. You’ll be glad you did! —@SidPandey, Senior Geospatial Technology Manager, Dewberry
My advice to young professionals is to attend a variety of GIS conferences and find mentors within the leaderships of these conferences; I recently became a committee chair of the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals membership committee because I befriended the leadership and demonstrated my interest in helping the association grow. —@ChrisLyons, Engineering Technician
Our goal is to create an ongoing thread of invaluable advice to our community from their peers.
We can't wait to hear what you all come up with! 👏
