Funny, I saw the post by Andrew (http://www.thegisforum.com/forums/p/1147/1634.aspx) and this DOES appear to be one of the more active forums out there.
I'm not new to GIS technically speaking. I have used different systems over the years - ArcINFO in college during the 90's, Mapinfo around 2000, and finally ArcGIS over the last 2 years. But only for the last year or so, have I been more than scraping the surface. My work backgruond is as a geologist in engineering. I find that I have a sound grasp of actual GIS applications and use. But I'd like to get beyond being a mere "user".
I use ArcGIS at work, mostly for making maps and creating a borehole database for the company. I have played around with a demo of Spatial Analyst and Modelbuilder, and I have started teaching myself some Python.... and because all the ESRI software isn't cheap and the company only has ArcGIS, I have started checking out some of the open source packages to see how they stack up against ESRI - e.g. Quantum GIS or GRASS. I have enjoyed the programming (Python) - something I hadn't done since programming BASIC in the 80's...
To make a long story short, I am interested in improving my GIS skills, and I would like to do that in a way that might open some career doors down the road. Not necessarily turning by becoming a GIS technician or analyst but ... I have no idea. My questions are:
1) if you had a couple of years for turning yourself into a GIS guru, and a few $1000 bucks to spend, what would be the best way to do that ? What software packages/extensions should you buy/learn/train in? What skills are really sought after ? What kind of training is best ? I am great self-paced learner, but is a GIS certificate/degree the best calling card ? Anyway, I hope you get the pictures.
2) And almost part of question #2, what are the trends in GIS to follow ? What looks like the best bandwagon to jump on ? I know there is a lot of GIS<=>WEb2.0 stuff happeningm, like Where2.0, Geodjango, Google&ESRI etc... if you had to throw your weight and efforts in one direction, where is it all headed ?
Okay, these clearly are overwhelming questions and nobody is expected to take the time to answer them completely, but any help or suggestion is appreciated. I promise won't take any of them for the ultimate mantra, but merely as inspiration. So fire away. Give me some starting points, something to sink my teeth in, and I will be back in a few months for more. Thanks a billion for your help.
And - yes (shame on me) - I did post this verbatim on giscafe.com. Forgive me. ;-)
I think you're asking exactly the sorts of questions anyone in our field should be asking, but I'm probably biased because I'm asking many of them myself. In a nutshell, I'm a county GIS manager who's been bitten by the development bug. I'm asking myself if I want to stay on a management career track or try to shift my career focus to development. Right now my answer would be development, so I'm working on trying to hone the skills I think I would need to possibly switch to more of a development-oriented career track.
I think you may have answered your own question by mentioning Web 2.0. There's no doubt the web is huge now and will only become an even bigger force. I'm focusing on JavaScript and PHP because they're so widely used and flexible. The ArcGIS Server APIs are certainly nice, but I'm really interested in what's happening on the web with open source tools. If you had to focus on one application, I would look at OpenLayers. While it's a very useful and powerful app just by itself, it's being rolled into more and more other open source web apps. Becoming familiar with OpenLayers should help shorten the learning curve with other apps that have incorporated it.
I think you're also headed in the right direction by familiarizing yourself with open source desktop packages like QGIS. As open source continues to grow and become more capable, more and more organizations will give it serious consideration in this time of tight budgets. Being well-versed in both ESRI and open source gives you leg up over probably 90% of GIS professionals out there. I'm still amazed at the lack of awareness of, and sometimes interest in, open source among so many people in our field.
A GIS certificate might not be a bad thing as a way to pick up some skills that might otherwise take considerable time to learn on your own. I would caution you to pay close attention to the courses in different certificate programs though. I've seen everything from programs that cover an impressively wide variety of in-depth topics to programs that seemed to cobble together a few classes that have virtually no relevance to GIS. A good GIS certificate program will hit the programming side of things very hard and expose students to a variety of languages.
I wish you the best of luck and hope you'll keep us posted .
