Joel Smith

Meet one of our incredible Geospatial Analysts, Joel Smith!

Joel became interested in geospatial after taking a class at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville. He then went on to Southeast Missouri State to pursue a different major before returning to the field after getting his Master's in Geographic Information Science at Northwest Missouri State University.

Joel says his stepbrother, who was already in the geospatial industry, has been a great mentor to him, especially in the beginning.

Joel joined T-Kartor as a contractor in 2019 and has quickly risen since; he became a full-time Analyst I in 2020 and an Analyst II in 2022.

Joel's transition to the industry meant getting used to an indoor office environment, which was different from his previous work. After the initial adjustment, he embraced remote work; when T-Kartor settled into a remote setup, he was able to move from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau, MO (he enjoyed the area while he attended SEMO and was eager to get back). 

Joel has continued to grow professionally as he has gained more responsibility. He was on the same project for the first few years at T-Kartor but can now move around. Each project brings a new skill set, something Joel feels will help him grow in his career at T-Kartor and beyond.

Joel's favorite part of his day is the morning. He is an early bird who likes to get going immediately, and he enjoys getting things done before the day gets busy. 

One thing Joel enjoys about the culture at T-Kartor is how you can reach out to anyone anytime; the team is friendly, open, and supportive (from management on down). Joel feels T-Kartor strikes the delicate balance between being laid-back and still getting things done.

He would encourage anyone interested in working at T-Kartor to pursue it!

What will the geospatial industry look like ten years from now? Joel predicts we will see more automation and analysis incorporated. Although the industry (and the world) continues its' push towards automation, he believes we will still need intelligent people to analyze images and data.

After Joel logs off from the day, he follows sports (mainly football and college basketball) and loves to read.

One bucket list item he hopes to cross off in 2024 is attending a Kansas City Chiefs game at Arrowhead. He's been a fan for years but hasn't been to a home game yet.