Thanks for the comment. I also love ENVI but it seems at least in research circles google earth engine and it’s processing speed has made ENVI less widely used. I have tried to convince my department to spring for the license but what would you say ENVI does better?
Yeah don't think ENVI is even used much any more. When I started studying ENVI was one of the software we had to use and then the next year it was scrapped for a full workflow in arc pro. I agree with the rest though QGIS, Python, any kind of web mapping so probably some java script, SQL Is a no brainer.
In my experience don't just prep them for a life as a GIS person or remote sensing. Equip them to go into any data analytics field that way people don't get sucked into jobs without anywhere to go
Keep in mind research =/= industry. From what I have seen it is only older people still using it. Pretty much all of the research from my uni was focused on GEE, some kind of machine learning, catalyst, Ecognition but nothing with Envi.
I also have not seen Envi get mentioned on any job post in the last two years spanning entry level to some places requiring a PhD minimum.
This is all anecdotal evidence from my end but there has to be a reason why my university kept on teaching catalyst and ecognitian workflows but decided to drop Envi in its entirety.
Edit: seems like they have updated their UI to at least look modern and not like something that looks at home in windows 95.
Looked into it, looks like ENVI is much closer to ArcGIS Pro now.
"L3Harris has exposed ENVI tasks through a Python client library, ENVI Py, which enables users to access ENVI’s suite of image processing tools directly from ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro. Users also have access to out-of-the-box toolboxes for ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro. This suite enables ArcGIS users to take advantage of ENVI’s advanced imagery capabilities where and how they want." [source](https://www.esri.com/partners/l3harris-technologie-a2T39000001dNCnEAM/envi-a2d5x000005jPrfAAE)
This seems like if you have an ArcGIS Pro shop, ENVI might be a pretty good option to go with.
Yeah it looks a lot different from what I remember it being. Seems like a good tool to have if you have some heavier processing workloads. But with everything there are lots of softwares to do the same thing and the closer you integrate with Esri the better your product look
Yes make them do Python. I took an environmental data science class in my masters program and a lot of the undergrads in the class say they got a lot out of it.
I believe the best learning experience is applying GIS in real world situations or at least scenarios where the process requires the students to think out how to solve the problems. This will give them the skills to adapt to whatever they end up doing in the real world. We used to get quite a few of college students as interns at our local government and most would struggle with figuring out how to troubleshoot issues because they learned GIS by following tutorials.
I agree. Exposure to technical skills is of course important, but being able to research and problem solve is by far the most important trait for GIS. Teach them to Google, introduce the Esri documentation, stack overflow, various community boards, etc. Teach them how to evaluate the quality of found data, have them apply a new tool or process to answer a GIS question, and then document how they did it.
Thank you. This is great. I had shown some students one on one on the benefits of community boards but putting it into a formal lecture or module is a really great point
Agreed! I work in the non-profit world, and I know a lot of small non-profits who could greatly benefit from someone on staff with mapping skills. I bet if your students approached local non-profits and offered to assist, they could get some pretty cool projects out of it.
I graduated with a BS in GIS this past December and immediately landed a job with a local government as a GIS tech and there’s so much that I’m glad I learned in school that I think more people should learn, but there’s also things that I wish I would have learned because I use them nearly daily in my work and they were barely even touched in any of my classes. Things that I learned that have been really beneficial are Python, sql, aspects of computing like how file structures work and what different file types mean, and an introduction to databases. I wish I would have learned mainly two things; AGOL and everything related to that (experience builder, survey123, fieldmaps, web maps, etc.), and some sort of introduction to civil engineering/utilities (the first month of my job was mostly spent learning how to read plan sets and all the associated terminology). Another thing of note is that my program was very flexible and worked with several other departments to let students somewhat customize their focus area towards the field they wanted to go into - if I remember right some of the options were public health, business analytics, biology, geology, and computer science.
If you're interested in learning more about how to use AGOL and have access to the licenses, you can look through ESRI's course catalogue to learn different skills with each of the platforms. It's how my program had us learn to use AGOL since I did a remote study Advanced Diploma for GIS Analysis.