I totally agree with Roger's comments about open geospatial technology --- knowing the technology and how to implement components like OpenLayers, GeoServer, GDAL along with basic web technologies like JavaScript libraries ( JQuery and Dojo) with some,KML,XML,SQL (MySQL, PostGRE SQL, PostGIS) ... those will lead to widely valued skills in the future .... however right now most of the big GIS shops seem to be stuck in an ESRI + ( .NET or JAVA) mode ... not complaining, just an observation.
Heavy desktop GIS apps - IMO - should only be for power editors that require precise sub-meter accuracy and .NET and JAVA should still rule the universerse here and for server development to support rich web apps; but general GIS distribution and applied spatial editing that doesn't require sub-meter accuracy should be web based apps that "mashup" or integrate multiple web data sources. JSON and XML-based output (along with understanding WMS) and if you're the creative type, strong CSS skills will get allow you to manage data and make it "look pretty" : ) -->Never underestimate the value of a good front-end interface -->esp. with web-based apps ("good" usually means "simple")
If you are a control-oriented person who wants to control / develop the framework the map and data interfaces are contained in; PHP and/or Ruby are broadly applied web dev platforms that can do most anything you need done. Of course, anything web-oriented implies a strong understanding of HTML (i.e. HTML 5 is coming which should bring the buzzworthy topic of Rich Internet Applications (RIA) to the masses.
-->http://otherfancystuff.blogspot.com/2009/01/html5-vs-flex-for-rias-ignite-style.html
-->http://digg.com/d1u1HR
I would strongly recommend that you look at http://www.geospatialtraining.com/ ; they have Google Maps, Python for ESRI modeling, .NET for ESRI etc.
And don't let the technology confuse the real objective of better / faster decisions. I fight with that one a lot : )
The key to becoming a true GIS Guru is not so much the training you get but actually doing the work day in and day out. The GIS field is one of those professions where you have to use it or lose it. Training is good for getting an introducing to a topic and some techniques. However, if you don't role up your sleeves and get to work you will quickly any advantage gained. I think one trait that all real GIS Gurus share is that they get the job done no excuses. I am all for tarining and expanding your knowledgebase as long as you use that knowledge in teh real world and not to add it to your resume.
Okay, all great replies.
I realize that doing too many workshops and training courses may just be adding bullets to your list of technical skills. But for starters, some training to get your feet wet is probably a good thing. Yes, I would hope to be working as more than a GIS robot with skill set A-Z one day. It's all too easy to forget the little tricks if you don't use them all that much. Hey, I feel that way about MsExcel. You don't something for 3 months, and you can't remember...
I am mostly wondering what would be a desirable and marketable skills set if you're trying to make the transition from user to "guru". I am not in a real GIS position. But I am using the technology more and more and am trying to figure if I want to try to be a "guru" and if so, how to land a GIS job. So I imagine some standards are probably expected, i.e. knowledge of ESRI basics. But to add to your portfolio by learning another similar package (Mapinfo) might not be the best idea. Or am I wrong? That's why I was wondering which direction to look and what to learn.
It would be nice to find/create some kind of niche that suits my background and interests but for the purpose of just getting my foot in the door with some GIS outfit, my main objective, for now at least, is to acquire some very practical, sought after skills that I can put to work.
I do want to spend some more time teaching myself some programming. I've enjoyed the Python I've used. We'll see where that takes me. I do like the whole Open Source idea, and think that more and more users will discover the advantages. Also, it's exciting to see how GIS/GPS has gone mainstream from just a few years ago. Now. everyone uses Google Earth and has a GPS in their car (although I don't). There's bound to be more opportunities in this area, and maybe it's not too late to jump on the bandwagon.
Chris is right...In order to stay ahead of the game, you really need to be in there doing it every day. As far as cutting edge goes, it's important to stay ahead of the game by watching trends in the industry. Mr. Fee does a pretty good job on reporting what is going on in the industry but you really need to try and stay on top what what else is going on. i.e. what is out there other than ESRI.
