Internship Blog #3
The GIS industry I am most interested in is Emergency Management.
I watched the interview with Richard Butgereit with FDEM and watched ArcGIS Solutions: Emergency Management from the 2023 UC Sessions.
The three important things from the interview is, first, how much work goes into Hurricane Season in the off season so we are prepared before the storms so we can deploy resources as soon as they’re needed with, hopefully, no issues.
Second is that not every place has a dedicated GIS department. Like, currently, where I am, they are a small rural area, with a small local team. So after the storm hit, the state sent an emergency management team so they can run the initial response which sometimes includes GIS personnel if the area doesn’t have any or enough.
Third, I think this interview was recorded in or near 2015. But he touched on getting paid vs volunteering. FDEM/FEMA has improved its system in the last few years and the requesting resources and getting them paid for has greatly improved. If the resource is not available locally or in the state, the state can request people from outside of the state. If you are deployed, you should be getting paid for it - don't go anywhere without a mission number!
The three things I found most interesting from the Session is that across the nation the cost, size, and frequency of incidents are increasing, and Emergency Management is having to support more types of incidents than they ever had before, for example, the Pandemic response. With all these factors increasing, being able to communicate efficiently and effectively has also become more complex with all the various forms of social media and communication avenues. Being able to keep a consistent message and information across all communication platforms has been a challenge.
Unfortunately my internship plans changed and I have had to switch to my backup plan of ESRI classes and prior hours.
My approach to my
LinkedIn was to try to cover the basics of everything that I am qualified in. Only highlighting one aspect of my qualifications would not represent my career goals well. The career I am going for requires various skills in GIS, IT, and Emergency Services.
