From Nobody to GIS: How I Found My Path to Environmental Data Analytics
The Early Years
I graduated from high school in 2013 with no idea what I wanted to do. At the time, I did not take anything seriously, and money did not matter to me. Over the next four years, I bounced between jobs in different fields. I hopped between positions in fast-food, direct care, call centers, and warehouses. I experienced different industries at the ground level, seeing firsthand what some of the worst work positions are like. When I think of this in the present, I am ashamed.
The truth is I hated all of those positions. Each lacked a bigger picture that would matter to me long-term. I discovered I am not cut out for food service; I respect anybody who can tolerate Sunday mornings. If I never see a burger or sub-sandwich again, it will be too soon.
I even enrolled in college twice. The first time, I officially withdrew from general studies. The second time, I was in business administration and just stopped going to class. I worked to pay for concerts, events, and travel. Nothing more. I was like a Sims character with no skills and growing debt.
But underneath all of that, something else was building.
What Actually Caught My Attention
Outside of work and school, I had become obsessed with fractals, research papers, data, waste pollution, loss of wildlife, fisheries and marine life, coral reefs, air quality, and mycorrhizal networks. I read everything I could get my hands on. Yes, that is a mouthful. My brain was collecting niche interests like Pokémon cards. How could I turn this into a career when my interests were familiar but broad?
Then I became pregnant and had my daughter in 2017. I worked at American Woodmark for a few months and then WebstaurantStore for three years. I was waiting. Waiting for my daughter to become school age. Waiting for the right moment. Also, my back was wrecked.
That moment came in January 2022.
The Pivot
At 26 years old, I went back to community college at Potomac State. I had spent years in warehouses, packing and picking orders, flexing for material handling, handling quality control audits, and reconciling spreadsheets against physical stock. It paid the bills, but I knew I could not spend the rest of my life in labor, working odd shifts without growth opportunity. I needed something better.
I went to Potomac State for a year straight to get my Associate of Arts in Wildlife and Fisheries. I wanted to do Forestry, but there were no Forestry programs nearby, so Wildlife and Fisheries was the closest I could get. I started volunteering with the Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative and joined forestry clubs to get as close to the work as I could. I also co-founded a tree care business, Coherence Tree Care LLC, where I supported my husband, who is an arborist, with residential work. That gave me hands-on experience and a taste of running my own operation. Finally, while I was in community college, I became a math tutor. I discovered I liked breaking down complex problems into clear steps for people. That patience and clarity would serve me well later.
From there, I transferred to Frostburg State University, still chasing Wildlife and Fisheries. I was similar to a lost puppy following a scent.
Finding GIS
I attended Frostburg for two years straight, working toward my BSc. I quickly realized I hated memorizing the massive amount of information required for Biology courses like Genetics, Animal Physiology, and Mammalogy. I would rather eat a brick than attempt to memorize another taxonomic hierarchy. Additionally, the courses felt shallow in terms of real-world applications, staying mostly at a theoretical level. At the time, I did not understand why, although now it makes sense.
So, I pivoted my major to Environmental Science. This let me enroll in more Earth Science, Geography, Biogeography, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing courses. Each of these courses had its benefits, but none of them fully addressed the interdisciplinary, hands-on approach I was looking for. I wanted to combine biology, ecology, geography, geospatial technology, Python, RStudio, and technical tools to address complex issues. For the first time, I could see an overall picture of the career I wanted that felt right. It legitimately reminded me of the first time I put on glasses and found out other people saw individual leaves on trees, rather than blurry green clouds on sticks.
I graduated with my BSc and walked straight into a full-time GIS position. Finally, it seemed all those years of aimlessness would come to a close.
The State Job
I took a position as a Transportation GIS Technician for the West Virginia Division of Highways. I digitized maps, built asset spreadsheets, researched road history, and developed reports with suggestions for road changes based on historical commissioners' orders, straight line diagrams, field notes, maps, and as-builts. I created standardized maps for each report and focused on explaining GIS concepts to engineers and colleagues unfamiliar with the technology. I also designed a mobile map package and Survey123 workflows for potential interns that could be hired the following summer to locate unmapped culverts and other assets.
I was dealing with a high-risk pregnancy, and I could see there was very little room for career growth where I was. Essentially, my department was reporting; their idea of support was creating spreadsheets for unmapped assets in historical records, which would take many years to complete. While this is certainly a huge part of the position, I wanted to solve challenges. I found the spreadsheets becoming monotonous and decided there must be a better way to handle the information.
I started looking into Python scripting for GIS automation and integrated development environments (IDEs) like RStudio and VS Code. I wanted to automate tedious tasks like organizing and cleaning Excel spreadsheets, creating and editing feature classes (points, lines, and polygons), and applying labeling and symbology. At the level I was at with the DOH, many tools were blocked from my access for security and even budget concerns. As much as I love to learn independently, I needed support and guidance to get there.
Plot twist: five months later, I left.
Where I Am Now
Now I am a stay-at-home mom of two, homeschooling my nine-year-old and preparing to take graduate courses one at a time. I applied to Unity's MSc in Environmental Data Analytics and was accepted.
I am not working full-time right now, but I am still building the interdisciplinary skillset I dream of when I have free time. Freelancing for local businesses. Learning when I can. Writing about it all along the way.
What's Next
I am not sure exactly where this path ends, but I know I will keep moving forward.
Thanks for reading my story. I'll be writing more about my journey, things I'm learning, and projects I'm working on. Stay tuned.
Top comments (1)
One thing that stood out to me is that your career wasn’t built from a single decision—it emerged from the intersection of your curiosity. Environmental science, GIS, Python, data analytics, and teaching all seemed unrelated at first, but together they formed a niche that’s uniquely yours. I think that’s how many meaningful careers actually develop: not by following a straight line, but by connecting seemingly unrelated experiences over time. Wishing you all the best with your MSc and the journey ahead!