I’m curious why did you all chose GIS as a career, as is a “niche” field. It’s widely used but not much people know about it.
In my case I studied History & Geography and had to use GIS during one course. I really liked it and I also like to code, so I guessed GIS could be a career for me as I didn’t want to be a teacher back then.
I’m now finishing a GIS Maters and working as a GIS analyst, using python to automate routines. Is my first job in the field (started as an intern).
Honestly I chose to major in Geography at random in college because the few classes related were interesting. I ended up liking the rest of the classes quite a bit, and those included GIS courses. GIS was about the only thing I could do with that degree out of undergrad so I did it.
I also developed a love for epidemiology at that time as I was in a medical geography research group, and planned on getting a masters in epi. 10 years later, I’m doing it! I’m hoping to eventually go on to a PhD in spatial epidemiology.