Teach yourself GIS for FREE

Do you want to get involved in GIS, but can not afford to attend the very expensive degree, diploma or corporate software training programs? You can use the massive amount of free information on the internet to kick start your training for FREE.

I would definitely recommend any aspired GIS professionals to try and obtain a formal GIS qualification via the various degree, diploma, certificate programs in the long run, but you can learn quit a bit from the free online resources without spending large amounts of money.

I spent a hour or so searching the internet for free GIS related resources and came up with the following:

Introduction to GIS
http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/maps/gis/tutorials.html


ESRI Software This is the most widely used GIS software in SA and the world. The software is very expensive, but you can download a two month trial for free. It will be very good to have some exposure to this software though. They have free as well as paid for training courses.

• Training - http://training.esri.com/gateway/index.cfm?fa=search.results&cannedsearch=2
• Software trail - http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgis-for-desktop/free-trial
• Support - http://support.esri.com/en/
• Forum - http://forums.arcgis.com/

QGIS Software
This is free & opensourse software, so you can download and use it for training or professional work.

• Software - http://www.qgis.co.za/en/site/
• Training - http://www.qgis.co.za/en/docs/index.html

Do an internet search for "opensource GIS software" and you will find many more options.

Learn GIS for free
Here are two links that could assist in finding free GIS courses:

• http://www.gislounge.com/learn-gis-for-free/
• http://freegiscenter.blogspot.com/2010/05/free-gis-tutorials-exercises.html

Data
Here you can find free data to use whilst training/learning or even for professional commercial work:

• Collect at your nearest NGI office - http://www.ngi.gov.za/
• Free online data - http://www.geocomm.com/

Apart from the few links I posted here, there is a large amount of free resources available on the internet and there is no reason why you should not be able to teach you quite a bit about the subject/software/data without having to pay for anything.

Good luck!

Career Advice

The geospatial industry operates in a wide market and it can be daunting to decide in exactly what industry sector you would like to pursue a geospatial career.  This decision can even be more overwhelming if you are just qualified or have changed careers and are starting your search for employment within the GIS industry.

 

In order to provide sound career advice, we have listed here below quick links from our earlier blogs which broadly cover the more commonly-asked questions.

 

Free online GIS Courses - Ideal for those wanting to up-skill themselves or just exploring their options.  Although we certainly do recommend that those serious about their profession try to obtain a formal qualification, it is possible to teach yourself GIS for free to kickstart your training.

Once you've got that qualification behind you and you are now ready to enter the job market, there are some really important points to consider before you apply for that desired position.  Remember that you want to sell yourself to a potential employer, and a well-written cv can do that for you, so take the time to draft up a good cv.  We just cannot stress how important it is to spend time on your cv and here we've written numerous blogs on this.  Free-cv-templates is a good starting point.  Don't forget the importance of a cover letter - please pay special attention to spelling and grammar.  Ask a family member for honest feedback - this is not the time to be offended.

Our blog Tips and Advice contains a wealth of valuable links - a must read for all newcomers into the job market.

And then when you've spent hours drafting your cv, you only have 8.8 seconds to impress a prospective employer.  It's not fair we know, but preparation is the key here, so go back and relook that cv! 

Before you think you're all set to go have a look at these blogs :

• 5 ways job seekers blow it may be humorous, but very applicable!
• Seven key questions to ask yourself before applying for a job contains very pertinent questions - a must read!

The next big step, of course is the interview, and this is where you will finally be given the opportunity to sell yourself face-to-face.  Randeep Hooda once said "knowledge is power.  You can't begin a career, or for that matter even a relationship, unless you know everything there is to know about it" - therefore be prepared and do your homework.  If you are new to the job market enlist the help of your family - let them ask you potential GIS interview questions.

It's unrealistic to expect to land your dream job at your first interview - use it as a learning curve to see how to improve your interview skills see how you can improve your geospatial employment prospects

During your job search you may come across that ideal job in another town, but please think very carefully before submitting your application.  Talk about it with your loved ones, we've had numerous situations where candidates have been given a firm offer of employment for them to suddenly back-track, all because they didn't think it through.

And lastly, even looking for an internship can be daunting if you don't know where and how to find internships

If we haven't covered your query here, please do make contact with us - we'd love to be of assistance.