Adam Meinerz - Ho-Chunk Nation

Name: Adam Meinerz
Major: Comprehensive Geography with an Environmental Emphasis
Year Graduated: 2010
Current Employer: Ho-Chunk Nation
Job Title: GIS Coordinator
Length of Employment: 1.5 years
Interests and hobbies: Hunting, fishing, kayaking, playing basketball and softball.

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)?
After graduation I was working a few odd jobs to make ends meets.  I was working as a clerk at a gas station, working part time at a flooring company, performing accounting and other office duties at a family’s small business, and helping my uncles out at their farm.  After working eight months after graduation, and working those low desired jobs, I was hired by AeroMetric.  I was hired on as a LiDAR Technician and edited LiDAR datasets and digitized breaklines. I later moved into a Quality Control/Quality Assurance position.  In this position, I analyzed LiDAR datasets/deliverables for AeroMetric and other geospatial companies as well.  After two years of working for AeroMetric, the company merged with two other geospatial companies and formed Quantum Spatial. A year later, our branch was closed and almost 70 people lost their jobs.  I received job offers from Tampa, FL and Cedar Falls, IA.  After rejecting the Tampa job, I accepted the job in Cedar Falls. I know, sounds like the weirdest thing ever.  As I was planning on moving to Cedar Falls, I received a job offer from the Ho-Chunk Nation in Black River Falls.  It was perfect because it was 45 minutes from my hometown and parents.  Also, it is 40 minutes from my wife’s hometown and parents.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? 
 I’m a visual communicator and I played that card during the interview.  With creating maps in the past, I had plenty to show off at the interview stage.  The maps were a great way to start a conversion and show the interviewers. Also, I had two different internships on my resume which is very important because experience is most vital aspect that employers are searching for.

Describe your typical day at work:
There is no typical day at work. That is what I love about my job! In a nutshell, I support the geospatial needs of a lot of people within various departments that include: forestry, wildlife, administration, IT, business, cultural resources, DNR, education, human health services, environmental health services, housing, labor, planning & development, register of deeds, BIA roads, president’s office, and the legislative office.  I’m the geospatial point of contact for county, state, federal agencies and etc. Some duties include: creating custom maps, restructuring data files, operating an interactive website, cartography, entering data in geodatabases, administer the geodatabase, digitizing features, GPS data collection, installing GIS software, post land boundaries, conduct prescribed fires, set up GPS hardware, and training employees.  With 400 different properties over the range of 26 counties in three different states, the tribe values GIS. GIS brings maps of all kinds to the hands of decision makers and an interactive intranet webpage is a highly valuable tool. I work 90% office time and 10% field time.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 
Still working for the Ho-Chunk Nation in Black River Falls, WI.  I have a job that I enjoy and live in a town that fits me well. I have a beautiful wife and live in an amazing home in country with ten acres of land. With the way that GIS is always advancing, I don’t think I would ever get bored with it!

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? 
Be tough because nothing is easy in the “Real World.” You’re living the dream right now, you know, the college lifestyle.  Be patient and when opportunities arise, you better excel on those opportunities!

Feel free to contact me at a_meinerz@hotmail.com

Jon Bowen - Esri

Name: Jon Bowen

Major & Minor: Geography

Year Graduated: 2012

Current Employer: Esri

Length of Employment: about 9 months

Interests and hobbies: whitewater kayaking, traveling, biking, things that keep me moving

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? You sort of take what you know, what you enjoy doing and apply it to people who give you the opportunity to live off of it. I was fortunate to have a lot of experience from internships and guiding trips that gave me the idea of a person I wanted to be and once I found that I had made connections to apply what I know in the way’s I find fun and amusing.

What do you think gave you an edge to get your current position? The ability to say yes to anything and figure out the details later. My stoke level for the things I’m doing at the moment.  Extensive internship experience.

Describe your typical day at work:

My typical day at work…well I usually get in around 8 am to a workspace that consists of no offices but a collaborative space much like the lab at Eau Claire yet inspirationally overlooking DC.  Check some emails, check Github for updates/issues, manage all the new elements for the website, then start working on my more exciting projects that tend to be more cartographically focused in the am until about noon. From there on California is alive and at work so we start to do collaborative projects on future Story Maps templates and prototypes with the rest of our team from Redlands.  Intermixed in the afternoon I tend to do my less interesting projects which include server management and some other GIS problems solving. On a given day I do anywhere from an ongoing set of 3-4 different projects. These may consist of some of the following;

Building custom story maps for our bigger partners

Meetings with important gov bureaus or big non-profits

Researching new story ideas to take on as personal projects

Creating mock-ups for prototypes/whiteboard new ideas

Front end HTML/CSS and content website management

Wrestling server and GIS issues

Learning the latest and greatest in the industry and javascript

Slamming coffee

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Since my position is fun, creative, inspiring, educational etc I plan to stay at Esri until that changes.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? Get off your arse and do something you enjoy. The world needs more people who enjoy their work. You’re at a perfect time in your life to try and do literally everything until you find something that you can jive with. Don’t waste your time on people or activities that don’t help you making your tomorrow better than your yesterday. If your lazy now you’ll be lazy forever so don’t expect a thing to be given to you if that be the case. Your 4 years in college shape the rest of your 90 year lifetime not just with your job outlook but with your social life, comfort levels, exercise habits, etc,. Put into motion the life you envision and not give two shits who disagrees with that, you’ll find your groove eventually and I guarantee you if you make yourself happy the folks around you will put up the stoke your putting down. 

