A Bit of Background Information

This blog entry probably requires a bit of background information, as it is actually a repost of an article published in May 2010 on the popular job board Odinjobs.com, included here with permission from the author. About six months ago or so, I was contacted out-of-the-blue by the Marketing Director of Odinjobs, inquiring if I would be interested in participating in an online interview, along with several other experienced GIS professionals. The idea was that Odinjobs would ask the panel of experts a series of brief questions concerning their skills and knowledge of GIS and the answers posted on the Odinjobs blog, with the goal of providing other professionals and job-seekers with detailed insight into specific areas of the technology, the industry and the opportunities available. Although I was initially skeptical of the educational value of such an endeavor, I decided to participate. Well, to my delight, it turned out that the panel discussion was simultaneously insightful, interesting and very well done. I wanted to take this opportunity to both thank Odinjobs for the opportunity to share my thoughts and to share the resulting discussion with the readers here.