GISP Certification – Start Now!
My employer was the first to tell me about GIS Professional Certification provided through the GIS Certification Institute. Since I was new to the GIS industry, I knew nothing about GISP; but the information that he provided challenged me to learn more about what it could do for me and how I could earn it. I went to the GISCI website to learn what the certification was, who recognized it, and how I could earn this title.
Through the things that I learned, I was eager to get started gathering the necessary documentation required. Although I had only been in the GIS industry for a few months, I was already thinking about placing “GISP” after my name.
I found that I would need a minimum of 4 years of GIS work experience in addition to education and professional contribution requirements. It seemed like a far way off, but I wanted to be prepared for when I had met all the requirements. I went to the GISCI website and printed off the application. I placed this application in a folder and began recording every aspect of my new GIS career.
As I took classes from the ESRI Training website and at the local college, I documented each class to help build my application portfolio. I also knew what was required for documentation as I went to local and region conferences. I found that if I participated in the conferences and events (map poster, topic presentation, committee or board), I could earn additional points towards my certification. I also began keeping a yearly job description along with the tasks that I performed so that I knew how to accurately document my experience points. In addition to the portfolio, I also created a simple excel spreadsheet to calculate all of my points so I would know my point status. With these elements, I can easily see which areas are lacking the minimum requirements and also keep myself encouraged that I am closer now than when I first started.
Although I am still working on my GISP Certification, I would recommend the following:
- Start Preparing Now (It is easier to start sooner than later.)
- Keep a GIS Portfolio (That conference registration letter will disappear.)
- Understand the Application (You will find points that you may not of thought were beneficial.)
- Find a Mentor (There is a mentor program through the GISCI.)
- Keep Your Focus and Do Not Give Up (You Will Eventually Reach Your Goal.)
Whether you are just taking your first GIS college course or if you have been in the industry for a while now is the time to begin preparing for your GIS Professional Certification. This recognition will be very valuable in both the early and later years of your career. Start Today!
Related Web Pages
ESRI Training and Education Center (GIS Pathway)
GISCI Announces Renewal Requirements
GISCI Recognizes GeoSpatial Training Services
GIS Professional Certification
Related Books
Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge
ArcMap Symbology by Quantity
November 25, 2008 by Timothy
Filed under Cartography, GIS Tips
Symbolizing features is an important part to cartography and map making. Most GIS users symbolize based up one symbology type or unique values. Although this may be appropriate in most cases, you also have the capability to symbolize based upon numeric values within the attribute table of a feature class.
Begin by reviewing your attribute table. Find the numeric attribute you would like to symbolize by. Now notice in the first image, the parcels layer is symbolized with a single symbol.
Double click the layer or right click the layer and choose properties to open up the layer properties. With this dialog open you will see many tabs. Choose the Symbology tab. This will bring up many options to symbolize by. On the left, you have the options of Features, Categories, Quantities, Charts, and Multiple Attributes. Take time to study these areas as they will open a multitude of symbology option.
However, for this demonstration click on Quantities. Select Graduated Colors. Notice The Fields area. Select the attribute that you would like to symbolize by. Normalization is an important feature to keep in mind. You can normalize by percent of total or another field. You can select the number of classes as well. Then select the color range that you desire.
The output will reflect the options that you select. The table of contents will show this symbolization as will the legend.
I hope this tip helps further your use of ArcGIS. Enjoy!
If you have a question, feel free to ask!
Related Sites
Related Book
Making Maps: A Visual Guide to Map Design for GIS
How to Lie with Maps (2nd Edition)
Designing Better Maps: A Guide for GIS Users
Add VBA Code to ArcMap
November 22, 2008 by Timothy
Filed under ArcGIS, GIS Tips, Programming
Once you find a some quality VBA code for your GIS application, you can begin thinking how to put the code to use. Check out my VBA Code Resources post for great resources.
So now that you have that block of code or *.dll file, what do you do with it? Well, here are two quick videos to show how to implement VBA code.
Add VBA Code to Toolbar Button
Add DLL File
Note: Videos are broadcast through youtube.com. Some browsers may block this content.
Related Blogs
Intro to Programming with ArcObjects
ArcObjects Tutorial I-Create Custom Command
Related Books
ArcMap Definition Query
November 22, 2008 by Timothy
Filed under GIS Software, GIS Tips, Videos
The ArcMap Definition Query is a tool that not many people know about. The tool takes the simple query interface and applies it to the visible extent of a data layer. The example shown isolates New Zealand from a layer of countries. Check it out and tell me what you think.
Note: Videos are broadcast through youtube.com. Some browsers may block this content.
Related Posts
Organizing CAD Data In ArcGIS: Part 5/7 Definition Query
Related Books
ArcMap Interface Tutorial
ArcMap can be very overwhelming to the new user. Understanding what each feature does and how it applies is important. Here are some of the areas that are covered in this tutorial video.