The "GeoWeb" seems to be gaining a lot of traction and with more and more web technologies popping up almost daily it's hard not to download them all and play around. Have you looked in to the latest version of OpenLayers? What about GeoEXT? GeoServer? I think it's a pretty safe bet to assume that any classes you are able to take have some sort of ESRI backing. After all, ESRI is to geospatial what Microsoft is to everything else, right? ;-)
I would suggest playing around with the vast abundance of Free and Open Source software applications and libraries that are available for anyone with the interest to dig in a learn. I've found that the more I use the Open Source stuff, the more I end up learning about GIS in general. It's software that a lot of really sharp geographers developed for various reasons and more often than not, they based the development on format standards and interoperability rather than commercial appeal so the using it will ultimately make you a better GIS user! Make sense?
Adam Estrada - The GIS Forum
I've been working with GIS for a while now and I have to say that I have never seen the pace of change with regard to technology move this fast before. The reality is that location and geography have finally gone mainstream and so now you have a whole new crop of users applying their imaginations to what can be done with it. This is leading to new technologies and new ways of doing things. it is also fueling the pace of integration with mainstream technologies. GIS works better with the web (as opposed to just being "on the web") now than ever and it only seems to be improving.
You definitely need to be able to code in something (.Net, Java, Ruby, Python, Javascript, whatever). You need to be comfortable with the web frameworks out there (Rails, Django, whatever). ESRI is also nto going away anytime soon. ArcGIS still has the most spatial processing power in one place that you will find. Add to that the fact that ESRI is not standing still and, with ArcGIS Server and various APIs is trying to respond to all of the changes. As a result, even their product line is changing rapidly.
In my mind, the approach to becoming a "GIS guru" (now *that* would be a cool certification from GISCI) starts with a firm understanding of spatial data and processes (what you can do), then is complemented with a firm and current understanding of technology (how you do it) and lastly, as Chris said, daily immersion in actually doing it. The technology *will* change. It is fleeting and ephemeral. The needs and applications of GIS are not.
Bill DollinsZekiah Technologies, Inc.
That is a good start, and self teaching yourself with your own independent projects or books can only help. It also helps that you sound like you are passionate about GIS mapping because you are genuinely interested and that will help keep you on top of the GIS industry, which is constantly changing.
Another option you can take is to take a night class at a local community college to gain additional former skills. If you don't have the time to take a night time class, you can also try taking ArcGIS classes online at a reputable school.
I'm no guru by any stretch of the imagination - just been doing this for a while.
I use ArcGIS day in and day out. I've played around with some of the Open Source Alternatives. I think the big thing - at least for me - is to sit down and work with editing, projections, and data collection. Get some time under your belt doing what I would call technician level work - learn the tools and the theory behind them. Be able to take nothing - and build a project: assemble base data, get a project scope - collect data - know why you are collecting the data - understand what is happening with the project.
Get active in a local users group - push yourself into uncomfortable situations (i.e. surround yourself with people smarter than you and learn). Learn a programming language - right now for me it's python. I don't do enough of it but I can program if I have to.....
Read everything you can get your hands on - right now my I read alot of ESRI press materials. I also subscribe to different magazine like GPS world. I don't fully understand alot of the articles in GPS world - but I am at least exposing myself to the technology (and not in a way that I would get arrested).
For me - working on a GISP was a way to push myself along (look for the infamous thread - it's here somewhere - not one of my finest moments). For me - the big things is to never consider your education complete - I believe it was Bill that said things are moving at an incredible pace - and I agree 500 Percent. technology is jumping - leapfrogging itself almost every month - just stay aware of what is happening....and learn learn learn.
Certificate programs I think would be a good building block - I've been toying going back and get a masters....eh - don't know if I will or not but it's being considered.
Anyway - hope this helped some.
Randy
Randal Hal, GISP
North River Geographic Systems, Inc.
thanks for all
i just wondering is it impossible to be a gis specialist realy specialist to know what is going on using the applications,programming,data base, server,mobile,web,3d to realy control the hole system
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