This is the hole your career and future can fall into. The company is making money off of you and has a system set up to replace you if you don’t perform. There is no need for the company to improve your skill set and they pay you what you are worth to them. It is not personal it is just business to them. They are taking the profit and investing in their families and children; they are not going to invest in you.
All companies are like this to some extent however there are better deals out there if you have been somewhere for awhile. Some companies need your skill set and will put you in a position to expand that skill set while others may give you more money while some more time off. It is your adventure.
if you think you won't learn anything new, jobs are not challenging anymore, and you feel there is not room for potential growth in the company, probably it is a good sign to start looking for a new company.
I have my BS in GIS and was first hired on at my engineering firm for GIS as well. I quickly moved onto civil design in private development for apartments and retail sites. CONSTANTLY I have tried to utilize GIS and get back to my roots, but GIS is just a tool I’ve realized. An amazing tool, but just that nonetheless.
I would suggest exploring jobs in survey or engineering design because they will grow far more than any GIS position. This is from personal experience exploring GIS and engineering both and going back and forth. GIS is an amazing foundation for civil engineering and survey so you’re in a great position with almost 5 years work experience.
To be fair, you are just the guy who makes maps. Maps that can be project changing if embedded with the right information. But they are still maps.
Jokes aside when I was stuck in construction inspection I think we seriously under leveraged GIS maps. So many possibilities to track exact project data. GPS accurate data on where tested loads of concrete were placed. Nearly exact coordinates for soil test locations. It would have been awesome.
One of the SE's I'm working under right now has averaged about 4 years at a job for the last 35 or so years. I just started job 2 around year 7. The way the market is right now, no one will think twice about you changing jobs after the first year. Four jobs in four years might set off a red flag. One job in one year? Nah just means it wasn't the right job.
Hell I straight up told potential employers in the interview that I was leaving because I felt overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. I felt like it was a good way for me to weed them out. No surprise when you find out I worked 7 - 65 hour weeks in a row? Big red flag, that means long hours are normal and I don't want any part of you.
Our main GIS guy here does a lot of maps, but he also does a lot more for all of the departments.
But our Techs are also very skilled in GIS (at least in my division, can't say for certain in the others). The one does all the storm stuff and he's constantly go the GIS going with his pipe maps, making notes, laying out areas he needs to add to the cleaning/televising/repair contracts. Another one does similar with sanitary, and the third one does our natural water way areas/wetlands/native plantings.
You could always look into seeing if there are Tech jobs out there. My city pays well as compared to others regionally and better than private. (This isn't universal to all cities). It could be something to look for in jobs. It's always easier to look for a new job while you have a job, just don't do it on your work computer.
This is the hole your career and future can fall into. The company is making money off of you and has a system set up to replace you if you don’t perform. There is no need for the company to improve your skill set and they pay you what you are worth to them. It is not personal it is just business to them. They are taking the profit and investing in their families and children; they are not going to invest in you. All companies are like this to some extent however there are better deals out there if you have been somewhere for awhile. Some companies need your skill set and will put you in a position to expand that skill set while others may give you more money while some more time off. It is your adventure.
if you think you won't learn anything new, jobs are not challenging anymore, and you feel there is not room for potential growth in the company, probably it is a good sign to start looking for a new company.
I have my BS in GIS and was first hired on at my engineering firm for GIS as well. I quickly moved onto civil design in private development for apartments and retail sites. CONSTANTLY I have tried to utilize GIS and get back to my roots, but GIS is just a tool I’ve realized. An amazing tool, but just that nonetheless. I would suggest exploring jobs in survey or engineering design because they will grow far more than any GIS position. This is from personal experience exploring GIS and engineering both and going back and forth. GIS is an amazing foundation for civil engineering and survey so you’re in a great position with almost 5 years work experience.
To be fair, you are just the guy who makes maps. Maps that can be project changing if embedded with the right information. But they are still maps. Jokes aside when I was stuck in construction inspection I think we seriously under leveraged GIS maps. So many possibilities to track exact project data. GPS accurate data on where tested loads of concrete were placed. Nearly exact coordinates for soil test locations. It would have been awesome. One of the SE's I'm working under right now has averaged about 4 years at a job for the last 35 or so years. I just started job 2 around year 7. The way the market is right now, no one will think twice about you changing jobs after the first year. Four jobs in four years might set off a red flag. One job in one year? Nah just means it wasn't the right job. Hell I straight up told potential employers in the interview that I was leaving because I felt overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. I felt like it was a good way for me to weed them out. No surprise when you find out I worked 7 - 65 hour weeks in a row? Big red flag, that means long hours are normal and I don't want any part of you.
Our main GIS guy here does a lot of maps, but he also does a lot more for all of the departments. But our Techs are also very skilled in GIS (at least in my division, can't say for certain in the others). The one does all the storm stuff and he's constantly go the GIS going with his pipe maps, making notes, laying out areas he needs to add to the cleaning/televising/repair contracts. Another one does similar with sanitary, and the third one does our natural water way areas/wetlands/native plantings. You could always look into seeing if there are Tech jobs out there. My city pays well as compared to others regionally and better than private. (This isn't universal to all cities). It could be something to look for in jobs. It's always easier to look for a new job while you have a job, just don't do it on your work computer.