Decisions suck (yeah, yeah - they bring opportunities)
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Megan Forbes wrote: Hmmm... I wonder if 27 is too young for a mid-life crisis I think it can happen at any age. More importantly, is how one deals with it. I returned to school, when my first born daughter was only 9 months old and I had just turned thirty. Things were difficult for a few years, but twenty years later I have no regrets at all. Good Luck to you. Chris Meech "what makes CP different is the people and sense of community, things people will only discover if they join up and join in." Christian Graus Nov 14, 2002. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! Those leaks are driving me crazy! How does one finds a memory leak in a garbage collected environment ??! Daniel Turini Nov. 2, 2002.
Chris Meech wrote: More importantly, is how one deals with it. True. I suppose anything with added effort (eg. studying) will come in handy at some point, if only for developing self discipline. I do feel slightly like I'd be wimping out by swapping from post-grad comp science to under-grad Geography(and the GIS bit is only tackled in 3rd year), but it's still something I'd really like to do. Chris Meech wrote: Good Luck to you. Thanks :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
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Do any CPians have experience of writing Geographical Information Systems (GIS)? Is this a good area to get into? My reason for asking: I am considering a slow career change (over the next 3 years or so) from web development to GIS. For a couple of reasons: There are so many web developers these days - and the numbers just seem to be growing - the salaries are falling and it doesn't seem to be the most secure career path right now. :~ I have a friend at home who has her own GIS business. She is not only coining it, she is turning clients away due to a lack of time to help everyone in the area. I love the outdoors, and my dad (amongst various other things) is a qualified Geologist, so my knowledge and interest is not professional, but I do have some idea on the subject. My current studies (postgraduate computer science) are not actually doing anything for me in the work environment. I am not learning any radical new techniques beyond my work level. I am learning a new language - Java, but that's not really worth £900 every 4 months to me. If I did a Geography degree it would not only add to my general knowledge and be challenging, but I would gain another possible career choice, combining programming and an outdoor subject. I was wondering what your opinions are on this - especially if you have experience of GIS. Is my home area an odd find and elsewhere in the world GIS guys are struggling to get work as much as everyone else? On a scale of foolishness from 1 - 10 would I be scoring a 10 for considering this? Hmmm... I wonder if 27 is too young for a mid-life crisis :rolleyes: Thanks for any advice! :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
A number of us have done such work. I know Paul Selormey is working on GIS products and I spent too many years working on this [^]kind stuff. My advice is to not do Geography (that's too broad) but do something more specific such as geomorphology, hydrology or possibly something in the Environmental Sciences. Better yet, do mathematics (stats, numerical modelling), physics (fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics) and computing and then you'll be able to handle anything vaguely related to GIS work. My degree was in Maths and Physics and I was able to walk into a job in Hydrology with very little ramp up time. I ended up leaving the Environmental Sciences because there simply wasn't enough (well paying) work. Besides, all the work in Australia was about trying to stop salinity (which we can't - we can only slow it) or erosion (I think eroded gullies are far more interesting than non-eroded, so bad job choice), or rainfall (haven't seen much of that lately!). Plus the outdoor work was often done either in 2 feet of snow or in cow infested 40 degree heat paddocks. I definitely enjoyed my time there but it all felt so innefficient - especially the data collection. FWIW I was 27 when I left Science and went IT full time. It was a hell of a mid-life crisis ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
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Do any CPians have experience of writing Geographical Information Systems (GIS)? Is this a good area to get into? My reason for asking: I am considering a slow career change (over the next 3 years or so) from web development to GIS. For a couple of reasons: There are so many web developers these days - and the numbers just seem to be growing - the salaries are falling and it doesn't seem to be the most secure career path right now. :~ I have a friend at home who has her own GIS business. She is not only coining it, she is turning clients away due to a lack of time to help everyone in the area. I love the outdoors, and my dad (amongst various other things) is a qualified Geologist, so my knowledge and interest is not professional, but I do have some idea on the subject. My current studies (postgraduate computer science) are not actually doing anything for me in the work environment. I am not learning any radical new techniques beyond my work level. I am learning a new language - Java, but that's not really worth £900 every 4 months to me. If I did a Geography degree it would not only add to my general knowledge and be challenging, but I would gain another possible career choice, combining programming and an outdoor subject. I was wondering what your opinions are on this - especially if you have experience of GIS. Is my home area an odd find and elsewhere in the world GIS guys are struggling to get work as much as everyone else? On a scale of foolishness from 1 - 10 would I be scoring a 10 for considering this? Hmmm... I wonder if 27 is too young for a mid-life crisis :rolleyes: Thanks for any advice! :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
Today I was looking at some code I wrote in 1992 a GIS package, as a homework project. You made me think, if I had actively sold it where would I be now? I got into software when I was about 27, many, many years ago, after getting a degree in Mech Eng. and I used to be a charterd engineer (MiMechE), and have never regretted it. My philosophy is as long as you are learning something then great, especially if you are doing something you enjoy, I would like to be a millionare, but money it not 100% my motivation, if I wanted to be rich I would have become a sales person (Yechhh). You are doing the right thing asking what it is like in the GIS field, after all you would want to have a long, interesting and prosperous career in it wouldn't you? Best of luck and never regret any of your decisions!
