Yesterday I read an excellent
article from GIS Lounge on six ways to further your career in GIS. Although
the article names GIS specifically I’m going to assume a lot of this will apply
to other areas of GeoSpatial and indeed most industries with a technical focus.
Anyway what I quickly noticed is that the AGI can help its members fulfil each
of their six recommendations!
1. Continue a Habit of Lifelong Education
This point is pretty self explanatory and fits perfectly with the AGI
CPD (Continuing Professional Development) scheme. The CPD scheme is a benefit
where members are encouraged to and get recognised for things like attending
training courses, conferences and producing exceptional work. This is an
excellent way to stand out from your peers and show interest and expertise in
your chosen field.
2. Consider Certification
This is the logical extension of the first recommendation and serves a
similar purpose. Certification is concrete proof that you are continuing your
education and working to become an expert in your field. A great certification
to have for a GIS professional is CGeog (GIS) which is offered by RGS through
the AGI. In fact the AGI CPD scheme can be used to count towards your final
CGeog status.
3. Interact with your peers
Hopefully this goes without saying and you don’t just sit at your desk
glaring suspiciously at co workers. However it is important to interact with
your peers at different companies and indeed slightly different industries.
This is particularly true if you are your company’s only ‘GIS person’ and are
somewhat isolated from other professionals in your area. The AGI provides a
huge range of opportunities to interact with your peers from attending events
and conferences to more low key evening seminars and networking events. All of
these are a chance to keep up with the latest developments in the industry and
share your thoughts (or be reassured that everyone else is encountering the
same problem).
4. Share
That leads me nicely on to the next point, if you’ve done something
interesting and innovative or you have a new take on an idea or a piece of
technology show it off! It’s all well and good doing great work but doing great
work and then presenting it to an audience of peers (and possibly potential
customers/employers) is even better. The solution here is simple, don’t just
attend an event, submit a talk or a paper to this year’s event series
(submissions opening soon). You might even win the best paper awards which
probably doubles up as certification as well.
5. Play in the Sandbox
Sadly this isn’t sandcastle building (something at which I am quite skilled) but an encouragement to learn technologies, platforms and techniques other
than those involved in the day job. The Special Interest Groups and the afternoon
and evening seminars and workshops they run are particularly relevant to this
(the Tech SIG are running just such an
event on the 3rd Feb).
6. Pay it Forward
A slightly more opaque heading but essentially volunteer your skills. Volunteering obviously has all the altruistic benefits and can also help to
boost your CV. Volunteering with the AGI has the additional advantage that you
will be developing skills beyond technical GIS expertise. AGI council and SIG
members are involved in running events, helping with project management and
producing papers among other things. All of which can serve to broaden your
experience and give you a chance to do things that you wouldn’t necessarily experience
in your day job.
Of course you can always volunteer with our supported charity Map Action as well!
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