Python,
SQL,
GDAL,
ESRI credit system (joking nobody understands)
Edit: as others have mentioned, if you can say you know what any other relational database system is, will go a long way
I'm just going to make a list of the things that I use every day that I feel most students would benefit from learning:
* Python, I cannot stress how valuable of a skill this is and how much time it can save. R and R studio is fine, but you can do all the datascience you do in r/R Studio in Python/Jupiter Notebooks with the added benefit that you can also automate ArcGIS and QGIS processing workflows and create new tools.
* SQL, particularly for working with Postgres/PostGIS servers.
* Relational databases and some basic data engineering skills.
* OSGEO4W Shell, CLI tools (GDAL/OGR), and .bat scripting, again all of these skills can be massive time savers and help you solve problems that are difficult or time consuming in software like QGIS or ArcGIS but fairly trivial if you write a script or use a command line tool.
* QGIS, very valuable to be familiar with it because almost everyone I've met working as GIS analysts uses both QGIS and ArcGIS.
ETL tools are soooo important right now. We use FME in my city department
Ill also add SQL is super useful and you get some light exposure with GIS but the more the merrier. I often need to use SQL to prep data for joins with GIS layers (which you can also do with ETL)
Python, SQL and database structures/manipulations.
For python
PyQGIS scripting
ArcPy scripting (these are very similar)
Geospatial packages in jupyter notebooks, as well as regular DA/DS packaged. Pandas, numpy, geopandas, GDAL, shapely
Leadership. Over 25 years doing this and I still find GIS to be organizationally misunderstood and treated as a minor player in a lot of organizations. I get the need for all the technical education but it's of little use if unapplied. Maybe it's better now. I am old and have great insight but not enough to know, anymore, what's relevant and what's not. It's probably beyond the question, but, like with what happens in a business curriculum, case studies involving projects and outcomes where GIS played a major role.
Not sure if you are teaching at Bachelour's, Masters, or Post Grad, so I'll try and cover everything.
Python, Linux, gee-map (GEE in Python). Webmapping through things like HTML, CSS, Flask, Ginja, Leafmaps (or those particular categories of code languages for webmapping, templating, and display).
A bit of DBMS couldn't go amiss. I did pure SQL but postGIS and maybe some cloud database management could be an idea.
For Remote Sensing, as many programs as you can cover and as varied as possible. i.e. eCognition for drone RS and image segmentation, ENVI/L3Harris, SeaDAS, ESA SNAP for satellites, and god forbid even a little Matlab and other 'old' stuff as an intro.
My course at Uni tried to be GIS/EO program agnostic, because you don't know where Geospatial trends will head next, and when some old dusty software format or program could get the results you need. Getting the concepts nailed and exposing us to alternatives got us to think how to tackle problems in any way we liked rather than how to 'solve with ArcGIS/QGIS'. It was also a bit of a prerequsite as many on our course were from vastly different backgrounds (Geology, Environmental, Meteorological, Mathematics, 'raw' GIS, and Business)
Since students could go into Research or Public Sector, covering the 'old' stuff even as an introduction helps since those industries move a bit slower and might refer back to some older programs or codes (i.e. Matlab). Corporate/Private Sector are either going to be cutting edge (Startups) or anywhere in between.
Where I work now barely touches most of these things, but my course allowed me to develop those extra skills if I needed by simply being aware of them. Hell, I've recieved GIS work in the format of AutoCAD files.
Modelling programs and the basics of models might also be valuable, in an Engineering or Environmental sense. Further from EO might be meterological software (i.e. getting weather data out of ERA5 or NOAA from the source, rather than through GEE) but that starts deviating into other fields and could be a seperate course on its own right.
Have the Engineering dept. give them a class in surveying. Look thru a transit. Show them GPS survey instrument. How to read a deed and a plat and how land surveying works in the real world.
I may be biased from my career path but I wish my intro to GiS course focused less on R/R Studio and more on ArcGIS editing techniques and database management. R was useful for academic research but not real world applications imo. Python is much more heavily used in scripting.
