Recent grad? Employed?

also you earn $ when you coop

Good tips on getting into GIS and doing co-op. After a long stretch of being a computer geek I went back into school doing a one year GIS diploma with mandatory co-op. After an extended co-op term at the college I eventually got hired full-time at the local electrical utility as a GIS Developer. There are a lots of GIS Technician/Analyst positions all across BC and loads in Alberta.

edit: you said you didn't like gis…in my class, there were a few that definitely realized they didn't like gis after all and either dropped the program or pushed through and chose to do something else. it definitely is more computer-oriented than people first thought, but it is a huge industry that plays a part in a ton of sectors (civic, oil [HTML_REMOVED] gas, fisheries, utilities, mining, environmental, etc, etc).

job boards that might be of help:

http://canada.gogeomatics.net/frmHome.aspx
http://www.geomaticscanada.com/jobboard.cfm
http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/16.asp
http://www.wowjobs.ca
http://www.geographyjobs.ca/

I know everyone from bcit mech engineering everyone got an industry related job.

Yup, same in my class. Graduated in 06 and had a job lined up through BCIT contacts. Didn't like it so much so quit after 3 months or so, took a summer break while I found my next job. Hated the commute so found another one after 6 months or so, nice n close.
Apparently I'm making more then the average BC salary, although my company underpays.

As an aside, non-traditional GIS businesses are waking up to the benefits of geo-spatial analysis. Could be as simple as business intelligence presented in a geographical context… what I'm getting at is that GIS work could easily branch out into the 'real-world' quite easily in the near future.

I know everyone from bcit mech engineering everyone got an industry related job. gf's friend got a degree in art history and now worlds as a realtors assistant for minimum wage. Just depends on your degree and if you consider other parts of bc acceptable. Haven't graduated yet and already have a couple leads for next year, nothing close to certain, not much close to home either.

Yup, same in my class. Graduated in 06 and had a job lined up through BCIT contacts. Didn't like it so much so quit after 3 months or so, took a summer break while I found my next job. Hated the commute so found another one after 6 months or so, nice n close.
Apparently I'm making more then the average BC salary, although my company underpays.

What option did you guys take? I took CAD/CAM (Design Computing) back in the early 90's and then decided to go fishing for 6 or 7 years for some odd reason. I ended up working in technical sales after I realized fishing was too boom or bust in '99, but I have always been curious what kind of work people were getting since I took such a different route and lost touch with them all.

Sure. Petroleum Engineering, working for a big oil company in Houston/in the Gulf of Mexico.

involuntary shudder..

have fun in Houston :D

I know a good handful of people who couldn't get a real job with a BA in geography. Either went back for a Master's or second bachelor's.

All my friends who got a BA in Geography went the teaching route or changed to a different field.

Well, education is one thing, but you've got to work with the cards you've got so I would focus on how you're selling yourself.

Do you have a resume that's tailored for the job you're applying for, that is focused around the results you've delivered, and looks and reads great? Can you "give good interview"? I think that anyone looking for a job at any level should take a real serious look in the mirror (I had to do this myself relatively recently and learned a lot once I was able to be objective).

I've been doing some hiring this year for jobs that pay significantly more than the $30k you're looking for and it is absolutely astounding to me the quantity of drivel that has come across my desk. And as a man, I worry for our sex because at least on paper, we are getting seriously outclassed by women. In the interview, people still come in completely unprepared and are unable to sell themselves (and by sell, I don't mean car salesman type selling).

Kever, I don't know anything about you personally but people have been not getting jobs for a long time for the same old reasons. Even when the economy is against you and your qualifications aren't 100% matched up, there are opportunities for good people (I can attest, they are seriously hard to find…).

Graduating in a month with a BA in English. I'm doing part-time bike shop work to pay the bills reliably and part-time freelance writing/photography because I enjoy it. Planning to focus more on the creative side of my skillset upon graduation. Making less money than I was 10 years ago, but am infinitely happier in my life.

professional degrees ftw.

can't wait to get out of this fucking city

Well, education is one thing, but you've got to work with the cards you've got so I would focus on how you're selling yourself.

Do you have a resume that's tailored for the job you're applying for, that is focused around the results you've delivered, and looks and reads great? Can you "give good interview"? I think that anyone looking for a job at any level should take a real serious look in the mirror (I had to do this myself relatively recently and learned a lot once I was able to be objective).

I've been doing some hiring this year for jobs that pay significantly more than the $30k you're looking for and it is absolutely astounding to me the quantity of drivel that has come across my desk. And as a man, I worry for our sex because at least on paper, we are getting seriously outclassed by women. In the interview, people still come in completely unprepared and are unable to sell themselves (and by sell, I don't mean car salesman type selling).

Kever, I don't know anything about you personally but people have been not getting jobs for a long time for the same old reasons. Even when the economy is against you and your qualifications aren't 100% matched up, there are opportunities for good people (I can attest, they are seriously hard to find…).

You bring up some excellent points there. I've done months of resume tailoring and self reflection and I think I have a good "story" and resume layout. My resume is results based, succinct and easy to read. My cover letter is to the point and company specific. My dad, the CFO of a multinational engineering company, sees a lot of resumes and agrees that it is not the problem. I don't think my interview skills are a problem either, as I've only been rejected once after an interview.

Maybe the problem is who I'm marketing myself to. I've applied to and followed up with every major mining company in the Vancouver region, marketing myself as a recent grad who has just returned from a summer of mining exploration. No mining company wants to hire a geography grad without GIS experience. I've changed my focus now to forestry companies, but entry level positions are few and far between. I've never received a call back from any company I've applied to over workopolis and those types of websites. I'm going to continue to contact forestry companies, but all the no's are pretty frustrating. I wrote my undergrad thesis on a forestry related topic, maybe that will give me an edge.

Next I'm going to start looking into and applying for planning jobs. Maybe look into bc parks again and look around for municipal government work.

Sounds to me like you need to find yourself a referral, rather than cold-calling the hiring people.

You bring up some excellent points there. I've done months of resume tailoring and self reflection and I think I have a good "story" and resume layout. My resume is results based, succinct and easy to read. My cover letter is to the point and company specific. My dad, the CFO of a multinational engineering company, sees a lot of resumes and agrees that it is not the problem. I don't think my interview skills are a problem either, as I've only been rejected once after an interview.

Maybe the problem is who I'm marketing myself to. I've applied to and followed up with every major mining company in the Vancouver region, marketing myself as a recent grad who has just returned from a summer of mining exploration. No mining company wants to hire a geography grad without GIS experience. I've changed my focus now to forestry companies, but entry level positions are few and far between. I've never received a call back from any company I've applied to over workopolis and those types of websites. I'm going to continue to contact forestry companies, but all the no's are pretty frustrating. I wrote my undergrad thesis on a forestry related topic, maybe that will give me an edge.

Next I'm going to start looking into and applying for planning jobs. Maybe look into bc parks again and look around for municipal government work.

if you are willing to leave vancouver i can tell you for a fact that forestry firms will hire you… if you're willing to put in your dues in the bush. tons of work. opportunity for significant advancement might be limited without additional training ie: tech dipolma, GIS, degree…

they'll mostly care about field experience and survey experience. sounds like you've got that covered from mining…

not sure if this will help, but a guy i used to work with (geography/gis guy) quit and got on with the ministry of transportation full-time. they are (were?) doing a hiring blitz of relative newcomers to the workforce because a ton of folks are retiring soon. he drives all around the west kootenay region doing whatever he does and loves it. i think they are hiring all across bc, and i don't think direct experience was necessary.