I Make Maps

 

Bless President Biden and the return of complete sentences and normalcy to government.  Now I can go back to old school blogging like I wanted to.

I was thinking this morning -- as I was trying to find a way to avoid transitioning to a new client because the transitioning part is always the hardest for me and I'll find lots of ways to procrastinate it -- how I never really know what to tell people when they ask about what I do at work.

Granted, that's assuming that anyone asks me that question at all.  Which is a whole different and long post in and of itself.

But if they do.  It's not easy.  I can't really use the terms my field uses because they don't mean anything outside of our little clique.  Solutions Engineer, GIS Analyst...   Might as well say "Hobnobsky Kerplunker."  

I was just remembering how it was only half as tricky in my former life as a professional Historian.  Granted, no one outside of my academic conferences had any idea what that practically meant in the day-to-day.  But everyone could understand the idea of History at least.  Most even could conjure up an image of a person in a tweed jacket, sitting by a fire in a library, reading all day long = Historian.  I mean, it's not really the actuality, but at least they could imagine something.  At least they kind of knew what history was.

My problem is that people can't even imagine anything at all when I say "GIS".  Even if I say all the words - Geographic Information Systems.  Nope.  That doesn't help.  So it becomes a choice of trying to define the complexities of an entire field of work that most people don't even know exists or is needed in the world... and then try to define what subset cog in that machine I actually try to be on the daily. 

So usually, I just say, "Oh, I make maps."

A complete cop-out.  I know.  But it's so much easier.  Though I do have to deal with a couple frequent reactions to this such as:

    1. The "That's Adorable.  Are you on Etsy?"  It-Must-Be-Her-Creative-Outlet" Reaction

    2. The "::blink blink:: Maps? Do they still make those?" Reaction (which then always gets my         follow-up "Oh, no.  I mean like Google Maps" response.  Which is still a cop-out but it makes that     person feel better).

    3. The No-Reaction-Change-Subject  (This one is most confusing.  I always feel like I said     something horribly offensive.)

Sometimes I try to get around the question by trying to describe a very specific project I'm working on at the moment.  

    "I am transitioning all of very-large-East-Coast-City's water and electric data into a new model that will allow them to visualize flow." ?

    "I am making an app that shows the managers at very-very-large-Airport some real-time maps and graphs for Lyft and Uber pick-up and drop-offs."?

    "I am helping a very small rural town in Virginia learn how to digitize their paper maps so they can be more efficient and modern."?

    "I am avoiding transitioning to a new client project because I am scared I won't know how to do it so instead I spent time blogging to prolong my suffering" ?

I'm not sure this is ever going to be a problem I solve, honestly.  I was going to hop on here and try to come up with some pithy, perfect, short description of GIS or being a Solutions Engineer and then say "taa daa" and move on with my life.  But I just sat here for two minutes trying to think of what that could be and I'm still at a loss.

I....I am a data analyst?  But specializing in data with a spatial component?  

I analyze spatial data with the goal of answering previously unanswered questions?

I analyze spatial data to answer questions that cannot be answered any other way?

I manage and analyze spatial data to provide the opportunity for answering and the answers to questions that are tied inextricably to location?

Ugh.  It all sounds so jargony and confusing.

...I make maps.