Where do you live: City Centre
Profession: GIS Developer
Please explain what you do in your job?
GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems. Essentially GIS deals with information that has a spatial or location-based component. I develop software that links data with its spatial component. I work on web sites like MapQuest or Google Maps providing geocoding (addressing) and routing data.
I work with GPS providers to integrate location-based data. I also work with governments and utility companies to produce maps showing agricultural land usage, population distribution, property values, or any information that can be differentiated by location.
Current job:
I’m a self-employed consultant. I work for anybody who needs to leverage the spatial component of their data.
List of accomplishments:
I’ve been instrumental in designing large geospatial database systems, and managing spatial data as it changes over time. I’ve developed land management systems for the Irish and Finish departments of agriculture and the Irish forestry service. As a result I was able to spend considerable time in both countries.
I’ve worked for a number of public utilities including Telus, Bell South and Telecom Eireann (the Irish phone company) as well as hydro companies in Northern Ireland and Saudi Arabia, where I spent a few months. I’ve developed taxation and auditing software for the cities of North Vancouver and Tokyo, where I also spent time. I’ve developed addressing software for the State of West Virginia.
I’ve also done work for emergency services in West Virginia (mine rescue planning) and Dublin (routing).
Most recently I developed geocoding (address lookup) and routing software for the city of Cleveland.
How do you measure success in your chosen career?
Success in the programming industry is measured by your ability to complete project on time and on budget. I like to think I’ve been very successful.
When did you decide this is what you want to do for a living and what was the ‘moment’?
I was 12 when I saw my first computer, a Commodore Pet. They had just been introduced into the school system and were loaded with rather boring educational software.
My friends and I immediately began hacking the programs and I fell in love with programming. I ended up studying computer science at university and after I graduated I wrote accounting software and inventory management software. Unfortunately, I found these kinds of projects kind of boring. I got into GIS by accident, but as soon as I was exposed to it I saw the power and potential of exploiting the spatial aspect of computer information.
What did you have to do in order to get involved with this profession?
It’s tough to get a volunteer job programming without any formal education. To become a good programmer you need some education. You can join GIS user groups to learn from other people in the field. Many GIS vendors provide free data, demos and trial versions of their software and you can learn a lot from them.
Pros and cons of this job?
GIS is a niche market. That means there isn’t a whole lot of work out there. On the plus side, when you find work it usually pays quite well and is very interesting. There is also the opportunity to travel.?
Skills required for this job?
I have a university degree in computer science and mathematics. Many of the kinds of problems GIS deals with are related to complex mathematical concepts and being exposed to them and their solutions can be helpful. A good understanding of geometry, linear algebra or graph theory would be most useful. Math isn’t absolutely necessary, but it did help me get my foot in the door.
Much more important is learning to be a good programmer. A minimum level of education would be studying programming at a community college. Most programming work is done in C/C++, Java, or VB/C#.NET so learning one or more of these languages is advantageous even if you don’t go into GIS. An understanding of relational databases is essential and some exposure to computer graphics is helpful as well. Many universities offer GIS programs, but these deal less with the programming side of things.
Percentage of people who actually succeed in this field:?
There is plenty of programming work out there. I would imagine 80 to 90 per cent of trained programmers find work in the field. There is less demand for GIS developers so there are fewer programmers. Probably 50 per cent of programmers who decide to pursue this find work. I have noticed companies are starting to place a higher value on the location aspect of their data. This should help to increase the demand for programmers who have experience working with this kind of information.
Salary range:? Entry level programmers can expect to start at $30,000 to $40,000 per year. Salaries for experienced developers, particularly those with management experience, can exceed $100,000 per year. Advice to people who are thinking about pursuing this field: Learn to program.
Good programming skills are essential for anybody hoping to succeed in IT. Understand relational databases. This is another essential skill for IT in general. Understand mathematics. You don’t need to be an expert, but familiarity with the basic concepts of geometry, graph theory and linear algebra are helpful in GIS. Understand cartography. Again you don’t need to be an expert, but the final output of many GIS problems are maps, so understanding how to put them together is a good idea.
Anything else you would like to say?
I would encourage young people to pursue their education. I know this isn’t a popular piece of advice, but it can only help you down the road. Also to pay attention to your mentors and advisors, more unpopular advice. I’ve seen too much badly written software in my career and a little bit of experience and education would have made a world of difference.