MapPros! Careers in Geospatial Technologies

Richard White

"There is a lot of potential for data misuse in GIS; it's very important to know where the data we work with comes from, what it was originally designed for, and what its limitations are."

"I’m using my degree in mathematics more frequently than I would have guessed while in college. Mathematics is a wonderful background for software engineering as well as for understanding the spatial logic behind GIS."

"While working for software development companies, I’m the GIS guy. When working for GIS companies, I’m the programmer. I love that."

"GIS is still seen as a "new technology". My professional goal is to be in a meeting where GIS comes up and is not mentioned as a "new technology"."

Software Developer - Richard W. White

Field: GIS Software Engineer
Job Title: Senior GIS Developer
Place of Employment: Environmental Data Resources, Inc., Milford, Connecticut

What is your current job and what does it entail?

I am the Senior GIS Developer at Environmental Data Resources, Inc. in Milford, Connecticut. I’m primarily responsible for designing and developing GIS technologies to store and search for environmental hazards. EDR has been in this business for more than 12-years and is the leader in this field. I was hired to help move EDR away from some older GIS systems into more modern technologies and to provide a more professional software engineering approach to our internal systems.

In your day-to-day activities, who are the people that you interact with regularly?

Internally, I work with other software and database engineers and the rest of the GIS team. I also work with the sales and marketing departments on future projects and products. Occasionally I get to work with EDR’s clients on their more difficult GIS issues. Externally, I work with a variety of GIS technology and data providers and other IT vendors.

For your position, what skills do you need in geospatial technologies?

Basically, I see myself as a software engineer who has focused on GIS. The processes behind any GIS application are computationally complex and a lot of thought has to go into the design of GIS applications or you can get your results very slowly. In the insurance industry, the standard was"sub-second" response time; the results need to come back in less than a second. In GIS, we joke about achieving "conversational" response time; the results need to come back as quickly as you can ask the question."Show me all of the toxic spills that have occurred within one-mile of the Hudson River in Westchester County, NY", can be a very long conversation. I use any and all of my mathematics and software engineering skills to ensure this happens quickly.

Another set of skills I think is very important, but sometimes elusive, is historic knowledge of where U.S. base data comes from and how the U.S. Postal Service processes addresses. There is a lot of potential for data misuse in GIS; it’s very important to know where the data we work with comes from, what it was originally designed for, and what its limitations are. I’m not sure this is being adequately taught in Geography and GIS academic programs, it’s definitely not something software engineers learn or are exposed to.

For your position, what skills outside of geospatial technologies are required?

I’m using my degree in mathematics more frequently than I would have guessed while in college. Mathematics is a wonderful background for software engineering as well as for understanding the spatial logic behind GIS.

It amazes me to talk to recent college graduates in geography, urban planning, or GIS who have never taken a programming or database class. To me, these are the necessary basis of all geospatial technologies.

When I’m looking to hire a new GIS specialist, I have to choose between hiring a geographer and teaching him software engineering or hiring a software engineer and teaching him GIS. I normally lean towards the software engineer, but I’d love to meet someone with a solid background in geography / cartography / GIS with a minor in software engineering.

Everyone always advises "good communications skills". Personally, I don’t care if you can speak, write, or spell (my spell checker corrects mathematics, every time I type the word). What is essential is documenting your work: database schemas, flowcharts of complicated processes, commenting your code. If you document your work so that a peer can understand and follow what you are trying to do, then you have"great communications skills."

What was the key factor in your career decision?

In college, my only geospatial course work was an aerial photography class. The professor asked a group of us what we wanted to do with our education. I offered that I wanted to focus on GIS and provide a resource for GIS data and software development to projects that could use GIS. I mentioned the IT or DBA professional as a model; I wanted to be a GIS professional. He scoffed and advised the class to focus on forestry or urban planning or any other field and simply learn GIS as a tool. I ignored his advice and have been extremely happy and successful focusing on GIS.

What do you like most about your career?

I love the variety. I have been working in my career for over 12-years. I spent a few years after college working for a hydrologist and state GIS center. I spent two wonderful years with ESRI Boston as a GIS consultant on dozens of projects, from huge telecommunications applications to smaller municipal tax mapping projects. I spent a few years working for a consulting company for the insurance industry. I lived in the thick of things in Silicon Valley, working for a very successful start-up writing risk models for the insurance industry. Now, I’m working on environmental database development and applications to develop environmental hazard reports.

While working for software development companies, I’m the GIS guy. When working for GIS companies, I’m the programmer. I love that.

What do you like least about your career?

GIS is still seen as a "new technology". My professional goal is to be in a meeting where GIS comes up and is not mentioned as a"new technology".

Frequently, I’m asked to keep the GIS very simple, because of a perceived perception that GIS is difficult and the training issues are too great. I hate this aspect of my job. An example: longitude and latitude coordinates in the United States always have a negative longitude. I am frequently asked to allow the user to type in a positive number for longitude and simply change it to negative. This drives me nuts. Let’s remind users what they were probably taught in grade school, that longitude in the U.S. has a negative value.

What do you do to relax?

Since the birth of my daughter, I really love taking her for long walks in the woods behind our house (that’s where I think about programming the next great thing).

Who are your heroes/heroines?

Professionally that’s easy: Fay Rubin at New Hampshire GRANIT and Bill Suchland at Risk Management Solutions, Inc. Fay helped me start my career in GIS and I am very proud to have worked and learned from one of the early adopters of this technology. Since the birth of my daughter, I’ve been thinking a lot about Bill. When I worked for Bill at RMS, I saw how well he managed his family life and work; it’s a skill that I’m starting to learn.

What advice would you give a high school student who expressed an interest in pursuing a career in your field?

Math would be the easy answer to this question; keep going if you’re interested, don’t give up if you’re not. Work on a project, any project, with one of the desktop GIS applications; tie it into a social studies class or biology class. When I was in school, I loved projects and still do.

Are career opportunities in your field increasing or decreasing and why?

I used to say increasing and I believe that in the long-term GIS is a growth industry. Right now, things are a little sluggish. GIS in telecommunications was really driving the cutting edge of GIS in the 1990s, that seems to be on hold right now.

E-mail: My personal email address is richard@waldengeographic.com.

Salary Range: I am well compensated based on my unique combination of software engineering, database design, and GIS experience.

Degree Major Institution

B.S.

Interdisciplinary Mathematics and Physics

University of New Hampshire