So, You Want to Be Employed? Some Advice for Graduate Students in Remote Sensing

Robert A. Ryerson, Ph.D., CMS, FASPRS,
President, Kim Geomatics Corporation

ABSTRACT

A number of things appear to be changing in the job market for graduate students with an interest in remote sensing. First, there are fewer academic or government research positions. Second, increasingly the new positions in the field tend to be in industry and NGOs, including organizations that do not consider remote sensing to be their primary focus. Third, there are increased expectations (hope?) that new graduates will have a basic skill set that will allow them to contribute immediately after being hired. Fourth, many companies have no idea how valuable a person with a Ph.D. or Master’s degree might be. Fifth, many recent graduates are considering the potential of becoming entrepreneurs.

This paper assesses the implications of the changes in the employment marketplace and outlines some of the knowledge, approaches, and basic skills that students would be wise to develop as they prepare themselves for careers in our wonderful, exciting field.

Index Terms: Employment advice, skills, entrepreneur

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