Data View
- Add Data
- Scale
- Toolbars
- Data Frame
- Layers
- Zoom
- Pan
- Selection
- Identify
Page Layout
- Data Frame
- Title
- North Arrow
- Scale Bar/Text
Note: Videos are broadcast through youtube.com. Some browsers may block this content.
Download the video to your computer: ArcMap Interface
Related Books
Getting to Know ArcGIS
GIS is a massive topic. You can spend your entire lifetime studying this field and still not know it all. And on top of that, studying can only get you so far. You will begin to learn so much more by taking the initiative to explore hands on above and beyond any textbook.
Even though I feel you can learn more by exploring, I would suggest you take a look at the Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop book. This book is full of rich information covering GIS in the ArcGIS software environment. The basics of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo at version 9 are covered. And it is obvious that this book cannot keep up with technology because later versions have already come out. And although this is true, version 9 basics apply across the board even if you are using 9.3 or later. I cannot stress enough the importance of know these basics since they will be your foundation of any building block you may apply.
Explore it today and build a foundation for your future.
Related Blogs
Google Helps Educate Spatially
Google Earth
Google Maps
This mapping software provides more than just directions. There is the ability to study various regions. The subjects that can studied are Art History, Climatology, Earth Science, Environmental Science, History, and Physics.
Google Sky
This product is fairly new. It provide a fascinating view of outer space. With Google Sky, telescopes are a thing of the past. You have the ability to study the stars, planets, galaxies, and even mythology.
Google SketchUp
This is a 3D modeling software. You can model furniture, cars, and buildings. There is even the capability to place these object spatially in Google Earth.
http://www.google.com/educators/geo.html
Other Google Products
Related Blogs
Geo Greeting – A Fun Way to Introduce Google Maps
iPhone in Education: Google Earth now available on iPhone and iPod Touch!
GIS workshop teaches new technology skills
Geophysics vs. Geography: Divergent Viewpoints on the GeoWeb
GIS System Architecture Design
Anyone who spends a bit of time in the GIS industry will find the importance having a solid system foundation. If you or your company is new to GIS, then it would be wise to adequately plan the system infrastructure before investing in a system. But how do you know what to plan for? It can easily be overwhelming and costly if not well educated in this topic.
For help with this topic, Dave Peters with ESRI has put out a new book called Building a GIS: System Architecture Design Strategies for Managers. This book has laid the following areas to help present the facts before any decision is made.
Part I: Understanding the technology
Part II: Understanding the fundamentals
Part III: Putting it all together
Related Information:
Press Release: Directions Media
System Architecture & Design Zen…
http://gisdk.blogspot.com/2008/07/building-gis.html
http://www10.giscafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?articleid=562364
GIS Job and Education Webinar
I recently found an online webinar from Directions Media on GIS jobs and education. Although I did not catch it live, I did see the recorded version. It was very interesting to see and hear about the various education and job opportunities from individuals who are either in the education or professional industry. This is part of a three series webinar job fair. See below for future dates.
http://www.directionsmag.com/sponsors/webinar.php?webid=8&from=webinar
Tuesday, September 23 (2008)
Tuesday, January 13 (2009)
Tuesday, May 12 (2009)
More Information on the Job Fairs…
Related Blogs:
It’s the Economy…& Jobs, Stupid
Start Programming in GIS
November 10, 2008 by Timothy
Filed under ArcGIS, GIS Tips, Programming
GIS in and of itself is a very technical system. Just think about the visual part of a map and then add in the data that lies behind the visualization. Then on top of everything, add the ability to do extensive analysis with the data. Each of these parts are held together with a Graphic User Interface such as ArcGIS, MapInfo, or GoogleEarth. While already being overwhelmed by the data alone, think about the programming that goes into these GUI’s. You may tell yourself that programming is an area that you plan to stay far away from; however. I believe that there are extremely great benefits to knowing a little bit about programming.
In order to get your feet wet in GIS programming, I would suggest learning a little bit about Visual Basic for Applications. VBA is an event driven form of Visual Basic. It usually relies on applications to serve as its host as it does not work independently. Microsoft Software is the main housing unit for VBA, but it does come with other software packages such as AutoCAD, WordPerfect, and ArcGIS. VBA allows the user to perform repetitive and/or extensive tasks in a simple to use format. These formats can include but are not limited to a Button, Tool, Form, and Macro.
To Begin, find where the Visual Basic for Applications program is located. In ArcMap or ArcCatalog click Tools -> Marcos -> Visual Basic Editor… (This is basic for all applications with VBA). The shortcut is Atl+F11. This will open Microsoft Visual Basic in a new window.
Start by exploring the various areas presented. Familiarize yourself with the Menu bar. Many of the options will be completely foreign, but you will learn how to apply them to programming eventually.
Next, you should see a Project Explorer Window (If you do not see this window, click View -> Project Explorer). Read more