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. - Isaac Newton 1676
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A number of us have done such work. I know Paul Selormey is working on GIS products and I spent too many years working on this [^]kind stuff. My advice is to not do Geography (that's too broad) but do something more specific such as geomorphology, hydrology or possibly something in the Environmental Sciences. Better yet, do mathematics (stats, numerical modelling), physics (fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics) and computing and then you'll be able to handle anything vaguely related to GIS work. My degree was in Maths and Physics and I was able to walk into a job in Hydrology with very little ramp up time. I ended up leaving the Environmental Sciences because there simply wasn't enough (well paying) work. Besides, all the work in Australia was about trying to stop salinity (which we can't - we can only slow it) or erosion (I think eroded gullies are far more interesting than non-eroded, so bad job choice), or rainfall (haven't seen much of that lately!). Plus the outdoor work was often done either in 2 feet of snow or in cow infested 40 degree heat paddocks. I definitely enjoyed my time there but it all felt so innefficient - especially the data collection. FWIW I was 27 when I left Science and went IT full time. It was a hell of a mid-life crisis ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
Chris Maunder wrote: working on this [^]kind stuff Wow - that's incredible! One thing that was also putting me off this choice is the fact that most of my friend's work is in Access X| - I have a lot more respect now! I don't think it's really her fault - the people in the area just can't afford licenses for anything better I don't think. Chris Maunder wrote: but do something more specific such as geomorphology, hydrology or possibly something in the Environmental Sciences. I was wondering about that - but I wonder if becoming specialized without any geographical experience wouldn't work against me while trying to get in? I was thinking of specializing after doing the undergrad degree if it works out. The maths advice sounds excellent - if only I were more talented in that area. Chris Maunder wrote: FWIW I was 27 when I left Science and went IT full time. It was a hell of a mid-life crisis It's good to know I'm not alone! Thanks for the advice :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
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Do any CPians have experience of writing Geographical Information Systems (GIS)? Is this a good area to get into? My reason for asking: I am considering a slow career change (over the next 3 years or so) from web development to GIS. For a couple of reasons: There are so many web developers these days - and the numbers just seem to be growing - the salaries are falling and it doesn't seem to be the most secure career path right now. :~ I have a friend at home who has her own GIS business. She is not only coining it, she is turning clients away due to a lack of time to help everyone in the area. I love the outdoors, and my dad (amongst various other things) is a qualified Geologist, so my knowledge and interest is not professional, but I do have some idea on the subject. My current studies (postgraduate computer science) are not actually doing anything for me in the work environment. I am not learning any radical new techniques beyond my work level. I am learning a new language - Java, but that's not really worth £900 every 4 months to me. If I did a Geography degree it would not only add to my general knowledge and be challenging, but I would gain another possible career choice, combining programming and an outdoor subject. I was wondering what your opinions are on this - especially if you have experience of GIS. Is my home area an odd find and elsewhere in the world GIS guys are struggling to get work as much as everyone else? On a scale of foolishness from 1 - 10 would I be scoring a 10 for considering this? Hmmm... I wonder if 27 is too young for a mid-life crisis :rolleyes: Thanks for any advice! :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
I don't know a thing about GIS, but I'd still recommend a change to you. My dad told me many eons ago that, while it made sense for a person to plan on having one career back when we could expect to live 40 years or less, that no longer applies. I plan to live 100 years; you can probably can count on more if you want to, and should plan on having several careers. Can you imagine anything so dreary as doing the same thing every day for the next 70 years or so? Chris' response makes good sense - read it closely. If I had a school within 100 miles, I'd be back studying in a flash; as it is, I've done rather a lot with self-study, just to avoid going mad (there are those who might debate whether I've been successful at that bit). As for mid-life crises, 27 is certainly not too young. I try to schedule one every ten years or so, just to keep in practice.:-D Nobody wants to read a diary by someone who has not seen the shadow of Bubba on the prison shower wall in front of them!