Kyle Wells - : Colorado State University (CSU) – Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands at Fort McCoy, WI

Name: Kyle Wells

Family: My dog Mani

Major & Minor: Geography (Liberal Arts) & History (Liberal Arts)

Year Graduated: Fall 2011

Current Employer: Colorado State University (CSU) – Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands at Fort McCoy, WI

Length of Employment: 9 months

Interests and Hobbies: Traveling, Camping, Fishing, Sports

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation and/or in your career path (i.e. graduate school or type of job)?

I knew that I enjoyed Geographic Information Systems in school, so started applying for GIS/Cartography related jobs. Fortunately during my final semester, Garmin International representatives visited the UWEC Geography Department to mingle with students and see what projects students have been working on. During their visit, I presented them with a well put together resume and discussed what projects I had been working on. This led to an interview, and my first job out of school as a Cartography Technician with Garmin.

I was not sure if a career in the Cartography industry was what I ultimately wanted, but it was a start, and would hopefully help me decide. Over two years had passed working at Garmin, and I realized I wanted to use GIS with environmental projects, and perform analysis. I found that with Colorado State University as a GIS Technician.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position?

Certainly 2.5 years as a Cartography Technician at well respected company helped; however because my work with Garmin was so specific to Garmin, it was hard to translate all of those skills to my current position. This is where a strong GIS background from the university helped greatly. My understanding of geodatabases, collecting data with GPS equipment, analyzing datasets, and creating maps gave me the edge that CSU was looking for. Participating in additional research projects, like a field seminar course to Honduras, appealed to CSU as well.

Describe your typical day at work:

On a typical day I am entering data in geodatabases, digitizing features, collecting and uploading GPS files, maintaining and updating map collections, delivering data, creating specialized maps, and providing GIS support to many different departments on the installation. It changes every day so there is no getting bored!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Either with CSU or in another position that incorporates geospatial technology. I work with a lot of people that are unfamiliar with GIS and it has been fun showing them its capabilities. For example, teaching them that data can be used to perform analysis when planning and designing projects, rather than GIS just being used for reference maps. If I can continue to help others using GIS, then that is where I see myself for a while.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?

Get involved and interact with classmates and professors. There are plenty of opportunities, whether it is reaching out to classmates in the lab, working with professors, participating in Geography and Anthropology Club activities, presenting projects outside of class, or attending conferences. These allow you to test your skills and knowledge, while also improving upon them. Plus you get to know people and have some fun.

Practice interviewing based on your experiences from school. There is a big difference between you understanding your work and explaining it to other people. These are more examples of why interacting with others and presenting your work will be beneficial.

Start looking at job requirements early to help you get an idea of what experience you may need. If you are unsure about whether to continue school or start working, talk to alumni or professors. They are great to talk to and are more than happy to help.

Hillary Johnson - ACTED

Name: Hillary Johnson

Major & Minor: International Geography

Year Graduated: May 2012

Current Employer: ACTED (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) – a French NGO

Job Title: GIS Officer based in Jordan

Length of Employment: 6 months

Interests and hobbies:

Travelling, running, horseback riding, spending time with family and friends, learning Arabic

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation?

I wasn’t exactly sure what I would want to study in graduate school so I thought it would be in my best interest to gain some professional experience straight after graduation. In the two and a half years since graduation, I have learned a lot about what I am looking for in a job and have found what I truly enjoy doing in my current position. Now if I go to graduate school in the next couple of years I have a much better idea of what I want to study and professional job experience that will help me in the classroom.

What do you think gave you an edge to get your current position?

I think having the GIS experience from UWEC geography department and a strong GPA from those courses really helped me. In addition, since my position is based overseas, having some international experience from studying abroad for a semester was also a plus.

Describe your typical day at work:

I work for a NGO that specializes in information management and research for humanitarian crises around the world. In Jordan, our team conducts needs assessments to better inform humanitarian aid programming for the Syrian Refugee Crisis both in refugee camps and in the surrounding villages and cities. I am based in Za’atari Refugee Camp, which is the second largest refugee camp in the world and is located just outside of the city of Mafraq in the north of the country. As a GIS officer, my job involves data analysis on the research done in the camp and creating maps based on that data. A typical day for me is to arrive in the camp around 8am and begin work on whatever project is going on at the time. This includes maintaining and updating the geospatial database for the camp, updating general infrastructure data to share with other agencies in the camp, creating new maps based on recently collected data, and responding to inquiries from other partners in the camp for information to help their programming. Our day in the camp ends at 5pm though on many days work continues from home depending on the urgency and scale of the current project.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

It’s hard to say since I’m currently living from one 6 month contract to another, but I could see myself continuing in this line of work for the next few years. I am also considering graduate school now that I have a better idea of the kind of career path I am interested in – which has to include travel, field work and GIS. I’m just taking it one adventure at a time for now.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?

