I work as a geographical information systems (GIS) officer within
local government. I have a degree in GIS but I lack general
development skills. I need some advice on what skills I am likely
to need in the future, and in what direction you see GIS
heading
GIS is moving into the enterprise
Geographical
information systems is a skills area that is moving slowly from the
scientific and public service arena into the private enterprise
sector. Many businesses are using GIS technology to assist in
making logistical decisions. As such, the net of employers using
GIS technology has the potential to widen, and the number of job
opportunities is likely to increase.
As the range of users widens, we will see a diversification of the
roles within this technical area, so you should not assume that
your lack of development skills represents a barrier to your
further development.
All technologies that grow from niche markets to become mainstream,
high-usage skills require specialist "hybrid" consultants in the
early stages of the transition. These people take charge of the
complete range of responsibilities relating to the new technology.
However, as a more mainstream skill, roles will exist at varying
levels, ranging from user technical support upwards. Many of the
positions will have a much greater focus on the business usage and
application to complement the technical knowledge of traditional
roles.
If you have a strong desire to improve your application development
skills, then graphical-based development languages are your way
forward. Visual Basic, Visual C++ and Javascript could be good
choices. With the likelihood of the Web being used to deliver such
applications, further consideration should be given to ensure that
your choice of skill can stretch to cope with future Net-based
developments.
Consider the range of roles within other established technical
areas and their suitability to your personal attributes.
Implementation, support and training roles are likely to appear,
for example, as will customer-facing technical pre-sales roles and
customer integration positions within the consultancy sector.
Solution by Richard Herring, Reed Computing
The panel: MSB International, Best International, BCS, Computer
Futures, Computer People, Elan, Reed Computing, Netheads
Consulting, Zarak Technology, E-Skills UK