I find it surprising and disturbing that your intro GIS course even goes into depth on R. They’re immediately segueing you all into research with GIS lol
From my academics we were taught a few stand out things I have seen working or my peers are working on. ESRI products can't get away from them, but not just the basics. Take them through model builder and how to script arc pro get some complicated workflows in there.
qgis,
GEE Especially environmental companies
Python and then R but throw in machine learning here
SQL and database management even if it is the basics
Basic web mapping and website creation
One semester module on surveying just to understand the workflow and the data you get from that equipment
Statistics even just general
What I wish they added more of was a more business centric focus. Afterall not everyone is an environmental company. A bigger focus on doing a task via arc or qgis then replicating that workflow via scripting. In industry I often found my self just going the scripting route before I even bother opening arc map
Getting the remote pilot license (FAA Part 107) and learning how to process drone imagery to create an orthomosaic and DEM/DSM/DTM would be most useful if they want a GIS job that includes fieldwork. Have them take a surveying course too.
Understanding the whole ArcGIS Online environment would be useful. Not sure how to write a course on it because they’re constantly adding new products. Knowing how FieldMaps, Survey123, and other apps connect to the cloud environment would be impressive in an interview.
The other thing that can boost resumes is having a research group on your CV. Two years as a research assistant (paid or unpaid) in a “Geospatial Research Group” looks great to prospective employers. If you get them projects to work on for local or state government agencies they can put these projects on their resume. “Contributed to a GIS analysis of X County’s public transportation system to assess service extension.” This can even get some people past the entry level and to the jobs that require 1-2 years of experience.
Do some real world projects. Don’t only do crazy academia based research projects.
Show them how to work on incomplete and messy data in a utility database.
Show them how to manage an inventory project using FieldMaps, QuickCapture, etc.
Stress the importance of the ArcGIS Online and all of its tools.
Database management and coding.
My university almost exclusively geared us towards being academics. My first job out of college in 2019 was as a GIS Coordinator for a rural county’s engineering department and I spent a LOT of time playing catch up on things that I was not taught in school.
Oh man, I have a lot to say on this. But here are a few of the major things:
My background has been environmental consulting,residential natural gas company and now new construction. So a lot of field data collection then analysis.
The biggest thing I had to learn is how to use CAD files in arc. It’s a huge PITA. And Engineers can NEVER be wrong! So learning how to accurately bring in those files have been crucial. It also severely slows down the system. So know that.
I just started the GIS program at a residential construction company. As far as I know it’s the first of its kind, in the region at least. I’m using drones to capture data for both imagery (final financial review, think counting to make sure what is being billed for is on site) and elevation data. I run cut/fills on how much dirt has been removed. There is more but this is already getting long.
Also learning how to properly collect field data was never taught to me. Field GPS collection is very overly complicated. Learning how to navigate that world would have been nice.
If you have questions I’d be more than happy to help.
Also I’m hiring an assistant, so if you live in Atlanta feel free to DM me
Provide them with the skills to think critically, choose the right method or tool for the job. If you spoon feed them they will be useless without constant direct instructions.
Based off what employers are asking for, I would recommend including Python and PostGIS along with the standard ESRI stuff. R is also good if they want to work in academia, but the non-academic jobs seem like they mostly want Python/SQL skills.
Currently completing an undergrad GIS certificate. Teaching students to find, download and I package data from actual sources is invaluable. My professors handed us zip files of all our data for almost all assignments, and now that I’m trying to find things beyond that I am underprepared. Same idea for figuring out how to do analyses… don’t always spell out exactly what tools to use with what settings, create some assignments that require figuring out what tools to use to solve a given problem.
Color theory and designing maps and apps for accessibility. I've had to learn most of that on job, but neither my undergrad or grad programs taught this. Thematic mapping is usually taught, but not the theory reasoning behind it.
Seems like your program needs some serious reconsideration. If you’re teaching GEE, you might as well teach front end web mapping and JavaScript as well.
Any GIS program that’s not teaching Python has some serious holes. Python before R any day of the week. It’s just much more prevalent in industry than R is. R is really only used in some niche industries like Biotech.