My biggest piece of advice is to take advantage of opportunities available to you now, whether it’s is an internship, joining a club, studying abroad, student research or even just taking one class in something you’re interested in just because you want to. I think it’s important to be open-minded with your future because your dream job may be something you haven’t heard of yet. I dreamed of a way to live abroad, help people and use my GIS skills when at UWEC without knowing it was even possible – and here I am doing it. My point is to be open-minded and try new things because you never know where it might take you.

I’m more than willing to answer any questions about how I landed myself in Jordan so feel free to email me at hillaryj7@gmail.com

Tyler Schwartz - Ayres Associates

Name: Tyler Schwartz

Major & Minor: Geography / Political Science

Year Graduated: 2012

Current Employer: Ayres Associates, Geospatial Division, Madison

Length of Employment: 2 months

Interests and Hobbies: Skiing, Camping, Hiking, Kayaking, Live Music, Volleyball

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation and/or in your career path (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? I was very torn after school on whether to continue on for my Master's degree or enter into the work force. As an older student I ultimately decided to get a job after graduation.  I applied for a Lidar/Photogrammetry Technician position (and got it) after an extensive job search following graduation.  I didnt really have that much of a choice on where to work or what career path I wanted to pursue, as my main priority was to simply find a decent job.  I would encourage students who are younger however, to continue on to graduate school as I think it will ultimately open more doors and increase your ability to get a decent paying job.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? I got an edge in a number of ways. First, be an engaged and hard working student.  Forge relationships with your professors. Doing so will create solid references for prospective employers or graduate school. In addition, build those relationships with your professors through student faculty research, then present it at student research day, AAG or WLIA (among other organizations).  This will give you a big leg up on your competition.

Secondly, when you do get that interview, be engaged and come prepared.  Know what the company does, who they are and what some of their past projects have been.  Come prepared to answer questions about past projects that you have done and what your strengths (and weaknesses) are as a person.  Come with questions to ask about the company.  And above all, be enthusiastic, engaged and interested about the position.  Ask questions and dont be silent.

Describe your typical day at work: I spend most of my day either doing stereo compilation (digitizing in 3D) or Lidar processing (cleaning raw data, preparing for delivery to client)

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Hopefully still at Ayres or pursuing a Masters Degree

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? If you have the drive and motivation, go to graduate school. The job market right now is highly competitive especially for entry level jobs.  Having a masters will not only get you into a more specialized and higher-level position, but it will also hopefully allow you to make more money.  Its a wise investment if you enjoy doing research and are a focused student. 

Most of what you will do in the real world after you graduate will not be anything like what you did in school (especially capstone). So if you like research and analysis, the masters degree is the sure fire way to make sure you can get a good research/analysis type job after school (as opposed to something less interesting).

Bethany Bobek - Garmin International

Name: Bethany Bobek

Family: Clint (husband) and Ethan (son)

Major & Minor: Comprehensive Geography

Year Graduated: 2009

Current Employer: Garmin International

Length of Employment: almost 4 years

Interests and Hobbies: being a good mom, disc golf, volleyball, rock climbing, camping, hiking, ultimate frisbee, canoeing, board games, kubb

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? I felt like I didn't need to go to grad school in order to get a GIS related job so I decided to try to get a job, and I did.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? Having a good GPA and doing well in the interview. Also student research and an internship.

Describe your typical day at work: I work in the recreation group of cartography. We make maps that are used in Garmin's GPS units. I work on a variety of different projects so my day varies depending on what deadlines we have. Garmin does not use ESRI software. For the topographic map products, my group hosts data to the Garmin database and edits/cleans up data from different sources. We work with hydro data, roads and trails, DEMS, points of interest, park polygons etc... We do a lot of QA for each of the products we develop, including testing in the hand held GPS units. I also work with golf data that includes digitizing golf course features from imagery. Also, I work with aviation data that involves geo-referencing features from airport diagrams and charts and digitizing and performing quality assurance tests. If you get an interview at Garmin and they ask what group you prefer to be in between Marine, Automotive and Recreation, definitely say Recreation. The recreation group offers a lot more variety and challenge than the other two groups.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Unsure

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? Try to get as much experience with anything GIS related, whether it's an internship or student research or just more GIS classes. Although it's not necessary for working at Garmin, it would be helpful to have some programming knowledge too.

www.garmin.com

I am happy to answer questions about working at Garmin. I can be contacted at nelson_bethany@yahoo.com

Trevor Peterson - AmericCorps

Name: Trevor Peterson               

Family: Nothing’s legal

Major & Minor: Human Geography & English Literature

Year Graduated: 2010

Current Employer: University of Wisconsin – Stout / AmeriCorps VISTA

Length of Employment: 2 years 7 months

Interests and Hobbies: I am interested in food systems and the intersection between urban and rural population. I believe in the Charter of the New Urbanism, agrarian urbanism, and most of the writings of James Howard Kunstler. My hobbies include biking, fishing, KUBB, gardening, foraging, and rooting for the Green Bay Packers.

