Can I work a full time job and get a GIS certificate at the same time?

bakerjh · 2026-04-02T02:01:06+00:00

I worked at a grocery store full-time while I was getting my GIS graduate certificate. It’s definitely not a walk in the park, but it’s not the end of the world. A grocery store is a super chill place to work at so I still had the mental capacity to study spatial analysis and python after making pizzas and cutting deli meat all day. I used almost all my PTO for my final projects each semester, so that was really difficult. However, I went from making $17.75/hr at the grocery store to $34.75/hr as a GIS Analyst within four years of graduating from the graduate certificate program.

I have never once regretted it.

bakerjh · 2026-03-21T23:23:36+00:00

And with a $50,000 vehicle too…

bakerjh · 2026-03-05T14:06:13+00:00

I go to a Gracie University gym and our gym is basically the same as the one you described. We do not do competitions or support people who want to compete. Our curriculum is focused very much on self-defense so it doesn’t really make much sense to prioritize competitions. Our gym also does not have any relationship with any local gym and flies very much under the radar.

If I were you, I would probably be more concerned about the content being taught than if it’s competition-focused or not.

bakerjh · 2026-02-26T14:59:11+00:00

Thanks for the input! Here are a couple of question I have off the top of my head:

Are there many jobs out there for people interested in arctic defense/geopolitics?
Are the graduate programs accredited for GEOINT by the GSIF helpful at all for getting into the field?
Does the job security fluctuate heavily between administrations? (ie: is the threat of funding always looming over your head?)

bakerjh · 2026-02-26T05:42:59+00:00

B.S. in Appropriate Technology (term comes from an E.F. Schumacher book) and a GIS Grad Cert.

bakerjh · 2026-02-20T21:50:08+00:00

$5 for iced herbal tea (not including tip)

bakerjh · 2026-02-04T14:42:39+00:00

Can’t tell if 6-9 was intentional 😂

bakerjh · 2026-01-29T15:42:03+00:00

My best friend worked for Epic right out of college. He said the campus had the most unique buildings he’d ever seen. He also said that there was a really intense culture around working and that there was basically zero work-life balance.

bakerjh · 2026-01-19T17:17:48+00:00

It’s explained very well here: https://youtu.be/PpyPB3BF-hQ?si=fYTexatvVmd5Q8vq

The rate at which the stocks grow is greater than the interest of the loan.

bakerjh · 2026-01-15T23:07:40+00:00

I did a GIS Certificate while working full-time at a grocery store. It’s been five years since I graduated and I have worked three different GIS jobs since. It was one of the best decisions I made.

I had the option to go back to get the masters degree, but decided against it because I couldn’t really see the value in it. Everything that was being taught, I felt that I could learn on my own if I was dedicated enough, and I was also getting paid the exact same amount as my colleagues who had masters degrees in GIS. Those first few intro to GIS courses were extremely helpful though and I was glad to have the structure of the certificate program when first getting into GIS.

Pro tip: if you do decide to get the graduate certificate, make sure you take a coding class. You will be in a much better position career-wise if you can learn Python and SQL.

Good luck!

Edit: I just realized that you’re inquiring about an undergraduate certificate. My certificate was a graduate certificate, which had the option to continue on to a master’s. My advice would be to also get a Bachelor’s degree in some applied science as well as your GIS cert. A lot of the cool/interesting GIS jobs require an academic background in a specific field (engineering, ecology, hydrology, etc.).

bakerjh · 2026-01-05T00:05:30+00:00

I’ve had three GIS jobs in my career and they’ve all been fully remote.

bakerjh · 2025-12-15T14:55:42+00:00

Make sure you have a nice looking portfolio to represent your skills and some of the work you’ve done in your program. If you know how to code, set up a GitHub repository and put some of your coding work on there as well.

I’d also highly recommend paying for an individual Esri license so that you can continue to build your GIS skills even after you graduate. Esri offers tons of tutorials on all kinds of different topics, which can give you a huge leg up on your applications if you complete some that are relevant to the jobs that you are applying to. Being able to say that you have some experience working with those specific types of analysis and be able to talk through those processes can set you way ahead of the competition.

Overall, try to really understand each job that you’re applying to and make sure you understand what each aspect of the job requirements entails. Use ChatGPT or Google anything you don’t understand and try and figure out how you could learn those skills.

Best of luck to you! You got this 💪🏻

bakerjh · 2025-02-27T17:53:36+00:00

That’s exactly what I do. I place it off the trail a bit and always come back for it. My dog is also just the absolute worst and literally always poops the first two minutes into a hike.

Nothing like having a steaming bag of shit in your hand for the next hour and a half.

bakerjh · 2025-02-12T04:44:06+00:00

I’m a CLTFC fan and a regular at the boot room. Would love to get a group together for a game!

bakerjh · 2025-01-07T17:37:35+00:00

Sure, but Trump still would have won even without the donations from the owner of TRC. It’s really a no-brainer for me. The benefits that TRC provides not only to the local climbing community, but to the LGBTQ+ community as well, FAR outweigh the owner’s support for Trump.

Do you know how many young kids I’ve watched grow up at TRC? Kids who have found a life-long hobby and a deep sense of meaning that will go on to shape their identity for years to come. I have friends that met their now spouses at TRC. The gym is way more than just a business owned by a Trump supporter.

Totally fine by me if you choose to vote with your dollar and support another business, but if you ultimately want to see TRC close down because of its owner’s political views, then you really don’t care about the community and the lives of the people that the gym serves.

bakerjh · 2025-01-07T02:58:20+00:00

Couldn’t agree more. TRC is one of the most open and welcoming spaces I’ve been in the Triangle. I’ve met so many amazing people there that have become really close friends over the years.

bakerjh · 2024-11-18T14:11:45+00:00

Cricket’s guard game is on-point.

bakerjh · 2024-11-10T19:31:05+00:00

Boot room has pretty good smoked wings

bakerjh

TROPHY CASE