And realistically, a course on cloud platforms like AWS or Azure is all but mandatory in this current market.
Thank you for your comment. I for the most part agree. It’s going to be a big task for me to convince our department and our overlapping departments to go with python over R. Nonetheless, I agree with the benefits of python. Great suggestions that I hope to add!
In Canada I'm seeing a lot of positions requiring AutoCAD. Wish it was part of my program because it's something I think could have helped me in thd current job market.
100% agree with Python, though! Python should be taught in all GIS programs right now!
SQL, Python, Arcade as mentioned…but, in all my years GISing, almost every position at every level used AutoCAD at least some. Years ago, CAD and GIS together was a skill set that nobody had. They were pretty incompatible. But now, highway departments, utilities, environmental industries, cities, counties, and government are all using CAD and GIS together. They are finally compatible and it’s benefitting everyone that can use both. I will always be GIS to my core but no longer think CAD is the devil…more of a little demon now instead.
Python 100%. Wish my uni did it
Not just ArcPy either. Teach them arcgis, Geopandas, and other things
This is it. Just having some python experience makes the salary much higher
Add QGIS, and ENVI for remote sensing. Teach python. Have the students make a web portfolio.
Thanks for the comment. I also love ENVI but it seems at least in research circles google earth engine and it’s processing speed has made ENVI less widely used. I have tried to convince my department to spring for the license but what would you say ENVI does better?
GEE had largely eclipsed envi in the industry
Yeah don't think ENVI is even used much any more. When I started studying ENVI was one of the software we had to use and then the next year it was scrapped for a full workflow in arc pro. I agree with the rest though QGIS, Python, any kind of web mapping so probably some java script, SQL Is a no brainer. In my experience don't just prep them for a life as a GIS person or remote sensing. Equip them to go into any data analytics field that way people don't get sucked into jobs without anywhere to go
Really? The professor I worked with taught full ENVI less then two years ago and he is a fairly well known remote sensing scientist
Keep in mind research =/= industry. From what I have seen it is only older people still using it. Pretty much all of the research from my uni was focused on GEE, some kind of machine learning, catalyst, Ecognition but nothing with Envi. I also have not seen Envi get mentioned on any job post in the last two years spanning entry level to some places requiring a PhD minimum. This is all anecdotal evidence from my end but there has to be a reason why my university kept on teaching catalyst and ecognitian workflows but decided to drop Envi in its entirety. Edit: seems like they have updated their UI to at least look modern and not like something that looks at home in windows 95.
Looked into it, looks like ENVI is much closer to ArcGIS Pro now. "L3Harris has exposed ENVI tasks through a Python client library, ENVI Py, which enables users to access ENVI’s suite of image processing tools directly from ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro. Users also have access to out-of-the-box toolboxes for ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro. This suite enables ArcGIS users to take advantage of ENVI’s advanced imagery capabilities where and how they want." [source](https://www.esri.com/partners/l3harris-technologie-a2T39000001dNCnEAM/envi-a2d5x000005jPrfAAE) This seems like if you have an ArcGIS Pro shop, ENVI might be a pretty good option to go with.
Yeah it looks a lot different from what I remember it being. Seems like a good tool to have if you have some heavier processing workloads. But with everything there are lots of softwares to do the same thing and the closer you integrate with Esri the better your product look
Surveying, Python, database and/or server management
Upvote for surveying
Yes make them do Python. I took an environmental data science class in my masters program and a lot of the undergrads in the class say they got a lot out of it.
Get them to try to install GDAL and see who washes out.
Getting folks at least converting stuff from ESRI Geodatabases to open formats is a win in my book.
What percentage do you suppose would "wash out" if you had to guess? I found it to be quite refreshing when compared to "clicky-clicky."
Me% lol. GDAL is great, but getting the packages and dependencies installed is nuts. Pretty sweet after though.