Paul Watson, on BLOGS and privacy - 1/16/2003 -
I don't know a thing about GIS, but I'd still recommend a change to you. My dad told me many eons ago that, while it made sense for a person to plan on having one career back when we could expect to live 40 years or less, that no longer applies. I plan to live 100 years; you can probably can count on more if you want to, and should plan on having several careers. Can you imagine anything so dreary as doing the same thing every day for the next 70 years or so? Chris' response makes good sense - read it closely. If I had a school within 100 miles, I'd be back studying in a flash; as it is, I've done rather a lot with self-study, just to avoid going mad (there are those who might debate whether I've been successful at that bit). As for mid-life crises, 27 is certainly not too young. I try to schedule one every ten years or so, just to keep in practice.:-D Nobody wants to read a diary by someone who has not seen the shadow of Bubba on the prison shower wall in front of them!
Paul Watson, on BLOGS and privacy - 1/16/2003Roger Wright wrote: Can you imagine anything so dreary as doing the same thing every day for the next 70 years or so? Too true! Unless perhaps you were one of those guys who make wildlife documentaries in the Serengeti :) (who knows - perhaps one day I'll have saved up the funding...) Roger Wright wrote: As for mid-life crises, 27 is certainly not too young. I try to schedule one every ten years or so, just to keep in practice :laugh: I'll keep that in mind - thanks! Seriously, good advice - thanks Roger :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
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Today I was looking at some code I wrote in 1992 a GIS package, as a homework project. You made me think, if I had actively sold it where would I be now? I got into software when I was about 27, many, many years ago, after getting a degree in Mech Eng. and I used to be a charterd engineer (MiMechE), and have never regretted it. My philosophy is as long as you are learning something then great, especially if you are doing something you enjoy, I would like to be a millionare, but money it not 100% my motivation, if I wanted to be rich I would have become a sales person (Yechhh). You are doing the right thing asking what it is like in the GIS field, after all you would want to have a long, interesting and prosperous career in it wouldn't you? Best of luck and never regret any of your decisions!
If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants. - Isaac Newton 1676
Ted Ferenc wrote: My philosophy is as long as you are learning something then great, especially if you are doing something you enjoy A sound philosopy for a fulfilled life! Ted Ferenc wrote: Best of luck and never regret any of your decisions! Thanks :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
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A number of us have done such work. I know Paul Selormey is working on GIS products and I spent too many years working on this [^]kind stuff. My advice is to not do Geography (that's too broad) but do something more specific such as geomorphology, hydrology or possibly something in the Environmental Sciences. Better yet, do mathematics (stats, numerical modelling), physics (fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics) and computing and then you'll be able to handle anything vaguely related to GIS work. My degree was in Maths and Physics and I was able to walk into a job in Hydrology with very little ramp up time. I ended up leaving the Environmental Sciences because there simply wasn't enough (well paying) work. Besides, all the work in Australia was about trying to stop salinity (which we can't - we can only slow it) or erosion (I think eroded gullies are far more interesting than non-eroded, so bad job choice), or rainfall (haven't seen much of that lately!). Plus the outdoor work was often done either in 2 feet of snow or in cow infested 40 degree heat paddocks. I definitely enjoyed my time there but it all felt so innefficient - especially the data collection. FWIW I was 27 when I left Science and went IT full time. It was a hell of a mid-life crisis ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
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DEM's roXor5. Oops - sorry, my script kiddy years came rushing back. We were working on a bunch of different models - grid, triangle, hexagonal and even one guy using ovals to simulate bushfires. The work in our department was mainly concentrating on using irregulary polygons based on contour levels so there was no lateral flow component to worry about. Once calculations had been done I'd convert from polygon to triangle in order to do some funky OpenGL shading. WAAAAY too much time spent on cool graphics, far too little time spent on analyzing results ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
