Wednesday, August 5, 2009
James?...is that you?
Wow...a post. Yeah, so my idea didn't last too long. Anyway, I thought I'd post a link to a blog that actually has a caring owner...
Great blog...updated all the time.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Welcome!
Welcome to 'GIS Tips from James'. My name (surprise surprise!) is James Booth. I have been a GIS/Cartographic professional for about five years now. I attended the University of Waterloo (www.fes.uwaterloo.ca) where I obtained a Bachelor of Environmental Studies. Beyond my studies at Waterloo I gained some valuable experience in the work force through a world renowned co-op program (http://www.cecs.uwaterloo.ca/students/prospective). It was through these work placements that I garnished my desire to focus my career in GIS. I graduated from Waterloo in the spring of 2002.
University was great, and so were my co-operative education employers. However, the experiences I gained through university, while providing me with a solid foundation in GIS and cartography, didn't completely provide all of the 'hands on' or technical training that I felt I needed to give me an edge on other candidates for future jobs. After researching various possibilities for furthering my understanding and qualifications in GIS, I decided to dedicate one more year to the academic field by attending Sir Sandford Fleming College (http://www.geomaticsatfleming.ca). Here, I obtained a GIS-Cartographic Specialist 12 month post-graduate diploma. My experience at Fleming was phenomenal. The professors were excellent mentors and passionate about the subject matter. The student body was a close-knit group, and we constantly worked together, providing each other with feedback and advice for the various projects that were assigned throughout the school year . The computer facilities were fantastic and the program content was intense and highly focused. My year at Sir Sanford was both challenging and elightening, and I highly recommend this reputable school and program to anyone interested in enhancing their GIS skills.
I graduated from Fleming in the fall of 2003.....and the job search was on! I was newly married, and my wife (also a recent college graduate) had found a position teaching for the Durham District School Board, so I focused my search for employment in and around the Greater Toronto Area. With my academic credentials and workplace experience gained from co-op, I found employment very quickly, and began my career at the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority as a Geomatics Technician/Analyst. I worked there from 2003 until mid-July of 2006. I am currently employed as a GIS Mapping & Graphics Technician in the Planning Department for the Regional Municipality of Durham. Through my work experiences, I have gained a great deal of skill and know-how in the GIS field, and continue to be passionate about my work.
So what is this website all about then? Well, I've been thinking for awhile now that I want to be involved in utilizing my GIS knowledge outside of the constraints of my normal workplace routine, while providing and extending my abilities to those interested in improving their own practical knowledge of GIS. Essentailly, I want to do something more than I already am for the GIS community. I feel that I have grasped enough knowledge and solved enough GIS problems through my educational and work experiences to help others in this field. I decided that what better way to share my ideas/experiences in GIS than through the internet? Today is day one! Over time, using this blog as my medium, I hope that I can share useful tips with you that will help you solve your technical problems in GIS, and hopefully I can learn something new from you as well! Although I have experience working with various GIS software packages, I will be mostly concentrating on sharing my expertise with ArcGIS and ArcMap. Since I also have cartographic training, I may at times share my knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, which is an excellent graphic design tool for completeing a well designed, aesthetically pleasing map product.
One can always learn more from the experiences of others, and hopefully this blog will be mutually beneficial for everyone who accesses it, including myself. I'm sure there are many tips and pointers that I would find useful and interesting from those with even more experience than I have obtained in this field. If you have any suggestions or comments about the site, please let me know. This site is a work in progress, and will be constantly updated and changed, but I have a goal in mind to make it a premier site (not over night!!) wherein all GIS users can share their achievements, ideas, and even their grief! Thanks for visiting 'GIS Tips', and come back again soon!
University was great, and so were my co-operative education employers. However, the experiences I gained through university, while providing me with a solid foundation in GIS and cartography, didn't completely provide all of the 'hands on' or technical training that I felt I needed to give me an edge on other candidates for future jobs. After researching various possibilities for furthering my understanding and qualifications in GIS, I decided to dedicate one more year to the academic field by attending Sir Sandford Fleming College (http://www.geomaticsatfleming.ca). Here, I obtained a GIS-Cartographic Specialist 12 month post-graduate diploma. My experience at Fleming was phenomenal. The professors were excellent mentors and passionate about the subject matter. The student body was a close-knit group, and we constantly worked together, providing each other with feedback and advice for the various projects that were assigned throughout the school year . The computer facilities were fantastic and the program content was intense and highly focused. My year at Sir Sanford was both challenging and elightening, and I highly recommend this reputable school and program to anyone interested in enhancing their GIS skills.
I graduated from Fleming in the fall of 2003.....and the job search was on! I was newly married, and my wife (also a recent college graduate) had found a position teaching for the Durham District School Board, so I focused my search for employment in and around the Greater Toronto Area. With my academic credentials and workplace experience gained from co-op, I found employment very quickly, and began my career at the Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority as a Geomatics Technician/Analyst. I worked there from 2003 until mid-July of 2006. I am currently employed as a GIS Mapping & Graphics Technician in the Planning Department for the Regional Municipality of Durham. Through my work experiences, I have gained a great deal of skill and know-how in the GIS field, and continue to be passionate about my work.
So what is this website all about then? Well, I've been thinking for awhile now that I want to be involved in utilizing my GIS knowledge outside of the constraints of my normal workplace routine, while providing and extending my abilities to those interested in improving their own practical knowledge of GIS. Essentailly, I want to do something more than I already am for the GIS community. I feel that I have grasped enough knowledge and solved enough GIS problems through my educational and work experiences to help others in this field. I decided that what better way to share my ideas/experiences in GIS than through the internet? Today is day one! Over time, using this blog as my medium, I hope that I can share useful tips with you that will help you solve your technical problems in GIS, and hopefully I can learn something new from you as well! Although I have experience working with various GIS software packages, I will be mostly concentrating on sharing my expertise with ArcGIS and ArcMap. Since I also have cartographic training, I may at times share my knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, which is an excellent graphic design tool for completeing a well designed, aesthetically pleasing map product.
One can always learn more from the experiences of others, and hopefully this blog will be mutually beneficial for everyone who accesses it, including myself. I'm sure there are many tips and pointers that I would find useful and interesting from those with even more experience than I have obtained in this field. If you have any suggestions or comments about the site, please let me know. This site is a work in progress, and will be constantly updated and changed, but I have a goal in mind to make it a premier site (not over night!!) wherein all GIS users can share their achievements, ideas, and even their grief! Thanks for visiting 'GIS Tips', and come back again soon!
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