Geog 620 Students:

At this point, you're wrapping up your first course in GIS, and you may be
thinking "Where do I go from here?"  If the advanced course is offered, 
that's an obvious choice.  Here are some other suggestions:

I. Jobs in GIS
   One idea is to get a job putting your skills to work.  In spite of the
current dismal employment climate, there are a smattering of opportunities.
Keep an eye out for job postings in the GIS lab.  Perhaps the most frequent
way people move into jobs is by hearing about them from other students.
Pacific Meridian in Emeryville is always seeming to need students for
digitizing and other jobs.  

Check the jobs/internships pages.

   Temporary job opportunities also come up via GIS Center projects. 
These tend to allow flexible work arrangements but often involve the need
to dedicate a lot of time at relatively short notice.  Many of these
projects are quite interesting and challenging; I try to make sure that
the projects involve a signicant educational component.  If you are
interested in being considered for such projects, you should list your
name and phone number with the GIS lab -- we keep a list of people who
might be interested, but many get jobs or other responsibilities in the
mean time, so don't hesitate to add your name. 

One such GIS Center project that is likely for spring will be to automate maps
for Open Space groups we're talking to.  Nothing firm yet, but it looks
likely.


II. Internships
   Internships can be paid or unpaid.  The current state budget has impacted
many of the paid (and unpaid) ones, but these do appear from time to time.
Roger Crawford usually handles these, so you should contact him if you're
interested.  One advantage of internships is you can get credit.


III. Independent Study
   A good way to learn more about GIS is by taking one or more Independent
Study courses, numbered 699 (undergraduate) or 899 (graduate).  If there
is no Advanced GIS course offered (odd years), you might consider one of a
range of one-unit 699/899's on specific topics that would be covered in
that course.  No lecture is associated with these courses; instead you
will learn the methods through handout materials, exercises, and manuals. 
Some of the topics available are: 

1. AML Programming

2. Network Analysis

3. Surface Modeling with TIN

4. Using Arc/Info GRID (raster) -- very independent:  no current exercises or
handouts, only the manuals are available

5. Using the GPS Receiver

6. Creating Symbol Sets in Arc/Info (also very independent)

7. Using the Annotation system in Arcedit and Arcplot

8. Using imagery with Arc/Info (you should have taken Geog 610 and at least
be concurrently enrolled in Geog 611)

9. Processing USGS data -- DLG's and DEM's


IV. GIS Education Methods:  699/899 or Internship
   One way you can learn about educational methods and help us out at the same
time would be to help us update the exercises you've been using in 620.  The
current exercises have a few bugs remaining from our previous conversion from
a non-Unix platform to the RS/6000, and the new version of Arc/Info is quite
a move from the version you've been using.  Going over the exercises with an
eye towards improving what they teach, and updating them at the same time to
work in the new system, would provide you with valuable insights including a
review of what you've learned and exposure to the new system.


Give these ideas some thought.  If you're thinking about one or another of
the 699/899/internships for spring, let me know before the current
semester ends. You can sign up for these during the first days of Fall
Semester, but it would help me if I knew who might be interested, and we
can only handle a limited number of students for each of the option so get
your requests in early. 

Jerry