James Sadler, the new chair of the GCA Young and Emerging Professionals area of practice, has his eyes on the future.

The young and emerging professionals (YEP) cohort of Australia’s geospatial sector is perhaps its most important, as that is where the future of our industry lies. That’s why YEPs deserve support and encouragement from everyone involved in the sector.

The Geospatial Council of Australia has a specialist YEP area of practice; its immediate past chair, Oscar So, worked tirelessly for many years to progress the cause of YEPs and their needs. The new chair is James Sadler. We spoke with him to learn about his career trajectory and to find out what his ambitions are.

How did you get into this industry?

It came from my interest in geography. A conversation with my school’s career adviser led me to complete a Bachelor of Applied GIS at Flinders University. I entered the industry in early 2021 via work experience with Aerometrex and Sproutt in South Australia. From there I decided I wanted to pursue a remote sensing role and found one in satellite remote sensing in the ACT. My work focuses on environmental projects, where I monitor native vegetation, agriculture and waterways for compliance and efficiency.

What do you enjoy about your work?

I thrive in an environment where I get to do a variety of work. In my current role, I am directly interacting with clients in a sales-like capacity, but I also get to deliver the work I’ve scoped with them. This gives me greater control over the solutions I offer, but also means I get to offer what I think is the best solution for the client’s problem, not necessarily the most profitable.

What do you hope to do next in your career?

I see the first five to seven years of my career being focused on learning and upskilling in ways that enable me to greater contribute to the industry. My ideal role is one with enough down time that I can complete R&D background work that aligns with my employer’s aims. I hope to stay around remote sensing for most of my career, however I recognise that this is only a tiny part of the GIS industry. To be a stronger professional I see the need to learn the adjacent data management and map production skills that exist across wider industry.

What is the purpose of the GCA YEP group?

It has a different purpose depending on who you ask. When I was early in my studies, it gave me a community that made me feel like I belonged. This was critical to me following through with my degree, rather than dropping out and going down another career path. So I like to think I might be helping other early career professionals gain that sense of belonging and stay in the industry.

One of my main aims, which is shared by the YEP vice chair, Sijan Bhandari, is to grow the group. Currently we see different levels of engagement in different states, and we would like to get them all to be self-sufficient.

What does the sector need to do to support YEPs?

This kind of goes back to that sense of belonging. There is a bit of imposter syndrome when you enter the industry. For me it was wondering why I had the authority to be organising early career networking events. This fear was put aside by having senior people tell me that what I was doing was good and, in a way, validating my efforts.

The YEP group is full of volunteers who get involved because they want to contribute to the community; receiving validation for their efforts can help reignite their sense of purpose. For me it was talking to people such as Maree Wilson from Geoscience Australia (who had been in an earlier iteration of the group), who shared some of her insights, and Jonah Williams from Onneer, who made me reflect on what my overall aim was and how to rescope to achieve it.

What’s coming up for YEPs in 2025?

The FIG conference in Brisbane in April should be very interesting, with a FIG Young Surveyors Network (YSN) and GCA YEP collaboration in the works. Some of the other team members and myself have been assisting with planning the YSN conference. It has been great seeing the different approach that FIG takes towards its event planning. Hopefully, I’ll pick up a few skills along the way that I can apply in the future.

How can people contact the YEP Group?

The best way is to reach out to me on LinkedIn or find the GCA state representative in your area. You can also reach out via the GCA admin team.