Mapping Out a Geospatial Career

Written by Kelly Fodel

MAE 2009 Volume: 4 Issue: 5 (September/October)

“Analyzing information spatially has always been a geographer’s skill,” according to Nuala Cowan, manager of the Spatial Analysis Lab at George Washington University’s Department of Geography. “However, the advent and subsequent proliferation of computerized geospatial analysis has alerted people to the importance of thinking spatially. In many ways geography as a discipline has been reinstated; it is now seen as current, relevant and widely applicable.”

Dr. Todd Bacastow, professor of practice for geospatial intelligence at Penn State University, agreed. Geospatial analysis helps people understand what things are, where they are located, why they are located where they are, how they came to be, and why they change, providing a framework to study anything that has some spatial component to it, Bacastow said.

“Consider that 20 years ago, stranded drivers could not push the OnStar button and have their precise locations almost instantly identified by a service that could dispatch assistance,” he noted. “Only multimillion-dollar fighter aircraft had navigation systems, and today we find them in rental cars. [Back then] it was difficult to use computers to analyze the spread of a disease and track a hurricane. Geospatial technologies were only beginning to be deployed in the military, and very few police departments, private firms, or even higher education institutions had much geospatial technology.”

For centuries, maps served as the primary mechanism for managing and analyzing geospatial information. About 40 years ago, GIS was developed as a means to store, manage, retrieve and analyze geographic information more efficiently. Since then, our ability to locate things has become much easier, data have become plentiful, and software has become more powerful and easier to use. Overall, our understanding of the unique aspects of dealing with geographic events and the complexity of questions that we can now address has expanded dramatically. Geospatial analysis is now widely used by government agencies, private businesses, citizens groups, and research institutions.

“Almost all problems facing humanity, and almost all decisions, have a geospatial element,” said Dr. Michael Goodchild, professor of geography at the University of California, Santa Barbara. “GIS is used in many industries, government agencies and research labs, and is an important tool in any discipline dealing with phenomena on the Earth’s surface, from archaeology to criminology. A decision or plan made using geospatial analysis is defensible, as it is based on concrete evidence and rigorous analysis.”

Having emerged quickly as a technology used throughout modern culture, geospatial applications are now found in all sorts of electronic services that provide customized, user-specified and on-demand maps for individual users. Nothing illustrates the extent of the penetration of the technology better than the online mapping services such as MapQuest and Google.

FIELD OF OPPORTUNITY

Reflecting the pervasiveness of the technology, geospatial-related careers were identified in 2004 at the national level as “new and emerging” and “substantial growth” by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration.

For servicemembers specifically, many opportunities exist to build upon experience garnered in the military. All of the intelligence agencies— including the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency and Central Intelligence Agency—employ geospatial analysts, as do other government agencies and many corporations. Many servicemembers working in this field, or even just hoping to enter this field, often already have the security clearances necessary to gain entry to these sorts of jobs, giving them a natural leg up on civilians with no military experience.

Jobs range from the highly technical (programming, software development) to the application oriented (GIS analyst, GIS specialist). In the intelligence field, many positions focus on imagery analysis, therefore a background in remote sensing (working with satellite imagery) as well as GIS is also beneficial.

Geospatial analysis in general applies to the following fields:

• local and state government;
• environmental resource management;
• socio-economic analysis;
• epidemiology;
• critical infrastructure management and maintenance, in fields such as transportation and utilities;
• law enforcement and crime analysis;
• engineering, including at the Army Corps of Engineers; and
• emergency management at government agencies such as FEMA.
   

Given that as much as 80 percent of an organization’s data can be associated with a geographic location, including things like customer or competitor locations, store locations and sales territories, geospatial analysis has a tremendous potential in the business community, Bacastow noted, including in the fields of manufacturing, retail, public planning, financial services and telecommunications infrastructure.

“However, the business community’s use of geospatial analysis is fragmented, less likely to be called ‘geospatial,’ and more likely to be deployed within a specific department,” Bacastow said. “Enterprise geospatial applications have evolved from specialized GIS tools and are assisting business decisions. Like business intelligence [applications], enterprise geospatial systems are being integrated with [enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management] and other enterprise applications.”

