Have you done a postdoc? If not, do one and while in that capacity, take a GIS course at the school, assuming its at a school. Alternatively, take the ESRI courses, they are very basic, but if you have a brain you can easily expand from those beginnings.
Some say just buy a book and learn it. I'm not convinced that ArcView/ArcGIS is something you just sit down and learn. The number of extensions and such are so vast and the programming possibilities are even more so. In fact, most of us use regularly only a small part of the GIS capacity that relates to our specific area of research. The basics can be learned with a tutor in about half an hour. The power of GIS, however, takes a lot longer to master. I have taught undergrad/grad courses in GIS many times, and have used it quite a bit. Malcolm McCallum On Mon, Jan 2, 2012 at 6:13 PM, Christi Yoder <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi everyone! I have a question regarding GIS training. I got my PhD in > 2006 and until May 2011 was employed as a researcher when the position > funding ran out. Since then, I have been unable to find a job, partially > because of my specialized experience. It seems that many job postings > these days require some level of GIS competency. Although I have had a > week-long introductory course in GIS and have collaborated with GIS > specialists in my research, I don't have the necessary skills. I have an > opportunity to obtain a scholarship for a GIS certificate program that > includes learning to use GIS, classes in spatial analysis and remote > sensing, and database management. I'd like to hear from professionals as > to whether this would enhance my chances of getting a job in the wildlife > field. Just to give an idea, my Masters in is Wildlife Biology and my PhD > is in reproductive physiology. I would greatly appreciate any input! > Cheers, > Christi -- Malcolm L. McCallum Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry School of Biological Sciences University of Missouri at Kansas City Managing Editor, Herpetological Conservation and Biology "Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" - Allan Nation 1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert 1990's: Many fish stocks depleted due to overfishing, habitat loss, and pollution. 2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction MAY help restore populations. 2022: Soylent Green is People! The Seven Blunders of the World (Mohandas Gandhi) Wealth w/o work Pleasure w/o conscience Knowledge w/o character Commerce w/o morality Science w/o humanity Worship w/o sacrifice Politics w/o principle Confidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message.
