What kind of work can those who study GIS do?

Direction 1: Development Engineer

Friends who are looking for a job after graduation should consider what jobs are available and what jobs they like. Since the current situation in the GIS job market is that supply exceeds demand and there are too many jobs, it is better to consider the market demand more.

According to the article "Survey Report on the Survival Situation of Chinese GIS Talents" in the sixth issue of "GIS Developer", "Among many GIS units, most of their main businesses are engineering development or software R&D and sales. Engaged in The proportion of data processing units is also up to 18. "The most demanding talents in units are senior developers, followed by programmers and project managers. It can also be seen that if you want to work in the GIS industry, strong programming skills are required." 'Pass'". Open the job recruitment boards of major forums and you can see that almost every unit is recruiting developers. Here is a typical recruitment notice:

Position: GIS Development Engineer

Requirements: Proficient in the use of C#/C; Proficient in the use of ArcGIS Engine 9.0 or above; have Candidates with C#/C combined with Engine project experience will be given priority;

This notice is simple and clear, with three requirements: language, components, and experience. Objectively speaking, the requirements for applicants are still very low. I think an ordinary high school graduate should be able to do it after one year of serious self-study. However, step-by-step "excellent" undergraduate graduates may not be able to meet these requirements. First, the school basically only teaches the two basic teaching languages ????VB and C, with the goal of passing Level 2 and Level 3. However, the requirements for programming in the exam and the requirements for programming at work are completely different, and they are not the same direction. Second, two once popular GIS components, MapX and MO, are withdrawing from the social stage, but they are still the mainstay in the classroom. Third, there are too few students with development experience. Many schools do not teach secondary development at all. Even if they do, the requirements for students are not high. Simple browsing and querying are enough, which is not considered project experience at all. Therefore, friends who want to engage in development work must carry out self-service learning on campus. Personally, I think that if you seriously participate in a development group competition organized by ESRI or SuperMap, you can meet the requirements of ordinary companies. Let’s look at another one with higher requirements:

1. Bachelor degree or above in computer or GIS;

2. Proficient in C/C language, Java, JSP, C#, etc. Language, familiar with VC, JBuilder programming environment;

3. Familiar with design patterns, UML, able to use modeling tools such as Rose to build system models;

4. Proficient in Supermap, Arcgis, etc. Mainstream GIS platform and secondary development technology, with a background in underlying development of GIS software platforms, familiar with common GIS algorithms,

Have a deep understanding of the technical architecture, performance, security, etc. of the Web Gis system;

5. Familiar with SQLServer and Oracle database development.

6. Applicants with good team spirit, good communication and communication skills, and experience in cross-platform software development or embedded software development are preferred;

Netizens for this job have They say that no one can do it if the salary is less than 5,000, and some say that such an expert cannot afford it without 10,000. But in fact, four years of serious self-study is more than enough to meet these requirements. Use one year to self-study computer basics, languages ??(in addition to VB or C, one of the four C#, C, Java, and VB.NET should be included), network development, and one semester to learn commercial GIS desktop software and component development (it is recommended to participate in the competition), and use One semester to learn large-scale databases and distributed systems, one semester to learn software engineering, system analysis and architecture, one year to learn open source GIS software and practice underlying development (higher technical content than secondary development, and those with strong research capabilities can take this course You need to learn algorithms and data structures, computer graphics, and digital image processing. Many schools offer these courses, but firstly, they are not closely integrated with GIS, and secondly, the practice is not enough to master the theory.

), spend one semester learning about cutting-edge technologies such as cross-platform, embedded, and virtual reality.