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Do any CPians have experience of writing Geographical Information Systems (GIS)? Is this a good area to get into? My reason for asking: I am considering a slow career change (over the next 3 years or so) from web development to GIS. For a couple of reasons: There are so many web developers these days - and the numbers just seem to be growing - the salaries are falling and it doesn't seem to be the most secure career path right now. :~ I have a friend at home who has her own GIS business. She is not only coining it, she is turning clients away due to a lack of time to help everyone in the area. I love the outdoors, and my dad (amongst various other things) is a qualified Geologist, so my knowledge and interest is not professional, but I do have some idea on the subject. My current studies (postgraduate computer science) are not actually doing anything for me in the work environment. I am not learning any radical new techniques beyond my work level. I am learning a new language - Java, but that's not really worth £900 every 4 months to me. If I did a Geography degree it would not only add to my general knowledge and be challenging, but I would gain another possible career choice, combining programming and an outdoor subject. I was wondering what your opinions are on this - especially if you have experience of GIS. Is my home area an odd find and elsewhere in the world GIS guys are struggling to get work as much as everyone else? On a scale of foolishness from 1 - 10 would I be scoring a 10 for considering this? Hmmm... I wonder if 27 is too young for a mid-life crisis :rolleyes: Thanks for any advice! :)
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
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A number of us have done such work. I know Paul Selormey is working on GIS products and I spent too many years working on this [^]kind stuff. My advice is to not do Geography (that's too broad) but do something more specific such as geomorphology, hydrology or possibly something in the Environmental Sciences. Better yet, do mathematics (stats, numerical modelling), physics (fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics) and computing and then you'll be able to handle anything vaguely related to GIS work. My degree was in Maths and Physics and I was able to walk into a job in Hydrology with very little ramp up time. I ended up leaving the Environmental Sciences because there simply wasn't enough (well paying) work. Besides, all the work in Australia was about trying to stop salinity (which we can't - we can only slow it) or erosion (I think eroded gullies are far more interesting than non-eroded, so bad job choice), or rainfall (haven't seen much of that lately!). Plus the outdoor work was often done either in 2 feet of snow or in cow infested 40 degree heat paddocks. I definitely enjoyed my time there but it all felt so innefficient - especially the data collection. FWIW I was 27 when I left Science and went IT full time. It was a hell of a mid-life crisis ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
Chris Maunder wrote: Besides, all the work in Australia was about trying to stop salinity (which we can't - we can only slow it) What's the salinity problem :confused: ? Are the freshwater sources contaminated :~ ?
Angels banished from heaven have no choice but to become demons Cowboy Bebop
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A number of us have done such work. I know Paul Selormey is working on GIS products and I spent too many years working on this [^]kind stuff. My advice is to not do Geography (that's too broad) but do something more specific such as geomorphology, hydrology or possibly something in the Environmental Sciences. Better yet, do mathematics (stats, numerical modelling), physics (fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mechanics) and computing and then you'll be able to handle anything vaguely related to GIS work. My degree was in Maths and Physics and I was able to walk into a job in Hydrology with very little ramp up time. I ended up leaving the Environmental Sciences because there simply wasn't enough (well paying) work. Besides, all the work in Australia was about trying to stop salinity (which we can't - we can only slow it) or erosion (I think eroded gullies are far more interesting than non-eroded, so bad job choice), or rainfall (haven't seen much of that lately!). Plus the outdoor work was often done either in 2 feet of snow or in cow infested 40 degree heat paddocks. I definitely enjoyed my time there but it all felt so innefficient - especially the data collection. FWIW I was 27 when I left Science and went IT full time. It was a hell of a mid-life crisis ;) cheers, Chris Maunder
Yep me too, Maths and Physics are not a bad choice for future careers. I left uni and ended up working modelling explosions from the main steam pipes on certain sentative kinds of power stations that could result from eathquakes fracturing the pipes. Very interesting stuff. Lots of themodynamics, finite element and monte carlo analysis. Anyway ended I ended up in finance not long after that.
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SimonS wrote: There is quite a bit of work being done with SVG and GIS, so maybe that would be a good angle? Cool idea - I'll look into it, thanks :) SimonS wrote: Well, 26 isn't. Perhaps it hits programmers early :rolleyes:
A pack of geeks, pale and skinny, feeling a bit pumped and macho after a morning of strenuous mouse clicking and dragging, arriving en masse at the gym. They carefully reset the machines to the lowest settings, offer to spot for each other on the 5 lb dumbells, and rediscover the art of macrame while attempting to jump rope. -Roger Wright on my colleagues and I going to gym each day at lunch
Megan Forbes wrote: Perhaps it hits programmers early It stands to reason - what other industry has so much obsolescence ? Christian No offense, but I don't really want to encourage the creation of another VB developer. - Larry Antram 22 Oct 2002
C# will attract all comers, where VB is for IT Journalists and managers - Michael P Butler 05-12-2002
Again, you can screw up a C/C++ program just as easily as a VB program. OK, maybe not as easily, but it's certainly doable. - Jamie Nordmeyer - 15-Nov-2002