INSIDE EDGE

Servicemembers have a unique opportunity to parlay their military experience into geospatial jobs. Dr. Keith Clarke of the University of California, Santa Barbara, said that students who come from the services often already have experience in GIS and remote sensing that gives them a good perspective in their studies. They also are familiar with “ordered learning” and may be less likely to be distracted by typical student concerns and more focused on class work, Clarke said.

Because nearly every branch of the military uses geospatial technologies or applications, the servicemember often has a better practical understanding of GIS. For example, at the tactical level during a battle, commanders must know where troops are and where supplies are to be positioned, and GIS has become a key way they know, said Dr. David Rain of GWU. That sort of practical application of the technology applies in the civilian world as well, where a number of applications may be used in conjunction to a particular end.

“The key feature of geospatial data is interoperability, which is the ability of different programs and platforms to talk to each other,” Rain said. “The advances in recent years have made communication between GIS, remote sensing, and computer-aided design much easier.”

Generally, servicemembers, like anyone else, need to have an undergraduate degree in order to acquire a job in the GIS or geospatial field. Additionally, attaining a master’s degree will allow for a higher salary and increased advancement opportunities. A variety of colleges and universities have geography programs to prepare a student for a career in GIS or geospatial analysis. While many are traditional programs, some also offer online options for students who need flexibility, which can be appealing for military students.

The University of California, Santa Barbara, has a highly ranked geography department that is one of the largest in the country and houses a large research enterprise. At the undergraduate level, the school offers course sequences in GIS, cartography, remote sensing and geospatial analysis. The graduate programs are research-oriented, requiring courses and a thesis at the master’s level, and courses and a dissertation at the Ph.D. level. The school’s first Ph.D. geography graduate was Dr. G. Donald Richardson in 1982; he is now at the Institute for Defense Analyses. A recent M.A. grad, Ian Irmischer (2006), now teaches geography and environmental engineering at West Point.

For an online option, students might consider the Penn State Post Baccalaureate Certificate Program in Geospatial Intelligence. It helps current and aspiring analysts combine spatial thinking, information literacy and geospatial technology skills with knowledge of cultural and political geography and a commitment to ethical practice. The program is designed for working professionals who are only able to study part-time and at a distance. Students earn the Certificate of Achievement in Geospatial Intelligence by completing five required courses.

The Department of Geography at George Washington University features a remote sensing and GIS program to prepare students for careers in GIS and geospatial opportunities. In addition to including GIS in the most basic of undergraduate course offerings, GWU offers a program that allows students to minor in GIS. Graduate students may choose to focus on applied geospatial techniques. GWU also features a Spatial Analysis Laboratory. The laboratory consists of 12 networked PCs, featuring the latest in GIS (ArcMap 9.1) and remote sensing (Imagine) software.

Other schools with geospatial programs include the University of Wisconsin at Madison, the University of Redlands, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, the University of Georgia at Athens and Ohio State University, among many others.

CHALLENGING COURSEWORK

No matter which school the military student chooses to attend, he or she may find that there are a few particular challenges. Often a lack of prior study in mathematics, science and computer programming can hinder progress. This is more a characteristic of students in general, as opposed to those coming from the services. Additionally, making a career shift can be difficult, as it can require going back to school full-time, which may be tough after being employed for a number of years. Military students who are attempting to pursue a GIS education while on active duty obviously face a number of additional challenges with which they must cope.

The future of GIS is bright, as are the opportunities available for military students. More and more schools are providing online programs to help students meet their educational goals. The course material is always evolving as well, as technology and current events change. Penn State’s Bacastow said geospatial education is increasingly taking into account the “human impact of events.” In Iraq and Afghanistan, for instance, the success of military operations depends to no small degree on the understanding of indigenous populations—the locations and loyalties of the people there, and not just the physical terrain in which they live.

“This is not only a war-fighting issue,” Bacastow said. “The revelations of inadequate response to the hurricane’s aftermath are not just about the failure of the overall emergency management system. They are also about failures of understanding the human terrain. Few in the emergency management hierarchy appreciated the implications of the impoverished population of New Orleanians.”

To learn more about geospatial careers and opportunities in applying GIS skills to a career, there are a variety of resources available, including a portal site created by major GIS software developer ESRI, located at www.gis.com, and the Association of American Geographers’ Website, at www.aag.org. ♦

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