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? I chose to serve as an AmeriCorps Volunteer In Service To America (VISTA) in Menomonie, WI because this program allowed me to follow my passion for food sovereignty in the already familiar setting of western Wisconsin. AmeriCorps is similar to Peace Corps, except we are tasked with fighting poverty domestically. My site in Dunn County was asking VISTA members to organize food security initiatives through the Involvement Office at UW – Stout. I read the application – which called for service through organizing community gardens, nutrition education, and outreach to local farmers – and decided this was my path. While the living stipend is 10% above the poverty line, all my student loans are deferred during my time of service and I receive an education award when I’m finished that will erase 1/3 of my college debt. Also, the experience I’ve gained as a community organizer has exceeded what I could have hoped to attain in graduate school. Overall, I’ve learned to live on very little while maintaining meaningful employment in a field relevant to my interests.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? My student engagement and research separated me from the other candidates for this AmeriCorps VISTA position. The narrative of my written application and stories I told during my phone interviews included anecdotes from my engagement on campus with the FOODLUMS. I recounted this engagement with such vividness and enthusiasm that my interviewers wanted me to duplicate my efforts at their site. Also, I had a research project on food access in the Twin Cities from my final semester fresh in my mind. This project, with research goals from my Advanced GIS and Geography of Race and Ethnicity courses, had methods and models that I could relate to my service as a VISTA. My interviewers recognized that I had the right combination of passion and discipline to meet their expectations of a VISTA member at their site. 

Describe your typical day at work: As a community organizer, it’s my role to listen to the needs of the partners at my site and connect them to the assets in our county. I’ve become adept at one-on-one interviews where I listen to the needs of a community member and help them realize their individual strengths. I’ll leave these interviews with a notepad full of ideas and projects they would like to see happen. My next task is plugging these ideas into existing programming in the county or gathering enough like-minded partners to launch a new program. To accomplish this task, I maintain a large asset map of community partners and their affiliations. This map allows another service member to follow my flow after my term ends. While some of my time is spent on building new relationships, a larger portion is spent on maintaining existing relationships at my site. My philosophy is to check-in with partners regularly with little or nothing to ask because it increases their likelihood of agreeing to support a large initiative when the time comes. Finally comes the direct service; which includes garden installations, nutrition education, film festivals, and local food summits. Any given workday could end with participating in one of these service events.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In five years, I hope to be mildly employed in a meaningful field with the opportunity to continue my development as a place maker in western Wisconsin. I look forward to years living in the Twin Cities learning from institutions, co-ops, and organizations there for the benefit of opening their ideas to rural Wisconsin farming populations. I’d like to slowly build a self-sustaining farm property in the town of Sherman or county of Pepin that uses the principles of agroforestry and renewable energy for the benefit of my family and neighboring community.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? Find a meaningful service outlet that helps you develop your professional strengths. Draw from your service experience while developing your research interests or capstone project. Collaborate with the department faculty when you can and seek multiple faculty perspectives on your projects. Finally, don’t overschedule your semester. Too many course credits hamstrings your social and civic development.

Chad Ronchetti - Burns & McDonnell Engineering

Name: Chad Ronchetti

Family: Kara Ronchetti (Spouse), Merlot (Cat)

Major & Minor: Comprehensive Environmental Geography

Year Graduated: 2011

Current Employer: Burns & McDonnell Engineering

Length of Employment: 1 year

Interests and Hobbies: Hiking, cooking, and making my wife smile

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? My age. I was a non-traditional student at the age of 30 when I graduated. I was eager to start a professional life, so I could retire with some pep left in my step. As for the type of job, I wanted variety. I didn't want to be behind a computer every second of my professional life.

What do you think gave you the edge to get your current position? I would say that is three fold. Having had professional experience in the way of internships and student work, the references that come from performing at my best in those positions, and a solid GPA.