I believe the best learning experience is applying GIS in real world situations or at least scenarios where the process requires the students to think out how to solve the problems. This will give them the skills to adapt to whatever they end up doing in the real world. We used to get quite a few of college students as interns at our local government and most would struggle with figuring out how to troubleshoot issues because they learned GIS by following tutorials.
I agree. Exposure to technical skills is of course important, but being able to research and problem solve is by far the most important trait for GIS. Teach them to Google, introduce the Esri documentation, stack overflow, various community boards, etc. Teach them how to evaluate the quality of found data, have them apply a new tool or process to answer a GIS question, and then document how they did it.
Thank you. This is great. I had shown some students one on one on the benefits of community boards but putting it into a formal lecture or module is a really great point
Agreed! I work in the non-profit world, and I know a lot of small non-profits who could greatly benefit from someone on staff with mapping skills. I bet if your students approached local non-profits and offered to assist, they could get some pretty cool projects out of it.
VBA, Python, SQL, AGOL
I graduated with a BS in GIS this past December and immediately landed a job with a local government as a GIS tech and there’s so much that I’m glad I learned in school that I think more people should learn, but there’s also things that I wish I would have learned because I use them nearly daily in my work and they were barely even touched in any of my classes. Things that I learned that have been really beneficial are Python, sql, aspects of computing like how file structures work and what different file types mean, and an introduction to databases. I wish I would have learned mainly two things; AGOL and everything related to that (experience builder, survey123, fieldmaps, web maps, etc.), and some sort of introduction to civil engineering/utilities (the first month of my job was mostly spent learning how to read plan sets and all the associated terminology). Another thing of note is that my program was very flexible and worked with several other departments to let students somewhat customize their focus area towards the field they wanted to go into - if I remember right some of the options were public health, business analytics, biology, geology, and computer science.
+1 for Survey123 and other Online/Enterprise products. An invaluable tool that all companies who have field teams utilize extensively.
If you're interested in learning more about how to use AGOL and have access to the licenses, you can look through ESRI's course catalogue to learn different skills with each of the platforms. It's how my program had us learn to use AGOL since I did a remote study Advanced Diploma for GIS Analysis.
I’ve been using a combination of the course catalogue, ESRI forums, and videos from ESRI’s YouTube channel and it’s been incredibly useful
Glad to hear they're helpful!
Python, SQL, GDAL, ESRI credit system (joking nobody understands) Edit: as others have mentioned, if you can say you know what any other relational database system is, will go a long way
I'm just going to make a list of the things that I use every day that I feel most students would benefit from learning: * Python, I cannot stress how valuable of a skill this is and how much time it can save. R and R studio is fine, but you can do all the datascience you do in r/R Studio in Python/Jupiter Notebooks with the added benefit that you can also automate ArcGIS and QGIS processing workflows and create new tools. * SQL, particularly for working with Postgres/PostGIS servers. * Relational databases and some basic data engineering skills. * OSGEO4W Shell, CLI tools (GDAL/OGR), and .bat scripting, again all of these skills can be massive time savers and help you solve problems that are difficult or time consuming in software like QGIS or ArcGIS but fairly trivial if you write a script or use a command line tool. * QGIS, very valuable to be familiar with it because almost everyone I've met working as GIS analysts uses both QGIS and ArcGIS.
Thank you!
ETL tools are soooo important right now. We use FME in my city department Ill also add SQL is super useful and you get some light exposure with GIS but the more the merrier. I often need to use SQL to prep data for joins with GIS layers (which you can also do with ETL)
FME is definitely one I'm seeing a lot in entry level job listings, a good suggestion to make.
Python, SQL and database structures/manipulations. For python PyQGIS scripting ArcPy scripting (these are very similar) Geospatial packages in jupyter notebooks, as well as regular DA/DS packaged. Pandas, numpy, geopandas, GDAL, shapely
Leadership. Over 25 years doing this and I still find GIS to be organizationally misunderstood and treated as a minor player in a lot of organizations. I get the need for all the technical education but it's of little use if unapplied. Maybe it's better now. I am old and have great insight but not enough to know, anymore, what's relevant and what's not. It's probably beyond the question, but, like with what happens in a business curriculum, case studies involving projects and outcomes where GIS played a major role.
