👨💻 Today marks the end of my GIS Analyst and Data Entry/Mapping Technician internship at MTSU's Fullerton Laboratory. Very bittersweet feeling as I depart amidst a ruthlessly challenging project in-progress since January. On a more personal note, I will greatly miss the Geosciences faculty I've befriended. So much has come of this thrice-extended internship and I am beyond grateful. Let's do a skill run-down from my 1,200+ hours in this lab: 📊 Worked in ArcGIS Pro 2.7 to 3.3, predominantly with Point Data but occasionally Raster too. 🖼 Lots of scanning and large-batch PDF management, from survey site photos to the survey forms themselves. 📶 Entry of survey records via Survey123; processing Survey123 data from a hopper CSV to the final, individualized projects added to a much larger geodatabase. 🗃 Data Governance, QC and QA has been vital to straightening up so many survey projects. I learned I'm pretty good at it! 🗺 I had to learn efficient georeferencing of tax maps and USGS topos; one project needed over 70 georefs! 🏠 Attuned survey points to the correct LAT/LON sites, addresses, etc. using a mix of Google Maps, Google StreetView, USGS Historic Topos, etc. 📑 Fundamentals of Adobe Acrobat, Data Dictionary management, and ModelBuilder or Python script modification. 💺 Ground Penetrating Radar basics, including operation and analysis (see my last post). 🎀 Appending feature classes to geodatabases, running Schema Changes, and (actively) Modifying Workflows for that fancy new Attachments feature. 📚 Resourcefulness! I've used Esri Help forums, LinkedIn, Esri Tool Reference, YouTube tutorials, tech blog articles, coworker brains, and even the TNGIC 2024 Conference to improve my skillset and our lab's output. 😺 Professional communication and thoroughness has been pivotal when life happens, when ArcPro happens, and for everything in-between. With all I have learned the past fifteen months, I feel a renewed sense of confidence and joie de vivre for joining the Geospatial industry. Unsure what comes next; the job hunt has been unyielding for recent grads like me. I hope to acquire a position soon to grow even further. 💼 Image: THC Public Viewer result for McMinn County, TN, returning 1,107 results. Approximately 1,000 of these records were entered, geolocated, scanned, and/or otherwise modified by me!
Congratulations Preston… Best wishes for many prosperous years ahead in your career…
Fady Habib, MS
2mo
Wow! What an achievement! 🎉🤍
Professor at Geosciences Dept., Middle Tennessee State University
2moGlad to learn that you accomplished so much!