Describe your typical day at work: As an environmental specialist, working mainly in a GIS support capacity for the Environmental Services and Permitting division within Burns & Mac,  my job is wide ranging in tasks. Though much of my work revolves around GIS and data management responsibilities, 25% of my time is spent in the field collecting support data for analysis.  A few examples include: finding estimated sediment load within a reservoir utilizing bathymetric and sediment-core data; calculating the impacts of potential high voltage electric transmission lines on environmental, engineering, and civic factors; thermal variance studies that analyze temperature variance in water-bodies near power generating facilities; and assisting with wetland delineations and soil surveys.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I see myself ushering in an expansion of GIS support directly within my division, and if I am lucky, managing the GIS workflow as a section manager.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?  Take school seriously. Not only is it expensive, but it is the foundation for everything you will do professionally going forward. Our professors dedicate much of their lives to creating an environment that is conducive to learning, understanding, and excelling, but they can only give you the torch. It is your responsibility to take that torch and run with it. Study, research, experiment, and learn from failure. Also, do everything in your power to get boots-on-the-ground internship experience. What you learn in an internship can be in-valuable, but what's more is the networking and references you gain in the professional world. A solid GPA will get you an interview, but good references can get you the job. Finally, appreciate your professors. They do so much to give you a leg up, the least you can do is say thank you.

David Hon: Wisconsin DNR

Name: David Hon

Family: N/A

Major & Minor: Geography, Environmental Emphasis

Year Graduated: May 2012

Current Employer: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Job Title: Hydrogeologist and Storm Water Specialist

Length of Employment: Since May 2012

Interests and Hobbies: On an average week, you’ll find me doing something active every day, whether it’s going for a long, hard run outside, going for a leisurely bike ride around town, or swimming at Gold’s Gym. I cook all the time and love it. Spending time with my friends and meeting new people are very important things on my to-do list as well! I also enjoy reading, travelling, and playing piano.

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)?

I wasn’t sure exactly what direction my career was going to take, although I had a general idea. Working with people was on the forefront of what was important to me in the job search, but I also enjoyed working with GIS, research, and water resources. I thought gaining some experience was important before doing anything else so graduate school was not part of my short-term plan. I wanted a job that was challenging, had lots of variety, and outside my comfort zone.  

So, I decided that my best course of action was to explore what jobs were out there and send out as many resumes as possible. I learned a lot about what careers were available to me based on my experience and education just from the job hunt.

Describe your typical day at work: As a hydrogeologist, I have two basic duties: reduce the liability for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation during roadwork by scouting potential hazards (petroleum contamination, hazardous waste, etc) in southwestern Wisconsin, and coordinate cleanups of petroleum and heavy metal contaminated soil and groundwater in Jackson County. The typical day involves gathering buried information, meeting with City Boards, negotiating, interviewing local officials, calling bluffs, composing and sending technical notices, and occasionally I’ll sample a private well or use GIS to visualize a large site.

As a storm water specialist, I review construction, industrial and municipal properties to convey permit coverage to them. Any time a property over an acre is under construction, the owner needs a storm water permit. I review their plans to reduce suspended solids and pollutants into surface waters and wetlands and make sure their best management practices (BMPs), like detention basins or bioswales, are adequate. I also inspect the sites once we convey coverage to make sure the BMPs are functioning properly. Many of these properties are frac sand mines in Western Wisconsin. Knowledge of geomorphic features, watershed properties, and physical geography is certainly key to success in this position.

Needless to say I have the variety, challenge, and intellectual stimulation that I was looking for.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position?

I took 15 credits of coursework in hydrogeology, as well as some coursework in physics and chemistry, which gave me the background knowledge to be a hydrogeologist. I also had an interest in working with people and had a fairly large amount of experience doing just that. I was a Peer Educator for the Center for Alcohol Studies and Education for 3 years; a caregiver for a young man with Down’s Syndrome for 3 years; a crew leader for a team of volunteers surveying invasive plants in the Eau Claire County Forest; and I was actively involved in the Eau Claire County Parks and Forestry Citizen Advisory Committee. By the time I graduated I was well-versed in negotiation, persuasion, and patience.

I also was a research assistant for three different projects, where I worked closely with several professors in different departments (Biology, Geology and Geography). I enthusiastically was involved with each project, which gave me several more good references. I had a master resume prepared with my entire work history and spent close to 10 hours perfecting the resume I sent into the WDNR. I had a lot of practice interviewing during my college career, so I was relaxed and confident in conveying my experiences when I walked in to interview for my current position.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Gosh, I’ll be 28? Old! There are a number of ideas floating through my head, but hopefully starting a family and either go into the consulting industry (aka the private sector) or attend to a graduate program for environmental law.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? 

GIS might be one of the hottest careers out there right now, and it’s a good option for our major. But it’s not even close to the only option for geographers. Find any way you can to do what you’re passionate about. That way, you’ll gain skills and knowledge quickly in things you’re interested in. Also, when you’re enthusiastic about something, you make lasting connections with people, so your network will grow naturally.

Take your curiosity by the horns. If you are creative and self-directed, independent studies, research assistantships, and internships are all great options to explore your interests further.

Get a job even if you don’t need one. There is nothing like real world experience. Sometimes it’s easy to get lost in school, but work keeps you grounded.