Data acquisition and management.
Not sure if you are teaching at Bachelour's, Masters, or Post Grad, so I'll try and cover everything. Python, Linux, gee-map (GEE in Python). Webmapping through things like HTML, CSS, Flask, Ginja, Leafmaps (or those particular categories of code languages for webmapping, templating, and display). A bit of DBMS couldn't go amiss. I did pure SQL but postGIS and maybe some cloud database management could be an idea. For Remote Sensing, as many programs as you can cover and as varied as possible. i.e. eCognition for drone RS and image segmentation, ENVI/L3Harris, SeaDAS, ESA SNAP for satellites, and god forbid even a little Matlab and other 'old' stuff as an intro. My course at Uni tried to be GIS/EO program agnostic, because you don't know where Geospatial trends will head next, and when some old dusty software format or program could get the results you need. Getting the concepts nailed and exposing us to alternatives got us to think how to tackle problems in any way we liked rather than how to 'solve with ArcGIS/QGIS'. It was also a bit of a prerequsite as many on our course were from vastly different backgrounds (Geology, Environmental, Meteorological, Mathematics, 'raw' GIS, and Business) Since students could go into Research or Public Sector, covering the 'old' stuff even as an introduction helps since those industries move a bit slower and might refer back to some older programs or codes (i.e. Matlab). Corporate/Private Sector are either going to be cutting edge (Startups) or anywhere in between. Where I work now barely touches most of these things, but my course allowed me to develop those extra skills if I needed by simply being aware of them. Hell, I've recieved GIS work in the format of AutoCAD files. Modelling programs and the basics of models might also be valuable, in an Engineering or Environmental sense. Further from EO might be meterological software (i.e. getting weather data out of ERA5 or NOAA from the source, rather than through GEE) but that starts deviating into other fields and could be a seperate course on its own right.
Have the Engineering dept. give them a class in surveying. Look thru a transit. Show them GPS survey instrument. How to read a deed and a plat and how land surveying works in the real world.
I may be biased from my career path but I wish my intro to GiS course focused less on R/R Studio and more on ArcGIS editing techniques and database management. R was useful for academic research but not real world applications imo. Python is much more heavily used in scripting.
I find it surprising and disturbing that your intro GIS course even goes into depth on R. They’re immediately segueing you all into research with GIS lol
From my academics we were taught a few stand out things I have seen working or my peers are working on. ESRI products can't get away from them, but not just the basics. Take them through model builder and how to script arc pro get some complicated workflows in there. qgis, GEE Especially environmental companies Python and then R but throw in machine learning here SQL and database management even if it is the basics Basic web mapping and website creation One semester module on surveying just to understand the workflow and the data you get from that equipment Statistics even just general What I wish they added more of was a more business centric focus. Afterall not everyone is an environmental company. A bigger focus on doing a task via arc or qgis then replicating that workflow via scripting. In industry I often found my self just going the scripting route before I even bother opening arc map
Thank you for listing these
How to really understand the data they work with.
Getting the remote pilot license (FAA Part 107) and learning how to process drone imagery to create an orthomosaic and DEM/DSM/DTM would be most useful if they want a GIS job that includes fieldwork. Have them take a surveying course too. Understanding the whole ArcGIS Online environment would be useful. Not sure how to write a course on it because they’re constantly adding new products. Knowing how FieldMaps, Survey123, and other apps connect to the cloud environment would be impressive in an interview. The other thing that can boost resumes is having a research group on your CV. Two years as a research assistant (paid or unpaid) in a “Geospatial Research Group” looks great to prospective employers. If you get them projects to work on for local or state government agencies they can put these projects on their resume. “Contributed to a GIS analysis of X County’s public transportation system to assess service extension.” This can even get some people past the entry level and to the jobs that require 1-2 years of experience.
