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Ask HN: How can I learn GIS skills through self-study?

3 points by openknot ↗ HN
It looks like researchers — such as academic and open-source intelligence (OSINT) volunteers — and reporters are increasingly using skills in geographic information systems (GIS).

Examples of the usefulness of GIS skills include:

-An 2018 investigation that found an election error that caused a state house to flip: https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/blog/how-maps-help-the-media-see-what-others-cant/

-A few anecdotes on the usefulness of mapping skills in government work on a Hacker News thread (2010): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2030302

My initial search found a list of slide presentations and tutorials (https://gijn.org/mapping/) and recommendations either to go to university to study the field or download the open-source QGIS software and learn it as you go by working on projects (I'm concerned it's possible to miss best practices without a better resource).

Would there be any other useful approaches for a self-learner? Examples might include textbooks or online courses to learn from. Thank you.

6 comments

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Someone
Definitely not an “all you’ll need”, but I think enough force self-learner to get some idea about whether you will like it and if so, what aspect(s) (getting the data in, getting information out, or both?):

- Install PostgreSQL

- Install the PostGIS extension

- Download an extract of OpenStreetMap

- Get it into PostgeSQL

- Play with rendering tools (e.g. a few square kilometers around your house, leaving out all roads)

- Play with querying the PostgreSQL database (e.g. try figuring out what the closest library yo your home is, according to OpenStreetMap, or try counting the streets within a block, or the number of houses)

- Try adding some other data to your database

I think all but the last should be doable in a few weeks for a self-learner with access to Google.

openknot
Thank you for your advice! This is an interesting pathway, and can't hurt to explore with.
superkimchi
I'd highly recommend taking an intro class at a community college if that's an option for you. In my opinion, learning how to think and solve problems "spatially" is a really cool (and valuable) experience. An experienced teacher, white board work, and group discussions would be invaluable as you learn the basics. I mention this because once you have the basics down you can self study your way through just about anything GIS related.

Another approach would be to simply pick up an ESRI tutorial and work your way through a couple of projects that appeal to you. A nice benefit of this approach is that software and data will be provided. I smashed one over the weekend before I started my first GIS internship and I got a lot out of it.

openknot
Thank you! Both the ESRI and community college options look great as a structured start.
maCDzP
If you have the cash - a personal license for ArcGIS pro is 100$/year.

If you want to work in government with GIS/data - ArcGIS is the standard.

ESRI has a lot of content on youtube. The channel GIScience has also a lot of good tutorials.

If you don’t have the cash there’s open source GIS tools like QGIS or Grass GIS. Or use Kepler.gl with Jupiter notebooks.

Happy mapping!

openknot
Thank you for the recommendations! I'll check out those channels (and look into ArcGIS pro if GIS skills look helpful to add as a skill for professional work).