Kayla Charette
What degree did you complete, and when?
- BA in Geomatics with Honours, Minor in Urban Studies (graduated 2018)
What did you move onto? (current role)
- Pricing Officer, Outreach and Marketing Branch, Parks Canada (since Jan 2021)
- The Pricing Team is a centralized team that handles all things fee-related at Parks Canada, which makes for a fairly large scope of work! Day to day work looks like: supporting/advising colleagues in who work at PC locations with fees and pricing concerns; developing tools and programs to facilitate fee setting; fee analysis and reporting; ensuring PC complies with legislative and policy requirements for fees; developing communications material; and more.
How did you transition from being a student to the workforce?
- I was very fortunate to be able to transition from being a student into the workforce fairly quickly. Having both worked at Parks Canada (PC) on student contracts and also for my fourth year geomatics practicum placement, meant that I had a fair bit of exposure to PC’s work and also gained relevant experience that helped start my career development at PC.
- In the summer of 2018 I was on my last student contract at PC, and the team I was working with at the time had no open positions that I could work in after graduation. I ended up spending a lot of time finding people (mainly) at PC to meet with to discuss job opportunities, what skills hiring managers were seeking, and who else they think I should talk to based on my career aspirations/interests. I met with 25-ish people that summer, two of them had positions available (both contract terms), and I ended up getting hired into a position that started fall 2018. I then later got “bridged” into the position permanently – bridging is a Government of Canada appointment program for past students who’ve worked in the federal government (more info), that essentially “fast tracks” the hiring process.
- I’ve since changed positions a few times, which has allowed me to gain experience and help me better understand what I’m looking for as a career.
How did your degree (or the formation you received) help you succeed?
- Even though I’m not working the in the GIS field, studying geomatics helped me develop strong analysis skills and the ability to synthesize large amounts of data into something easy to understand, both of which have been invaluable throughout my career.
- I also think that the creative side of geomatics is not often talked about, but having the skills and understanding of what makes something visually appealing is important – because there are lots of people out there who just don’t get how that’s achieved. This was applied in map creation and report writing in university, and since then, I’ve applied these skills to presentations, reports, dashboards, etc.
- Honourable mention goes out to ArcGIS and other GIS software that have given me the confidence and patience to use just about any new software or program, knowing that if I click enough buttons and google enough questions that nothing is impossible!
What advice (if any) do you have for students who will soon be graduating?
- Get involved in your community! I have found this makes such a huge difference in how connected I am to my work/school/city/etc. and is also a great way to make new friends + grow your network. This can be groups like CUGESA, or professional networks, or joining a local sports team, or volunteering somewhere. The point is that it’s easy, can be something you love to do, connects you with like-minded people, and could even help you figure out what you want to do next in life (work, higher education, travel, etc.)
- A work specific tip would be to not be afraid of networking, this definitely sounds scary (and is scary sometimes, especially as an introvert), but it can be hugely beneficial to connect you to new jobs! This can be attending things like the DGES Founders Fete, or finding work contacts via friends/family, or reaching out to someone in a career that is of interest to you.
Please feel free to reach out to me at kayla.charette@canada.ca or on LinkedIn :)