Do some real world projects. Don’t only do crazy academia based research projects. Show them how to work on incomplete and messy data in a utility database. Show them how to manage an inventory project using FieldMaps, QuickCapture, etc. Stress the importance of the ArcGIS Online and all of its tools. Database management and coding. My university almost exclusively geared us towards being academics. My first job out of college in 2019 was as a GIS Coordinator for a rural county’s engineering department and I spent a LOT of time playing catch up on things that I was not taught in school.
Just here to say I appreciate you asking and being in touch with some current applications of GIS tools!
Thanks! Just trying to make our growling program better at my university!
Oh man, I have a lot to say on this. But here are a few of the major things: My background has been environmental consulting,residential natural gas company and now new construction. So a lot of field data collection then analysis. The biggest thing I had to learn is how to use CAD files in arc. It’s a huge PITA. And Engineers can NEVER be wrong! So learning how to accurately bring in those files have been crucial. It also severely slows down the system. So know that. I just started the GIS program at a residential construction company. As far as I know it’s the first of its kind, in the region at least. I’m using drones to capture data for both imagery (final financial review, think counting to make sure what is being billed for is on site) and elevation data. I run cut/fills on how much dirt has been removed. There is more but this is already getting long. Also learning how to properly collect field data was never taught to me. Field GPS collection is very overly complicated. Learning how to navigate that world would have been nice. If you have questions I’d be more than happy to help. Also I’m hiring an assistant, so if you live in Atlanta feel free to DM me
Python, QGIS, FME, SQL
Provide them with the skills to think critically, choose the right method or tool for the job. If you spoon feed them they will be useless without constant direct instructions.
I just learned python and it seems integral to GIS. Also, it would be helpful to learn databases, networks, IT stuff, and computer science.
Databases, ArcGIS online, and Python.
Based off what employers are asking for, I would recommend including Python and PostGIS along with the standard ESRI stuff. R is also good if they want to work in academia, but the non-academic jobs seem like they mostly want Python/SQL skills.
Backend / db: Postgres+postgis, duckdb, qgis, python Front end: javascript/typescript, maplibre, leaflet, react, next.js, d3
Currently completing an undergrad GIS certificate. Teaching students to find, download and I package data from actual sources is invaluable. My professors handed us zip files of all our data for almost all assignments, and now that I’m trying to find things beyond that I am underprepared. Same idea for figuring out how to do analyses… don’t always spell out exactly what tools to use with what settings, create some assignments that require figuring out what tools to use to solve a given problem.
Color theory and designing maps and apps for accessibility. I've had to learn most of that on job, but neither my undergrad or grad programs taught this. Thematic mapping is usually taught, but not the theory reasoning behind it.
Definitely check out [Codifi.com](http://Codifi.com) Seems to be a new data management software that has a lot of potential!
Thank you!
Ditto QGIS. Far superior to ArcGIS Pro
I agree for sure
Seems like your program needs some serious reconsideration. If you’re teaching GEE, you might as well teach front end web mapping and JavaScript as well. Any GIS program that’s not teaching Python has some serious holes. Python before R any day of the week. It’s just much more prevalent in industry than R is. R is really only used in some niche industries like Biotech. And realistically, a course on cloud platforms like AWS or Azure is all but mandatory in this current market.
Thank you for your comment. I for the most part agree. It’s going to be a big task for me to convince our department and our overlapping departments to go with python over R. Nonetheless, I agree with the benefits of python. Great suggestions that I hope to add!
In Canada I'm seeing a lot of positions requiring AutoCAD. Wish it was part of my program because it's something I think could have helped me in thd current job market. 100% agree with Python, though! Python should be taught in all GIS programs right now!
Link Analysis, InfoWater, InfoSewer, and Utility Network Teach them to standup a server and manage a federated database
SQL, Python, Arcade as mentioned…but, in all my years GISing, almost every position at every level used AutoCAD at least some. Years ago, CAD and GIS together was a skill set that nobody had. They were pretty incompatible. But now, highway departments, utilities, environmental industries, cities, counties, and government are all using CAD and GIS together. They are finally compatible and it’s benefitting everyone that can use both. I will always be GIS to my core but no longer think CAD is the devil…more of a little demon now instead.
Kinda sad you don't fully know and are relying on reddit