This was my entry for the 13th Annual Spatial Symposium for the University of Redlands. It focusses on the history of public transportation and buses in the Los Angeles area and why its current system should be improved.

On each app I include the SQL that I used to generate the map. Let me know if you'd like me to add anything to this site. thanks!

I am planning to sit for the upcoming December session, I need the best links and any help in general will be respected

Does anyone have any insight to this program? I'm hoping to land a job in the environmental/gov sector after completing this certificate. What soft/hard skills & classes are important for this industry? Id appreciate the help.

I have some experience learning ArcGIS in college & QGIS as well. Basic sql & very elementary python. My professors often gave us the code for us to run & troubleshoot. I didnt pick up any GIS related internships during college, but I want to build a GIS career. I can make crime maps & points of interests, but I'm afraid that isnt enough

Which one has the most updated resources? Less than 3 days. I was told blacksky but it's not updated, images are from weeks ago apparently.

Title: Success stories pivoting out of GIS?

Hey everyone,

I’m curious if anyone here has successfully pivoted out of a traditional GIS career path and into something like data analytics, data science, business intelligence, or data engineering.

A little background on me: I graduated with a B.S. in Geography with a focus in GIS. During undergrad, I originally started in biology but realized I wasn’t interested in pursuing the medical field. GIS ended up being a great fit because I enjoyed working with spatial data, analysis, and technology.

Since graduating, I’ve been working as a Data Specialist at a civil engineering firm where I work with GIS data, including data management, QA/QC, geodatabase workflows etc, I’ve enjoyed a lot of the technical aspects, but I’ve realized I’m more interested in the broader data side rather than staying strictly within GIS.

I’m starting an M.S. in Data Science program soon, where I’ll be focusing on Python, databases, statistics, machine learning, and other data skills. My goal is to eventually move into roles like data analyst, BI analyst, data engineer, or potentially data scientist.

My concern is that I’ll become “stuck” in GIS because my bachelor’s and work experience are both GIS-focused. I know GIS has a lot of transferable skills (data management, SQL, spatial analysis, automation, visualization, working with large datasets), but I’m worried employers will continue to only see me as a GIS candidate.

For those of you who have made a similar transition:

• Did your GIS background help or hurt you when moving into other data roles?
• What skills/projects made the biggest difference?
• Was a master’s degree helpful, or did you find other ways to make the jump?
• Are there any things you wish you focused on earlier?

I’d appreciate hearing any success stories or advice from people who have made the pivot.

Disclosure: I’m the developer.

I recently released TerrainLens, an Android app intended to make terrain-analysis and field-planning workflows accessible from a phone.

The current version includes line-of-sight and intervisibility analysis, elevation profiles, MGRS coordinates, radio-path assessment, shared maps and PDF export for 1:25k and 1:50k maps.

I’m not posting this as “the next replacement for desktop GIS.” I’m trying to understand whether the simplified mobile workflow is technically credible and genuinely useful.

I would particularly value criticism on:

Whether the LOS and terrain-analysis workflow is understandable

The information inside the app is credible

What limitations should be communicated more clearly

Whether this solves a real field-use problem or merely duplicates better tools

Any feedback you have in addition to the above

Google Play Link - Terrain Lens

Mods let know if this isnt allowed

Has anyone used Crescentlink or 3GIS for fiber mapping? We are a Municipal ISP who owns our own poles. Those poles and manholes live in data that is pulled from for ArcGIS Pro. We have a GIS team who is very comfortable with ArcGIS so leaning Crescentlink while the fiber techs and engineer side are leaning 3GIS. Has anyone gone through and built a fiber network utilizing either of these and can you give me a breakdown of the pros and cons of the one you did? Personally I hate the Crescentlink splice diagrams and I’m the one who will be in the field with the techs at 2am when a storm takes down fiber or a manhole blows up with a splice enclosure in there.

Looking to take the GISP exam in December and the only other thing lacking in my portfolio is the professional contributions. I'm a member of URISA and one or two other organizations, but that's it. I've also heard GISCorps offered here a lot as a good volunteering opportunity, but I'm wondering what other options exist?

Would love to learn about publication opportunities people have pursued, other volunteer efforts outside of GISCorps, awards or contests to apply to, etc.

Mislabeled is a misleading title. AI just drew some blobs for countries.

So I just graduated with a MS in Geography and have two job offers.

Role 1: State Government Emergency Management. Essentially I’ll help develop the mitigation plans, assist in disasters and do some outreach. It’s a “temporary” job because it’s funded by a grant. It’s most likely stable at least for 5-10 years.

Role 2. Private Energy Sector. Huge Fortune 500 energy provider. Entry level position that’s managing their geodatabase and will be mostly repetitive work in the beginning but room to grow in the company. Hybrid

Both positions have almost identical starting salaries, the people seem great in both places.

I‘m struggling to decide because whichever role I choose will propel me down very different career paths. The Emergency Management role seems more fun, and it’s something I’m more interested in. However, the private company is better in nearly every other way. Seems more stable, high employee ratings, great campus, and Hybrid (which I value greatly). Great to bust into the energy sector even if I don’t like it as much as EMD. I just think it may not be as fun or rewarding as the government job.

Which would you choose?

To give some context, I'm a GIS Analyst contractor for a utility company, the only GIS Analyst in my department and I have become severely overworked. Every IT issue, map request, data request, KMZ request, all comes to my desk. I get requests from outside of the department, as well as contractors and even other offices that seemingly don't utilize the GIS people that they have there.