Some people will definitely accuse that such a plan is, firstly, too focused on IT and despises earth science and mathematics; secondly, it is too idealistic and no one can learn it; thirdly, what is the use of schools? Normally, there should be a few people who would sneer or curse. Below I am "preparing for a rainy day" and answering them one by one in advance. First, the above is only for people who want to engage in development work. For developers, computer technology is the most important. For these GISers, as long as they can introduce the basic knowledge of G and divergent thinking into IS, it will be great. There are specializations in the field. As for other ways, we will discuss them below. Secondly, nothing is difficult in the world. If you do it, it will be easy if it is difficult. If you do not do it, it will be easy if it is not done. For people who lack perseverance, have high vision but low practice, this is indeed too idealistic. In addition, the content listed above is just a guide, not a requirement to master everything. After all, school is not a job, so you don’t need to learn everything in depth. Third, for those who want to go in this direction, apart from the fig leaf of degree certificate, school is really of little use. Judging from the curriculum and teaching content, most schools seem to want to cultivate scientific research talents—of course, the training methods still need to be improved. Not only in the GIS major, but also in many disciplines, there are problems such as theory being divorced from practice, teaching being divorced from reality, and campus being divorced from society. Why should we follow blindly? Achievements can bring glory to your family, and you can earn bonuses, but they can’t bring you a good job—have you seen that the recruitment requirements of a GIS company say “candidates with excellent academic performance will be given priority”? Of course, when everyone is incompetent, those with good grades become the shortest generals.

To summarize, this road leads to development engineers. If you develop well, you can become a project manager. What needs to be added here is that development does not only refer to programming. Requirements analysis and software architecture are also important components of development. If these tasks are not done well, programming will be messy, and the system's robustness will not be easy to improve. People who are unwilling to program, such as girls, can consider going in this direction, but it is best to have some exposure to GIS programming.

Direction 2: 3D Engineer

In fact, it should also belong to development, but I think many beginners are more interested in 3D, so I list it separately. Let’s take a look at the recruitment notice first:

Position description:

Under the guidance of senior development engineer/system engineer, carry out the design and development of geoscience three-dimensional related modules;

Job requirements:

1. Bachelor degree or above in computer, geographic information systems, applied mathematics or related majors;

2. Master VC development skills, familiar with c/c programming, Have a certain understanding of OpenGL or D3D technology;

3. Good English proficiency, no obstacle to reading English technical information;

4. Strong logical analysis ability, learning ability, innovation Ability and teamwork ability;

5. Applicants with experience in 3D simulation and game engine development are preferred

This should be beyond the expectations of many beginners: you need to be able to program in 3D! Yes, 3D development can be simply divided into two parts: modeling and programming. The ground model built with GIS software and the ground object model built with software such as 3DMAX are static, and dynamic control of them requires programming. To give a small example, bridges are deformed all the time due to the force of wind and cars. If you want to understand the deformation, you can install a number of GPS on the bridge to obtain real-time location information, and use software to build a bridge model. Programming correlates and exaggerates the GPS data with the bridge model, so that whenever the GPS data changes, the bridge on the model will undergo corresponding observable deformations.

If you want to engage in this kind of work, you must learn 3DMAX or MAYA by yourself in terms of computers, learn in depth about using C for OpenGL technology development in terms of programming, and focus on learning DEM and virtual reality content in GIS. These classes are basically rarely covered and must be self-study.

Direction 3: Data Engineer

Data is the blood of GIS. A large part of the funds of a project is injected into the collection, production and maintenance of data, so this is also a comparison Big direction. Let’s take a look at a recruitment notice first:

Job requirements:

1. Bachelor’s degree in relevant majors, fresh graduates are also acceptable

2. Have good professional knowledge, Familiar with the operation of ARCGIS software

3. Have experience in map digitization and database-related operations

4. Have enthusiasm for GIS work and have a good team spirit

Job description: Production and maintenance of GIS data

In my opinion, this is a very hard GIS job with the lowest technical content. I visited the Jiangsu Provincial Basic Geographic Information Center some time ago and saw that the data processing area is like a factory workshop. It is very spacious and has rows of computers. Everyone brought stereoscopes to create three-dimensional images of remote sensing images in ArcGIS based on the measurement drawings. It is vectorized and entered into the spatial database. Vectorization is our specialty, so I won’t go into details here. This kind of work can also be done by ordinary technical secondary school students with training.

Then there is remote sensing and aerial survey data processing. If you have studied remote sensing and photogrammetry courses, you will be able to use ERDAS, ENVI, ER MAPPER, and VirtuoZO.