Keep a master resume with all of your experiences on it (not just jobs!), as well as a template industry-specific resume and cover letter. That way you can just copy and paste what you need out of the master resume onto the individual resume. Be meticulous when you are designing your final resume.

Start a quality LinkedIn account. If you get a business card from someone or talk to someone who may have an opening later down the line, it’s a great way of following up with them if you’re interested. If they show interest, they can look at your profile, which is essentially an expanded online resume.

Ignore any pressure from anybody to become something you’re not. While their observations may be helpful, if you don’t do what you want to do, you’ll regret it later.

Work hard but also play hard. Be active. Meet new people. Explore new hobbies. Keep a journal or diary if you want to find inspiration. Leave some room in your day to think – block off at least an hour with absolutely nothing planned. Creativity often comes in a flash when you’re least expecting it. 

Blog Overview

Hello UW-Eau Claire Geography Community! The purpose of this blog is to foster communication and relationships between current students and alumni, especially those who have entered the workforce or continued on in academia as geographers! We hope to hear from alumni with a variety of backgrounds: physical geography, human geography etc. 

We would all love to hear what everyone is up to and we hope this blog can be the forum for keeping in touch. We also hope that valuable information and advice can be communicated to our up and coming graduates and to those recent graduates who are still looking for a job and trying to make the same tough decisions you have already made.  

Please contact Dr. Christina Hupy at hupycm@uwec.edu with an entry for the blog. Please fill out the information below and answer the questions. And please include a picture. Feel free to include your company’s website and contact information if you’d like to be contacted by alumni or students with questions. 

We are all really looking forward to hearing from our alumni!  Please pass the blog website along to other alumni as well.

Name:

Family:

Major & Minor:

Year Graduated:

Current Employer:

Length of Employment:

Interests and Hobbies:

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation and/or in your career path (i.e. graduate school or type of job)?

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position?

Describe your typical day at work:

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?

Beth Ellison - Southern Illinois University

Name: Beth Ellison

Family: Been together with fellow-UWEC Geography Alum, Blake Christenson for 3.5 years and we are expecting our first little one this July!

Major & Minor: Comprehensive Geography Major in International Studies

Year Graduated: 2008

Current Employer: Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Length of Employment: 2 years

Interests and Hobbies: What aren't I interested in?  Down in Southern Illinois there is fabulous hiking (believe it or now we are VERY hilly down here - we are approximately 12 hours from Eau Claire), wineries (30+ within 30 miles of my house), and biking.  Basically if I can get outside, I will (at least on the days where we are not 100+ heat index).

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)?

Immediately after graduation I attended Miami University (OH).  I had a research assistantship (RA) with MU- Geography Dept. and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.  For my RA, I developed a historical flow synthesis for Ohio Reservoirs to understand fish populations.  This work was heavily GIS-based and hydraulic modeling, currently a paper is in review for publication.  Currently, I work for Southern Illinois University as a Staff Researcher and Project Manager.  I work specifically in hazards, more or less flooding.  I have the fortune of working with some fantastic individuals across the state: from local community members, state politicians, the US Army Corps of Engineers and with some of the heads of FEMA in DC.  My current project is working on proactive flood mitigation activities in Alexander County after the 2011 Mississippi River flooding.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? My expansive research history, both undergraduate and graduate work.  Also, my willingness to network and ask questions. 

Describe your typical day at work: Depends on the season and the current projects.  Right now, our focus is proactive mitigation on the Mississippi River.  I am project manager for a major flood recovery effort to relocate residents off the floodplain and determine best-practices for floodplain management within this given community.  Check out our project website at https://sites.google.com/site/alexcomitigation2011/.  When I'm not working on this project, I'm busy working on Hazard Mitigation Grants across the state and doing various research/consulting on the side.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Good question.  During my time at SIUC, I will be working on my PhD in Environmental Resources & Policy.  After we finish, Blake and I hope to find great post-doctoral opportunities and eventually find a school, similar to UWEC to begin teaching and research.  (Blake is working on his PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice focusing on spatial analysis of crime and how to effectively use this information for policing, etc.)

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?  Get in all the opportunities you can, including some level of student research.  The experience is fantastic and it is amazing how those skills will help you in any career path.  My biggest tip would be to have exceptional communication skills.  The varieties of mass-communication sometimes can confuse and halt the progress of work-related tasks.  Make sure you can use these various communication lines to efficiently and effectively communicate what you want to say.

Please feel free to contact me at the information below.  We are also always looking for graduate students.  Please shoot me an e-mail if you are interested!

