Paul Walsh
Receiving a first-class honours in Geography for undergraduate course with second highest marks for the year.
Skills conversion grant for postgraduate studies. Snooker Club.
Felt much more connected to everyone in the college, great support network.
Critical thinking. Geography labs for my undergraduate course were amazingly valuable to future skills requirements.
Be open to many different career paths at the end. Too many see geography as just a path to teaching.
I started working as an intern with Ordnance Survey Ireland where I gained experience working in the historical mapping section. Post-graduation I started with Compass Informatics where I gained experience working on maps and websites for local authorities and national bodies such as the National Biodiversity Centre. With Compass I started a long term secondment with initially the Department of Agriculture, then the Office of Public Works where I provided GIS support for the Coastal Protection portfolio. In this role I gained experience in flood and erosion mapping and modelling, and gained expertise in Lidar and Bathymetry data. After my role finished I worked with Fehily Timoney , primarily on GIS support for wind farm projects but also the Jeddah Master Plan for Saudi Arabia. After almost two tears I moved to Jacobs Engineering as a Senior GIS Analyst. I was the only person in the team when I started but over the years have built up Jacobs Ireland geospatial capabilities and have a team of 15. I have led the GIS components of some of the largest infrastructure projects in Ireland and I am currently the Digital Manager for the Busconnects Dublin range of projects. As an aside. I have also produced maps for fantasy books, provided geographic sense checking for novels and was official cartographer for Worldcon when held in Dublin.
Achieving chartership with the Royal Geographic Society
I lead a team of 15 GIS professionals in Ireland and am on the leadership team for the wider European team. My role covers the resourcing, scoping , quality management and delivery of the GIS scope for large infrastructure projects. This includes mapping to support Environmantal Impact Assessments and other planning reports, web sites with interactive mapping tools , survey applications and support, and interactive tools for oral hearing procedures
The geospatial industry is constantly evolving with new technologies and approaches. Keeping up to speed is definitely challenging but keeps the role and work very interesting.
Job advertisement
Pick the job that will help you develop into the career you want, not the one that offers a quick buck. I have interviewed many GIS Analysts over the years who took the first offer , and three to five years later their skills haven't improved and they are still on entry level wages. Look for the roles that will commit to your development and career.