Well, it’s not really a secret. To be totally honest, I asked Alex Miller, President of Esri Canada, if I could write an article about it and he gave me the thumbs up.

So here it is. You can get a full blown copy of ArcGIS for the very low price of $150 dollars. There’s only one catch, and it’s a small one. This is a home use license and can in no way be used for commercial gain. Here are the details and the directions on how to buy this from Esri Canada. 

I’m sharing this with you all because too many times, I come across newly minted GIS grads and those who have been out of work for months or even years who are not practicing their GIS skills. Of course, you can get a copy of QGIS and start down that route, but truth be told most of us are taught ArcGIS at school. So now you will not have any excuse to not be working on your home projects!

So in honor of Geography Week and GIS Day, I suggest you purchase a copy and start brushing up on your skills!

I just want to mention that GoGeomatics Canada is a vendor neutral organization and we don’t endorse one particular software over another, but this is such a great opportunity for those hunting for work and brushing up on their skills we had to say something. I have also been letting those who attend my GIS Career Seminars know about this for the past 3 years.

If your company or project has a similar opportunity for people to try your software, please email me at [email protected] and we will let the community know about it.