By: Richard Serby
(Mar 27, 2004

Our latest poll showed that 70% of respondents would recommend their Geography or GIS college or university program.   We received lots of comments from last week's column.  Here are a few:

“I just read your article about job preparedness with quotes from job seekers.  I just want to comment from the employer's perspective.  We recently opened an entry-level position for a GIS Technician.  We advertised on the internet and received 85 applications, at least a third of which were very qualified for the job.  We held 10 interviews and 4 second interviews.  We felt that all 4 of the latter (and even a few of the former) really could have done the job.  I think the problem is the economy.  There is a lot of competition out there among new graduates for probably fewer jobs.”
Mary

Note:  Mary is right, but employment numbers are looking much brighter.  We anticipate a very good Spring and Summer for employment opportunities for entry level candidates, as well as, experienced GIS professionals.

“I found your article in Directions Magazine quite intriguing, even though it seems to focus on US only (but the issues are the same worldwide). Since you asked about bragging, I found the best way for a student to achieve industry take-up is to adopt an approach inspired by the stock market:  spread your risk, and thus impress with a varied portfolio.”
Thierry

“I would highly recommend Texas State University to anyone interested in Geospatial Sciences.   I am an alumnus and obtained a GIS certificate from the Geography Department and it was a spectacular experience.  The faculty is great, the courses are interesting and very informative, and the town of San Marcos is a fabulous place.”
Mario

“I graduated from Central Washington University, which is a smaller university than most, but their Geography department is regarded as one of the best in Washington State and their GIS/techniques program is highly thought of throughout the west coast.”
Dan

Note:  We received many recommendations for college and university programs.  There are good programs in virtually every state.