She Was Already Working in GIS. Why Go Back for a Master’s?

What does a career in GIS really look like—and how can graduate education help you grow in a field that’s constantly evolving? In this episode of UMBC Mic’d Up, host Dennise Cardona, M.A. '23, talks with Meghan Arnold, a current student in UMBC’s Geographic Information Systems master’s program and a GIS technician working in local government. Meghan shares how she uses GIS to map and maintain critical storm water infrastructure, how skills from the classroom have translated directly to projects at work, and why communicating complex geographic data to non-GIS audiences is just as important as creating the maps themselves. She also discusses balancing graduate school with a full-time career, the flexibility she has found in the program, and her long-term goal of becoming a GIS manager. Tune in for a student’s perspective on the real-world impact of GIS—and why this growing field is about much more than maps. Learn More: https://professionalprograms.umbc.edu/geographic-information-systems/