Beth Ellison

Staff Researcher and Project Manager

Southern Illinois University

(618) 453-7349

beth.ellison@siu.edu

Darin Mertig - Applied Data Consultants

Name: Darin Mertig  

Family: Ruger( my Dog)

Major & Minor: Geography Resource Management (Comprehensive, No Minor)

Year Graduated: May 2010

Current Employer: Applied Data Consultants

Length of Employment: August 2011-Present

Interests and Hobbies: Hunting, Fishing, Shooting, Football, Baseball, Beer Tastings

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? I had contemplated Grad school after graduation, and even looked into a career in the Military, but after seeing the number of entry level position’s in the GIS field all around the country, I decided that joining the work force and gaining professional experience was the best decision at the time.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? My knowledge of the GIS programs and the ability to be very flexible in what I was able to do with the program. Also, having strong recommendations from the Geography department was a big help. I also think the relationship between ADC and the Geography department helped in the end, they know what UWEC Geography students have for GIS abilities and it makes it easy for them to take students who graduate in the same city as the employer.

Describe your typical day at work: My typical day of work varies quite a bit, I can go from making maps for the delivery of telephone books, creating the information that is needed to start creating the maps, even to working for the Army Corp of Engineers doing various projects. All of variation gives me a lot of different knowledge and job skills, it also helps keep the day from becoming monotonous.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I can see myself working as a project manager or a division manager, but still in the GIS field and dealing with technology, the more it changes the more there is to do and the more people they will need to run different positions.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? I would say to take any classes which GIS, LIDAR, GPS and any other technologies offered. You can never have enough knowledge of one program and the more that you know the better off you are. I would recommend choosing projects that challenge your ability and present them at multiple conferences and events as possible. You can never get your name out there enough.  Also, I would recommend that you build your resume early and update it often.

Sarin Strobush - East View Geospatial, Minneapolis, MN

Name: Sarin Strobush

Family: N/A

Major & Minor: Environmental Geography

Year Graduated: 2011

Current Employer: East View Geospatial, Minneapolis, MN

Length of Employment: 6 months

Interests and Hobbies: scuba diving, travelling, motorcycles, saving money, island cuisine, and renovating my house

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation?

The reason I chose to find a job instead of continuing my education is because I wanted real-world experience using GIS. I enjoyed learning about different applications of GIS in mapping and problem solving, but I wanted a chance to apply the knowledge I gained. I decided a career would allow me to implement things I knew as well as continue learning new processes.

What do you think gave you the edge to get your current position?

Having a simple, organized resume is the easiest step to getting a job. I am by no means an expert on getting hired, but I think I got my job because of my solid resume, flexible availability, and genuine interest in the company during my interview.

Describe your typical day at work

I work in the special project section of the company with less than ten other people. We are a contracted group that works on many types of cartographic or GIS projects. One thing that attracted me to this job is the occasional change in work assignment. I have been involved in two projects since starting in July. The first consists of high-resolution feature extraction in one geocell, and the second project deals with updating data in more than 50 geocells. I am constantly learning new tools and procedures in Arc 9.3 and 10, while applying different sets of geographic standards. I have to execute quality control by using batch checks, PLTS tools, and other software in addition to ArcGIS. My group is often working 10 hour days to complete assignments on time.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

I hope to still be working at East View.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?

The most important thing to do is decide what you want to do after graduating. If you want to work, decide what type of job you want and the skills needed to attain it. 

Ryan Robert - St. Mary's University. Master's in GIS

Name:  Ryan Robert

Major & Minor:  Geography, History

Year Graduated:  2009

Current Employer:  GeoSpatial Services – Winona, MN

Length of Employment: 1 year

Interests and Hobbies:  disc golf, swimming, camping

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)?    Christina (and the job market) encouraged me to pursue a graduate program.   I’m glad I listened.  I studied GIS at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. 

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position?  I left UWEC with a firm foundation in GIS concepts and techniques, but I strongly believe that my graduate experience opened new networking opportunities for me.  I was introduced to Geospatial Services, my current employer, during my studies at Saint Mary’s. 

Describe your typical day at work:  I work on National Wetland Inventory projects for the USFWS and the WI DNR.  The job includes several processes including: orthorectification of images, raster to vector conversions, data attribution, geodatabase management, and topology validation.  I work with very talented people with great personalities!!!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?  My goal is to continue working in the GIS field.  Ideally I would like to be working for the city police department as a crime analyst.  I’m at an exciting point in my life!!!  I will be getting married in September of next year and my Fiancé and I just purchased our first home.  Kids next?!?!?

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?  I would mention three things:

1.        Database design and management skills are extremely valuable.  I would also recommend being comfortable with SQL.

2.        The web page development and/or web application development seems to be increasingly linked with GIS and its capabilities.  Agencies/organizations/employers seem to be moving more and more toward publishing interactive maps on the internet. 

3.       Learn a programming language.  I would recommend Python as ESRI is moving in that direction.

Lindsay Olson - Graduate School at Missouri State University

Name: Lindsay Olson

Family: Walter the cat

Major & Minor:  Geography – Resource Management (comprehensive, no minor)

Year Graduated: Jan. 2010

Current Employer: Ozarks Environmental and Water Resources Institute (OEWRI)/Missouri State University (Graduate Assistant)

Length of Employment:  5 months – I began my GA and graduate education in the summer 2011 semester.

