
"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 |
|
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