Of course, with the rise of GPS navigation, navigation data and electronic maps have become a hot spot. I have no experience with this aspect, so I can't offer my opinion. You can search for job postings of some companies that do navigation.

Direction 4: Sales/Marketing/Planning

More and more emphasis is placed on work experience requirements. I don't know much.

Direction 5: Software testing/technical support

Can a small company specifically set up such a position?

Direction 6: Project management/document writing

Solid writing skills, comprehensive professional knowledge, and industry insight.

Direction 7: Provide solutions or auxiliary decision-making services

Do not develop systems, just use desktop software to perform spatial analysis and provide customers with solutions or auxiliary decision-making services. For example, if you want to select a location for a supermarket, do you need to build a special system? It's not necessary. Just write a program in ArcMap using VBA, get the optimal solution, and write a report.

Direction 8: Transfer to the application industry

A large number of people who take direction 7 in colleges and universities have switched to work in related application fields, using GIS as a part of processing this field. kind of tool instead of being a pure GISer. For example, those engaged in land applications joined the Bureau of Land and Resources, those engaged in forestry applications entered the Forestry Bureau, and those engaged in water conservancy applications entered the Water Conservancy Bureau... After all, if GIS is regarded as a technology, it can only be used in a wide range of application fields. To fully demonstrate their charm, those who learn GIS need to focus on deeply applying this technology to a certain field.

My mentor once said: When GIS is integrated into the mainstream of IT, it is both lucky and unfortunate. For those friends who are unable to toss and turn in the wave of IT, it may be a wise choice to not pay attention to the technology itself and instead devote themselves to the application. For those friends who are unable to toss and turn in the wave of IT, it may be a wise choice to not pay attention to the technology itself and instead devote themselves to the application. For those friends who are unable to toss and turn in the wave of IT, it may be a wise choice to not pay attention to the technology itself and instead devote themselves to the application.

Yes, this bureau or that bureau in a big city rarely recruits undergraduates (not counting those that are relevant), but what about small places? Or what about other fields? Why can't we expand our territory in areas where GIS has not yet entered? You have a lay advantage over others. To use a random analogy, as a village chief, at least you have more high-tech means than graduates who study administration and can only talk on paper. With pirated software, you can use GIS to scientifically manage the village.

As for how to apply it, I won’t be able to explain it for a while, but 80% of human information is related to spatial location. There must be something you can dig out. When you work with GIS thinking, as long as you are willing, you will definitely be able to work. I found that where GIS is used, there is nothing I can't think of and nothing I can't do. After using it, as long as it has an effect (or produces an effect), won't it become a model for building a new countryside and an innovative country?

Direction 9: Further education

More and more people are taking the postgraduate entrance examination. According to the seventh issue of "GIS Developer", "Should I take the postgraduate entrance examination?" What kind of graduate school exam? "This article is mostly for the purpose of escaping the pressure of employment. However, you still need to work after you graduate from graduate school, and it is nothing more than the above-mentioned paths. We all know that graduate education is not that good nowadays. Some people graduate by "writing" a few meaningless papers. Compared with their undergraduate classmates back then, they have an extra layer of fig leaf but less three years of work experience. Smart business owners will not value academic qualifications, so the employment situation of graduate students is not optimistic. Some people say this: You waste three years of time in exchange for the qualification to continue wasting three years of time. Of course, outstanding graduate students still have more opportunities than undergraduates, especially public institutions that place more emphasis on academic qualifications.

In graduate school, you take classes in the first year, "free activities" in the second year, and do your graduation thesis in the third year (or the last half year). In addition to graduation thesis, you also need to publish some papers in journals during your postgraduate studies. Each school has different requirements for the quantity and quality of papers. The rest of the time is mainly spent working on the mentor's projects and recharging myself. Projects are usually divided into two types: "vertical projects" and "horizontal projects". Vertical projects, commonly known as "funded by the state", are projects supported by various research funds established by the government for a long time, focusing on cutting-edge topics; while horizontal projects, commonly known as "funded by society", are projects funded by enterprises or other units on certain topics. commissioned projects. Therefore, there are actually two options here: those who want to take the scientific research path, choose a mentor who focuses on vertical projects; those who do not want to take the scientific research path, choose a mentor who focuses on horizontal projects.

