Hello community! I'm so excited to be a part of this space. My name is Amanda Huber and I'm a GIS Administrator for a local government agency here in Minnesota called Three Rivers Park District. I also serve as a MN GIS/LIS Board member and admin in this space so I figured I'd break the ice and go first.
My career and background in GIS in not a traditional path nor a linear one, but has been an amazing journey and I'm happy to share how I've gotten here.
Going into college I knew I wanted to pursue something in either geology or graphic design (yes I know, two vastly different career paths). I picked Geology since I've always had a passion for science and loved rocks since being a small child. Once I was in college and pretty far into my Geology degree, a fellow student asked me if I'd heard of this thing called "GIS". I had no idea what that was at the time, but he insisted it's what you "need to get hired". I took his advice and looked into the GIS program at my university (University of Minnesota Duluth).
I started taking a few intro to GIS courses and absolutely fell in love with GIS. It was mind blowing how perfect it was for me, making maps appealed to my yearning for graphic design and the data part of it appealed to my scientific brain, it was a perfect match. That year I decided to add GIS to my list of degrees. Since a GIS Certificate degree was just a few classes short of a Major or Minor degree, I decided a Certificate was the way to go. Mind you, at this time I was still pursing my degree in Geology and Minor in Communications. The GIS Certificate degree added a little more time to my university experience, but only by an extra semester with full credit loads, which wasn't bad.
I started applying my degree to the real world by working for the university's GIS office (Geospatial Analysis Center (GAC) now known as USpatial). In this position I was able to learn more about GIS methods, troubleshooting, app development, etc. and work with other department around campus to fulfill their GIS needs. Some of the coolest projects I was able to work on were in fact with the Geology professors! I was able to work with a mapping project for Antarctica ice drilling and another one for helping map the geology of Venus (yes the planet!). This really fueled my excitement and passion for GIS and I was hungry for more.
Upon graduation I worked a seasonal role for the City of Maple Grove as a storm pond inspector. It wasn't a glorious role per se, but it did teach me a lot more about GIS and introduced me to asset management in GIS. I had a great time working with the other seasonal interns and meeting other GIS likeminded peers in the wild (outside of the university).
Once I finished out this seasonal position, I applied for a position at Three Rivers Park District ( yes, my current employer now but keep reading). I unfortunately was turned down for the job and looking back, rightfully so. Yes, I had a fair amount of GIS experience but not enough quite yet.
I applied for an internship at the City of Brooklyn Park and got it! This was a game changer for my career. In this internship I learned more than you can imagine, it was the missing piece. I learned about backend database management, python scripting, map authoring, working in a city environment, and more. This was the key information I needed to make it in the "real world" of GIS, the things you don't learn as a student. This internship was everything and prepared me for my next step.
Another position opened at Three Rivers Park District and since I'm tenacious, I applied again! I figured why not, the most that will happen is they'll reject me again... and guess what... they didn't! I was accepted!
I have now been at Three Rivers Park District for almost 6years, and time has flown. Every step in my career path has lead me to this. I am now a GIS Administrator for the Park District and wear many hats. Everyday is so different and I love what I do. I look back and realize I was so naïve but somehow navigated/worked hard to get my GIS career to this.
Your path may not be linear or may be as "rocky" as mine (pun intended), but I hope you see my story and other's stories and that encourages you to keep working hard to achieve the career that you want. This is why we've created this community forum and the MN GeoPEPS website, to help alleviate uncertainty or career obstacles and network/learn from others.
I encourage you to ask questions, meet new people, get involved, and grow in GIS! It really is a great community here in MN.
Best,
Amanda Huber
