4 replies to this topic

[Enviro Mapper]

Hi,
I figured this was the best place to start. As the topic indicated I'm a recent grad with a background in Environmental Studies/Geography and GIS/Cartography. I'm entering the big wide-world of the "career" at the moment, without much luck thus far. I think my main issue is that I'm living in a smaller city so job prospects just aren't the same as in larger centers. But regardless, I figured this forum would be a good place to drop by for advice on this or that.

Thanks!

[rudy]

Hi,
I figured this was the best place to start. As the topic indicated I'm a recent grad with a background in Environmental Studies/Geography and GIS/Cartography. I'm entering the big wide-world of the "career" at the moment, without much luck thus far. I think my main issue is that I'm living in a smaller city so job prospects just aren't the same as in larger centers. But regardless, I figured this forum would be a good place to drop by for advice on this or that.

Thanks!

Welcome! and good luck with the job hunting.

[Jimbo]

Hi,
I figured this was the best place to start. As the topic indicated I'm a recent grad with a background in Environmental Studies/Geography and GIS/Cartography. I'm entering the big wide-world of the "career" at the moment, without much luck thus far. I think my main issue is that I'm living in a smaller city so job prospects just aren't the same as in larger centers. But regardless, I figured this forum would be a good place to drop by for advice on this or that.

Thanks!

It's a tough job market rate now to get hired in any good job despite the slow job growth. However geography is not always the only problem:

- the catch 22 is that while there are jobs in this field out there they always want experience. To quote "how can I get the experience if no one will hire me?"

- Jobs that are quoted as entry level tend to have employers turn around in a catch 22 request & demand 2 years plus experience

- technically we are recovering from a severe recession though it's possible that we could as easily slip into a double dip recession. Which means cartographers/GIS employees with experience are also competing for entry positions out of desperation. Not fair for entry level workers but that's the way it is

- Lack of connections means disappointment if you can't establish any. Keep posting here, & show your portfolio. This site is a good place to start but do not count your chickens using this site as the only resource.

- Your college did not give or teach you the right tools to find a good job

- Be prepared to land a job outside the field. If this happens try to use your skills to land a job that will give you good pay & the satisfaction that despite not landing that job you trained for it did help you in other area's to land another very good job requiring a lot of your skills obtained with your certification.

- not in literal terms: if you land a crappy job in say retail spit in their face figuratively & don't give up hope. You have the skills to be in administration, & the ability to be trained as a market analyst

[Kathi]

To quote "how can I get the experience if no one will hire me?"

I've been there myself, and it's a crappy situation. Chews away on your self-esteem. But my experience has been that patience pays off in the end. Sure, I had the good fortune to have a partner who supported us both with his job, so the pressure to find a job wasn't quite so big. But I had to search for a good half-year and got mostly refuses. And then suddenly, within about 36 hours, I had three job offers to choose from. And the one I ended up taking has proved to be my dream job.

So I wish you all the best, lots of patience and perseverance through the hard time. And that little bit of luck that's necessary to find what you dream of - or at least something close to that!

[Enviro Mapper]

Welcome! and good luck with the job hunting.

Thank you!

It's a tough job market rate now to get hired in any good job despite the slow job growth. However geography is not always the only problem:

- the catch 22 is that while there are jobs in this field out there they always want experience. To quote "how can I get the experience if no one will hire me?"

- Jobs that are quoted as entry level tend to have employers turn around in a catch 22 request & demand 2 years plus experience

- technically we are recovering from a severe recession though it's possible that we could as easily slip into a double dip recession. Which means cartographers/GIS employees with experience are also competing for entry positions out of desperation. Not fair for entry level workers but that's the way it is

- Lack of connections means disappointment if you can't establish any. Keep posting here, & show your portfolio. This site is a good place to start but do not count your chickens using this site as the only resource.

- Your college did not give or teach you the right tools to find a good job

- Be prepared to land a job outside the field. If this happens try to use your skills to land a job that will give you good pay & the satisfaction that despite not landing that job you trained for it did help you in other area's to land another very good job requiring a lot of your skills obtained with your certification.

- not in literal terms: if you land a crappy job in say retail spit in their face figuratively & don't give up hope. You have the skills to be in administration, & the ability to be trained as a market analyst

Haha, well, that's a little depressing.
I'm definitely not limiting myself to only GIS/Cart related jobs. Jobs in general are few and far between here, but I'm sure I will be able to at least find something to pay the bills for awhile.

My portfolio eh? I did make PDFs of a bunch of my school work done during the year...but what would I be showing it here for? To see what people think of it?

I've been there myself, and it's a crappy situation. Chews away on your self-esteem. But my experience has been that patience pays off in the end. Sure, I had the good fortune to have a partner who supported us both with his job, so the pressure to find a job wasn't quite so big. But I had to search for a good half-year and got mostly refuses. And then suddenly, within about 36 hours, I had three job offers to choose from. And the one I ended up taking has proved to be my dream job.

So I wish you all the best, lots of patience and perseverance through the hard time. And that little bit of luck that's necessary to find what you dream of - or at least something close to that!

I hear you about the self-esteem, it's only been a month but I still get worried. My partner also works full time, and it miiight be enough to get by, but at this point we really want to start putting away for a house sometime in the future. I think I'll pick up some temp work while I continue searching for the "real" job. And thanks for the support, it's much needed!