What was your very first GIS related job/internship?

[JordanMcMillan]

Hi all,

I'm interested in the job or internship title of your very first job/internship. What was that first job that got your foot in the door? A simple job title will suffice, but if you have the time to elaborate and maybe explain how you were able to score the job/internship or maybe even some advice that you might give to an undergraduate? If you're feeling super ambitious feel free to elaborate even further and give some examples of what your daily duties were at this first job.

I've just started to apply for GIS related internships so I think it will be really cool to see what other people did when they were at their first step in their career.

cheers!

[AdamStroud]

I started out as a GIS intern, tasked with mapping water, sewer, and storm systems for a municipal government.  I was the first GIS-centric employee they ever had and all distribution systems were previously on paper maps.  As the only mapping/GIS experienced employee, I was assigned other tasked related to Economic and Community Development.  I did this for three months and was then hired as the full-time Economic Development Coordinator for the city. 

Jordan

My advice to you is threefold:

• Remain flexible and be willing to take on new challenges
  • If you are willing to be flexible then the job market will be flexible in your favor. 
  • Taking on new challenges in the workplace will allow you to build an extensive list of skills on a resume.
• Be courteous to everyone you work for and with
  • I had zero experience in Economic Development before I was given the job, but because I was flexible and didn't take interactions with coworkers or the public for granted, the boss man overlooked my inexperience and gave me a shot.
• Be a self-starter
  • There are a lot of jobs available for GIS professionals in many different fields.  Unfortunately there are also many more GIS professionals than there used to be.  If you can brand yourself a self-starter by seizing opportunities to be creative or finding something useful to do when your boss takes the day off, you will stand out.

Have fun!

[LauraKaufmann]

Completely agree, Adam. Sometimes, even seasoned professionals need to be reminded of these things. Thanks for summarizing them so neatly.

[CrystalSchiffbauer-Bowles1]

I started out as an Assistant to a Land Surveyor and got interested in mapping so took on an Internship my last year of Undergrad in the Soils Dept for the USFWS in Billings, MT. We were working with Erdas and doing fire rehab plans for the Red Waffle Fire. I have fond memories.

[AlicePence]

I was a GIS Intern for Ada County in Boise, Idaho. I'm now a GIS & Database Specialist for City of Auburn in Washington. I credit my internship with where I am at now and it paid like crap but I learned way more at that internship than I ever did in school.

[MattMcGuire]

Assistant Engineering Technician - I mapped pavement conditions for a county highway department

[AdamStroud]

Matt

What software did you use?

Were road conditions decided by a professional (engineer, consultant) or a highway department employee with minimal training?

The reason I ask both questions is that we would like to do the same thing.

Adam

[MattMcGuire]

If I recall correctly, the pavement management software was called, "ICON", but I don't really remember much about it. I used ArcView 3.x for the mapping.

Adam Stroud wrote:

Were road conditions decided by a professional (engineer, consultant) or a highway department employee with minimal training?

In addition to engineers, there were well trained and competent highway department employees without professional degrees where I worked. We determined the pavement condition with sensor data collection supplemented with visual survey samples.

[ChrisDonohue__GISP]

My Internship was for a private Environmental Consulting firm as a GIS Technician.  The job was not posted as an internship per se, but as a part time entry-level temporary position.  When I interviewed with them, I asked the GIS Manager if we could modify the position to fit the internship requirements, so I could meet my degree requirements (I was working on an Associates in GIS at night at a community college).

I got the position as I already had several years working in the field as an Environmental Scientist (non-GIS), so was already up to speed on how they did business.  They had a need for someone who could do GIS, but would also be available occasionally to pitch in on non-GIS projects.

For anyone who is looking for an internship, keep in mind if you have previous experience in a field that marketing it can be a way of getting your foot in the door.

Chris Donohue, GISP