So what does GIS scientific research mainly do? Personally, I think it can be divided into four paths: basic theory, implementation technology, in-depth application and new application. Basic theory is the core and soul of the entire discipline. Here are a few more research directions: research on the accuracy of spatial databases; research on spatial relationship languages; research on multiple expressions of spatial data; research on the use and value of geographical information; massive spatial databases Research on the structural system; research on the standardization of map drawing; research on the sharing of geographic information data; research on spatiotemporal relationships in GIS; research on GIS and spatial analysis; research on the relationship between law, information policy and spatial databases; interoperability of geographic information systems Research; study of normalized patterns of the geographical world. Here are a few scientific research directions to implement technology: spatial decision support system; spatial information visualization research; integration research of remote sensing and GIS; GIS user interface research; research on spatial decision-making system formed through collaboration. Here are a few more in-depth applied scientific research directions: research on the role of GIS in global change; in social context, research on how to express people, space and environment in GIS. As for new applications, they allow GIS technology to penetrate into all aspects of production and life, such as the village chief's GIS mentioned above, and the article "Interview with Nanjing Normal University Student Hu Leidi" in the first issue of "GIS Beginners" to the genealogy GIS.

Building basic theory is probably the lowest level and the most difficult. Of course, only by taking this path can you become an academician, a scientist, and a core leader and promoter in the industry. Those who want to take this path should focus on laying the foundation during their undergraduate years, especially having a solid foundation in mathematics. Not only advanced mathematics, linear algebra, probability and statistics, but also self-study of discrete mathematics, numerical analysis, topology and other subjects. In computers, you need to have a certain understanding of C, algorithms and data structures, database principles, computer graphics, and digital image processing, and be proficient in using commonly used software for scientific research such as Matlab and IDL. In GIS, on the basis of having certain practical ability, pay more attention to the understanding of basic theory and read more GIS books.

At the master's degree stage, you can roughly choose your own direction based on the situation of the school and tutors to further lay the foundation. In this way, you are expected to make innovations and breakthroughs during your PhD.

The implementation technology is less abstract than the basic theory, and the requirements for computers may be higher. Mathematics is still very important. I have seen books with commonly used algorithms and implementation codes in bookstores, and I think they are more suitable for undergraduates to study.

GIS can only reflect its vitality in application, and in-depth application can best reflect the power of GIS. Those who want to take this path can choose one or two application directions during college, such as logistics, mining, etc., and read more GIS application papers in this field. At the graduate level, you only focus on applications in one field.

Personally, I hope to be someone who expands the application field of GIS in the future. This requires some understanding of various technologies, but there is no need to delve into it in depth. More importantly, I need to use GIS ideas to think about problems. I use active thinking and fiery enthusiasm to guide learning, which may be more suitable for this direction. I also remembered Professor Lu Guonian’s words: “Be a scholar, not a student.”

Direction 10: Complete career change

If you are really not interested in GIS, it is better to completely change career. Be willing to give up. But please don't insult GIS.

Conclusion

This article is equivalent to a needs analysis, explaining the future direction of GIS students, and briefly talking about what they should do in college if they choose different paths. I know that many people are transferred to the GIS major, and you don't know whether you like this major, so I suggest you: reasonable judgment is based on sufficient reading and thinking. Make full use of network resources.

There are two other sentences that cannot be ignored: everything is difficult at the beginning; GIS is an opportunity for the diligent and a nightmare for the lazy. Lack of perseverance is a very prominent problem of our generation (of course not everyone). In this fast-paced and materialistic era, how many people can not be impetuous? Perseverance to the end is victory. This is the simplest and most profound truth. Here are three poems to describe the three stages of GIS learning (which are repeated and endless). I hope it will be helpful to everyone:

Last night, the west wind was withering, I climbed up to the tall building alone, and I could see the end of the world. . ——Finding the way in confusion

I will never regret it as my clothes become wider and wider, and I will feel haggard because of Yi. ——In the dark of faith

I looked for her thousands of times in the crowd, but suddenly I looked back, and that person was in the dim light. ——Breakthrough through reflection