You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Self-Realization’ category.
I didn’t do resolutions this year like I did last year, but I do have a few professional goals I would like to accomplish this year.
Earn my GISP – I am only 3 points shy of being able to submit my application. I need to expand upon my professional contributions section. I am currently slated to lead a workshop on “Using GIS in Microstation” in June. That will help, and, by then another 6 months of my ASPRS and my CaGIS memberships will have passed by giving me a few more points. So hopefully, come the end of July, I’ll be able to submit my application!
Implement a solid GIS training program within FDOT – So, this goal might be overly ambitious for just 2010, but I have a vision where FDOT provides their own GIS training internally, instead of forking over $1000–1500/person for ESRI Certified training. Nothing against ESRI, I think they do a fantastic job, but when we aren’t allowed to travel, and have little budget for training even without travel, our options are limited. I’m currently working on an “Introduction to GIS” CBT module now. Hopefully, this will be completed by April 30th. Now, not all GIS training can (or should) be done via CBT, but at least this will put us a step in the right direction. It would be great if we could get some staff in each district trained to provide technical GIS training. The use is growing within the department, and its essential that people understand it, and know what they can do with it.
Get promoted – don’t most people have this on their radar? In reality though, I’ve been told time & time again, that in order to succeed in FDOT is to get supervisory experience. Easier said than done. There is however, a supervisory position open in our office. I’ve been working very hard towards preparing for the application and interview process for this position. I have been sitting down with the Director of Design to gain insight on how to interview at “the next level” as well as learning the difference between general office communication, and executive office communication. She has also helped me learn to market myself and communicate with confidence. In fact, I can’t wait to interview for this position. Most people get nervous at job interviews. Not me. Ok, well maybe I get a little bit nervous, after all, my professional future could be on the line, but generally, I am pretty comfortable when it comes to communicating with others. Interviewers are just people, and they’re there to get to know you. Most of the time its about who you are more than what you know anyway. The reason people interview you is not to find out your skills, they can determine that from your resume, but to find out who you are.
That said, I think 2010 is going to be an exciting year for me professionally. I feel like I’m finally going somewhere in my career. And I think the timing is great.
What a year. I am still in denial that Christmas is almost here, and in denial of the fact that my mother, her husband, and my grandmother will be staying with us over the holidays. So, what better way to avoid the inevitable than to write a post reflecting on what happened over the course of 2009?
January – probably my most important semester of grad school started. While it was my last, I think what I learned in the two classes I took (Advanced Remote Sensing and Advanced GIS) have had the most direct impact on my current job. I learned a ton about digital image processing which gave me a greater appreciation for our image services and aerial services section here at work. I also learned about GIS Planning and Management. I learned about the “business” behind GIS. Let’s face it; you can’t be a GIS Manager without solid knowledge of typical business processes. I started feeling nostalgic for undergrad business school. I loved it.
April – I learned how GIS was used “in case of emergency.” I was requested to provide GIS support for the State Emergency Operations Center here in Tallahassee during the Suwannee River floods. It’s been awhile since I’ve experienced a 12-hour day fly by so quickly. Not to mention, a 12-hr day on a Saturday. I loved the hustle and bustle of the SEOC during activation, and I’d help out again in a heartbeat. I also found out what a true “quick and dirty” GIS map looks like. Completely breaks every cartographic standard known to mankind, but, when you need a road closure map, and you needed it yesterday, you’ll learn to live with imperfection so long as the data is correct and your message gets across.
May – I graduated with a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science. It’s still weird to think I went above and beyond what typical higher education offers, but it was a fun journey. I had so much extra time since graduation I didn’t know what to do with myself, so I started to actually focus on my career versus having a job (and, I started this blog). I anxiously awaited the potential to take over my boss’s position, who was retiring in July.
June – I applied for my boss’s soon-to-be-vacant position. I also got myself a professional mentor, something that has been vital to where I am in my career now, versus where I was at this time last year. If you don’t have one, get one. Now. I mean it. In fact, get more than one. Seriously.
I also learned that you can be a positional leader, without being in a leadership position.
July – I started working on developing in-house GIS training for FDOT Surveying & Mapping Offices. This is something I am completely new at, but, I have been deemed the “GIS Expert” in our office. Therefore, I was a logical choice to work on this. Developing a training course is not as easy as you think. It can be very difficult to translate all this technical and industrial knowledge you have stored in your brain into plain language in order to convey it to people who have little to no idea as to what GIS is or what it can do.
I also learned that talking to people on the phone can be more worth my while than sending an email. I hate talking on the phone, but, I have since learned the value of it. Face to face communication is the best, but, many times the telephone trumps email.
August – I interview for my boss’s position. I get rejected for my boss’s position. My mentor gets my boss’s position. I am offered the opportunity to be mentored by my boss’s boss’s boss. You do the math. I am still in a good position here.
I also learned that sometimes you can fall flat on your face while running in a straight line on a flat surface. This is more literal than metaphorical, as I sprained my ankle horribly and ended up getting an MRI. However, I fully expect to experience what it’s like to fall flat on my face at work – as, it seems to be unavoidable in most cases. Hopefully, when (if?) that time comes, I can handle it with grace and humility, learn from it, and move on.
I also began to learn to have more confidence in myself – in a professional manner. I don’t suffer from low self-esteem at all, and I never have, but sometimes I can be unsure of myself. Fact of the matter is I don’t like to sound like an idiot. However, usually I am the only one who thinks I might sound like an idiot. Besides, who hasn’t sounded like an idiot at least once in their lifetime (sober)? I need to realize that, yes, I do know what I’m talking about, and yes I do have the authority to pass on the information I have. I’m not an 8th grader waiting to be called on. In fact, I’ve had 4 people in positions above me – all the way up to director level management – tell me this. Guess what will be on my New Year Resolutions list?
October – I am provided the opportunity to put some of my business management skills to work. I led the office managers and supervisors in a SWOT Analysis. I learned that there really are some great things going on in my office, and it gave me a great understanding on how all of the pieces of the puzzle that is DOT Surveying & Mapping fit together.
November – I learned that I too (yes, me), can get burnt out and stressed out, just like everyone else. I am not immune like I like to think I am. I do have limits.
December – I learned that I can learn a lot in one year. What did you learn?
I met with the Director of Design this week. She asked me a question that I was unprepared for: “Where do you see yourself in 20 years?”
If you had asked me this question 20 years ago, I would have told you I wanted to be a veterinarian.
While I know I do not intend to stay at my current level in my career, I never really thought about might occur if/when I move beyond middle management. Needless to say, I’ve been challenged about the direction I want my career to go.
So then I started to wonder if I didn’t have an answer because I was unsure of what I wanted to do, or if it was because I’ve never really grasped what I could do. Not that I don’t have every bit of confidence in my abilities (I know I’m good at what I do), I just don’t have the confidence to sell that to others. I’m too modest. I am unable to self-market.
Then, I thought about it some more. I thought about what type of jobs would be available someone with years of GIS experience, a business degree, and a master’s in geography. And, I’m not talking about production level work. I’m talking about management and director level work. I’m good at organizing things. I’m good at communication (except for when people ask me what I want to do in 20 years). I’m good with data. So where does that put me?
There are two people in the local GIS industry that I admire greatly. People that direct and run GIS programs throughout entire organizations. Their job is more about coordinating people and communicating processes and making sure things that need to get done get done (and get done right) than it is about pushing out maps and data analysis. The question I then ask myself is, “Could I do that job? Could I be that person?”
Absolutely I could.
So, I have my answer. Now, I just need to take the steps to get there.
just the GISt of it 