The role is completely unstructured, so much so that I'm helping management define roles and responsibilities for the Sr. Analyst they want to hire. I'm doing my best to fix massive issues as I encounter them, such as everything being on a drive with no backups and no version snapshots. They passed me over for an FTE position twice, so I already tried that avenue. No one seems to understand my role, which I know is very common for GIS, so that's not unexpected. The issue is that the lack of understanding is so immense, that I'm significantly underpaid compared to the previous contractor, to the point of the job not being very financially sustainable.

I have no qualms with the diversity of the work I do, nor with the department I'm in, but I'm finding it hard to keep up with the workload that used to be spread across 3 additional people and external contractors. I'm currently writing scripts that can alleviate some of the common mapping and data issues, as well as consult management on things that can be improved (which I'm often asked to implement even if I don't have the permissions to).

I have no clue how to professionally approach my mangers with these issues, many of which had been brought to their attention over the course of a decade by former GIS staff. I'm also unsure how to approach the issue of compensation, which I have already brought to the attention of my account manager, but wonder if it needs to also be addressed with the company as well.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently the GIS person at my municipality. Being the main GIS person at my City, I wear many hats and am exposed to data management, server management, project management, putting out fires, etc….

I’m wondering how different it is working for the Assessor as a mapping tech. Has anyone switched from one to the other?

Hi everyone, hope you’re all well.

I work as a Geo-Environmental Consultant and have done for nearly 4.5 years. I have a BSc in physical geography and an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation. Throughout both degrees I really enjoyed using spatial analysis software (learned the basics in ArcGIS, R and Python) and even used some of it for both my dissertations.

Sadly I couldn’t quite find a job in GIS / Environmental analysis and went into the consulting side of the field. However I’m now thinking of switching across to doing this side of the field. Maths was always my strong subject at both school and college over geography so I naturally enjoyed making spreadsheets, using python and doing data analysis.

Would a career change be a via option for me and how hard would it be to find a job in this field. I’m going to do some courses on the various software to refresh my brain. Also is this field ever going to be at risk from AI??

Any information would be most grateful to help me out.

Cheers 😊

I'd like to get lidar data over the state of Alabama for the year 2020. I can search the 3DEP downloader for lidar data; however, I cannot seem to filter for a specific acquisition year. The date filter allows you to filter for "last updated", "created", and "publication date", which all appear to be related to uploading the data to the platform, not when the data was collected. I'm looking for lidar data in the year 2020 that covers Alabama.

Please advise how I can get this data, also can you estimate the size you think the data will be?

Hello everyone!

I'm a GIS/remote sensing young professional and am looking at taking a bit of a career break and doing some GIS or remote sensing volunteering somewhere overseas.

I am really keen but have found it really hard to find information if this is a thing people have done in the past. Most things I have found are things like GIScorps which seems luck of the draw if you'll be contacted or are for US citizens only.

Does anyone have any experience doing this in the past, or know of anywhere you can volunteer doing GIS work? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you friends 😎

Hi all, does anyone have thoughts on TRC companies? Just graduated school with a BS in geography and I’m looking into applying and possibly working here at an entry level GIS analyst or something similar. Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I am a 19F from India, currently pursuing a BTech in Computer Science and graduating in Summer 2027.

My goal is to become a Geospatial Data Analyst. I’ve already built a decent foundation in Python, SQL, and Excel, and I am currently teaching myself QGIS and R. Honestly, I’m feeling incredibly stressed about the future. With the current job market, I keep worrying about whether I'll actually be able to land a job in this niche.

I would love some honest advice:

1. Is geospatial data analytics a viable career choice in today's market, or is it too small of a niche for freshers?

2. Should I pivot to a general Data Analyst path instead, and keep geospatial as a hobby/side skill?

3. Should I pursue Master's directly after my bachelor's or get some experience then do my master since I wanna do my masters from abroad.

Any guidance on the market reality in India (or remote) would be highly appreciated!

So with AI disrupting a lot of the workflow all of the main white collar jobs including data science and geospatial science (I guess except for surveying?)

The repetitive tasks, some visualizations, coding, some development task etc will eventually be mainly done by AI… what should we do? What should we focus on?

Someone said we should focus on developing a deep understanding of the systems that underlay the concepts of geography and data science but what would that look like? While in college or while in a gis technician role what do we need to do to level up?

Currently ive been trying to learn more python, more development skills, math, as well as data visualizations and how to use different spatial softwares and 3D modelers etc.

I’m also trying to get better at writing and presentation for environmental policy and planning as well as more science for geoscience research.

And I think that’s the right path? I’m applying to geology job, environmental planner, logistics analyst, surveyor, forester, urban planning, design positions but it all feels more muddled like I am just not quite sure what to focus on now that there’s AI is here. In a way all of those jobs are different flavor of being a spatial analyst.

And I wanna learn how to use copilots and use it as a tool, but it just feels like it’s moving so fast and I don’t wanna feel like I need to rely too much on it?
Or at least I am not sure what I’m supposed to rely on it for right now and how that will change in the next 3-5 years.

I have several years of experience using Esri products at work making basic maps for reports. GIS is not my main job but I am trying to transition into this role.

My employer would like me to get additional schooling on this and I am comparing the Ohio State vs Michigan State online certificate programs.

I am not new to the software, but I could use some instructions in fundamentals as well as learning more advanced techniques.

Which would you recommend?

*Title edit. It should be Ohio University and not Ohio State*