Interests and Hobbies:  My academic interest is in assessing and restoring fluvial environments including watersheds, stream systems, and lakes that have been subject to pollution or other forms of degradation. Human-environment interactions, resultant problems, and human’s approaches to solving these problems are topics I enjoy researching and learning about. Lately I have focused on the effects of excess sediment to river geomorphology as that is a major component of my thesis, which is based on the Big River, part of the heavily mined Old Lead Belt in Missouri. The best part is the field work – who wouldn’t want to spend the hot and humid Missouri summer in the river staying cool and having fun while working, versus sitting at a boring stuffy desk for eight hours a day?!

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? Although I was encouraged by my professors to apply to graduate school right away, I was unsure of what I wanted to do career-wise as I was nearing the end of my undergraduate education. I chose to accept a full time position with a local GIS firm I had interned for leading up to graduation. I worked full time for about a year before I decided I was ready to take on graduate school and set myself up for a career that I will truly enjoy. I am now pursuing a Master of Science in Geospatial Sciences in Geography and Geology at Missouri State University with a plan to graduate in May, 2013.

What do you think gave you to edge to get your current position? I have a full graduate assistantship at MSU which means that in exchange for 20 hours per week of research work for OEWRI my tuition is waved and I am provided with a living stipend.  GAs of this caliber are very competitive. I definitely attribute the combination of great grades during my undergrad, a good GRE score, strong recommendations, my internship experiences, undergraduate research and presentations, and a strong application letter as reasons I was awarded this GA.

Describe your typical day at work: Graduate courses are much more self-paced than undergraduate courses. I currently have courses only on Mondays and Wednesdays, but devote time each evening and weekend to work towards the course requirements. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays I put in 20 or more hours doing research and/or field work for OEWRI. I also squeeze in a few hours per week to work on my thesis research, which at this early stage involves gathering data in the field, doing some preliminary GIS analysis, and reading 3-5 (sometimes more) relevant scholarly articles per week as I prepare to start writing my first few thesis chapters towards the end of this semester.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In five years I see myself in a resource conservation position with a government organization such as a county conservation department, the DNR or USDA NRCS. I would like my job duties to include grant writing, field work, reporting and analysis, and working with the public to implement conservation efforts. Overall I want my career efforts to be focused on working towards a healthier and properly managed environment.

What advice can you give to those who are still in school?

1.       It’s not a race to finish school. Take your time, explore and develop your interests.

2.       Get involved in undergraduate research – it’ll take you far, especially if you decided to go to graduate school. You’ll get real-world experience when you present it at conferences such as AAG or GSA and it also builds your repertoire with your professors, who provide you with recommendations and advice as you move forward with your career or education.

3.       Try to do an internship or two to see how you enjoy working in an area of interest on a daily basis. You might find out that it’s not something you enjoy doing in the long run, or you might discover you have an interest in an area you didn’t recognize at first.

I am a person with a wide variety of interests in all sorts of disciplines, so I was never that kid who said “when I grow up, I’m gonna be a ______ (fill in the blank)” and it  took me a long time to finally figure it out – and there is nothing wrong with that. When I was 18 I started out pursuing interior design. I switched to and finished an Associate’s Degree in marketing, and then drastically changed gears to complete my Bachelor’s Degree in geography. I learned the most about my interests through the three internships I completed in my undergrad – one with a planning commission as a GIS technician, one with a county conservation department as a resource inventory technician, and one with a private business providing web-integrated geospatial solutions to county governments and other businesses. These internships gave me the experience I needed to recognize what was going to make me happy doing every day. I couldn’t have known that without the internship experience, so that is why I am such a huge proponent of them.

The more experience you can get during your undergrad, whether it’s through course work that goes above and beyond, research, or internships, the better it will help you narrow down where your real interests lie and set you up for an enjoyable career in a field you love.

Matthew Sackmann - Garmin International, Inc.

Name: Matthew Sackmann

Family: None

Major & Minor: Geography and Economics Major

Year Graduated: 2011

Current Employer: Garmin International, Inc.

Length of Employment: 3 months

Interests and Hobbies: Traveling, Snowboarding, Paintballing, Fishing, Hunting

What helped you decide what route to take after graduation (i.e. graduate school or type of job)? Garmin introduced itself to me as an excellent way to start my career

What do you think gave you the edge to get your current position? Going to UW-Eau Claire, classes completed, independent studies, and a professional resume

Describe your typical day at work: As a marine cartography technician my day is composed of examining the quality of hydrographic office maps from around the world.  I also complete map interpretations and interactions, fixing gaps, and viewing charts in Garmin GPS units.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Becoming a senior cartography technician at Garmin and potentially taking some classes on management to help make advancements in my career

What advice can you give to those who are still in school? If taken seriously, four years of studying hard and careful planning will reward you with excellent opportunities