Matthew Norman
Year of graduation: 2013
Major: Geographical Sciences
Minor: Geographic Information Systems
Current employment status:
· Employer: Bureau of the Census, Department of Commerce
· Position: Geographer
Did you go to graduate school? No
Why did you want to be a GEOG/GIS/ENSP major?
I’ve always been interested in the experiences of people from different cultures and the interconnectivity of the world, but Geography had never really been explained to me as an option. As a disillusioned Architecture student, I first talked to Dr. Wendy Whittemore in ENSP, who gauged my interests as being more human than environmental and sent me to Dr. Luna. Once I started in Geographical Sciences (née Geography) everything about it felt right.
What internships or independent research did you do as a GEOG/GIS/ENSP major?
I have been working as an intern at the Census Bureau since May 2012. While initially only doing a non-interactive review of the MAF/TIGER database, I was soon trained to reshape the roads, boundaries and address points maintained therein. As a Pathways intern, my Division Chief took the option to retain me for 120 days after my graduation with an eye towards hiring me on if our budget situation improves. Having only graduated in December, I won’t know for a few more weeks how it turns out, but I highly recommend Federal Pathways internships as they are paid, flexible, and are designed to lead into a career.
What recommendations would you make to current GEOG/GIS/ENSP majors for career and academic success while they are still undergraduates?
I was reluctant to search for internships because of a defeatist mentality – I thought it was pointless because I wouldn’t be selected for any of them since I didn’t yet have a strong technical background. I ended up getting an offer the day after applying to the Census. Now I can’t imagine how much harder life after graduation would be without my internship. If the career fair makes you nervous, consider the fact that some of the representatives are actually recent Maryland graduates. Apply early and apply to lots of opportunities. Keep at it, it’s worth it, I promise.
What recommendations would you make to current GEOG/GIS/ENSP majors for career and academic success after graduation?
Ask lots of questions. Find someone knowledgeable, whether it’s someone from a company you’re interested in, or an older coworker, or the person training you on the job. Ask them all the questions you can think of because you might be surprised at the depth of insight they have or how superficially you had understood something.
