How Did You Get into GIS?

I'm pushing 28 years old.  I know for many that may seem young, and I realize that I am still pretty young and I try to enjoy that feeling everyday.  I'll tell you what though, I'm starting to feel old.  I've gotten to that point in one's life where you can sit back and remember the person you were ten years ago and not just hear your mom tell you funny baby stories.

If someone would have told me when I was 17 that I was going to be a GIS Analyst when I grow up I probably would give them that smile that you give people when you don't really understand what they are saying but you want them to think you are engaged, you know the one I'm talking about.  Ten years ago, I was planning a career as an artist and wait...I'm supposed to living in Italy right now and painting beautiful pictures to sell to all my rich friends all over the world.  Damnit, I missed that career goal by a longshot.  Darlington, South Carolina, the city i currently reside in, has that old world feel sometimes and I work in the city of Florence...hello?  That is totally a city in Italy!

Anyway, many times I get asked, "how did you get into GIS?"  Well, I stumbled upon geography in college as a studio art major when I realized I had a strong dislike for my professors and all of the students in the art department.  I was also beginning to understand that once out of college I would need to secure a job.  My love for nature attracted to me the course offerings in the Geography Department and once I had a visit with my advisor he “advised me” to get into the GIS concentration.  I started the GIS program immediately and haven’t looked back yet. 

The thing I admire most about GIS is the problem solving.  GIS involves many types of problem solving.  There is the traditional problem solving you perform with spatial data.  Then there is the problem solving with the actual GIS software when something doesn’t run quite like it should.  Once you have all your problems solved, you are faced with the problem of getting your information out to the masses.  The problem solving never ends with GIS.

I find GIS data easier to handle than other types of data because it has a location that can be related to.  You can put that data exactly where it belongs in the real world and begin to see patterns and answer questions to figure out why something is the way it is.  I have also found that folks who dabble in GIS are some of the nicest, friendliest, and most genuine people I have ever known.  These characteristics of GIS professionals really make a career in GIS that much more enjoyable and rewarding.

I have been working as a GIS Analyst since graduating from Appalachian State and in retrospect I think GIS and I were destined to get paired together.  I don't think it just happened by accident, I think I was bound to get hooked sooner or later, it just happened sooner than later and I am thankful for that.