Heard of GIS? Maybe not yet. But every day, Geographic Information Systems finds its way into your life.

The neighborhood where you live - in fact, the entire state of New York - has been photographed from air and space, enabling police and fire officials to use GIS to plan command centers and evacuations in case of emergency.

Hoping a storm won't rain out your weekend? Meteorologists combine weather radar with satellite photographs and GIS computer models to make accurate predictions days in advance.

That product you purchased from overseas - English mints, shoes from Brazil, a Korean car - was tracked over the ocean and across the country using GIS to assure just-in-time delivery.

Maybe it's time to get acquainted with GIS.

Maybe there's a career in it for you.

Earth-orbiting satellites, like those that bounce phone and TV signals around the world, have spun off the new technology called geographic information systems.

GIS technicians, interpreting data from satellites and other sources, use specialized computer programs to map our world and provide information on terrain, land use, buildings, transportation systems and population areas.

Increasingly, GIS data is critical in making decisions on residential development, road building, sites for businesses and services, emergency evacuation, water and sewer districts, farm management, recreational areas and natural resources such as wetlands and watersheds.

Career avenues are expanding rapidly across virtually the entire economy. GIS technology is becoming essential in industry, government, agriculture, resource management, communications, transportation and the military.

Depending on their jobs, GIS specialists may work primarily at a computer, or might spend much of their time doing fieldwork.

A degree in geographic information systems is rapidly becoming a ticket to desirable, high-demand jobs. And now, students can earn a GIS degree at Cayuga Community College.

Cayuga's GIS degree prepares students either for direct entry into a career or for transfer to an upper-level program. Recent graduates have gone on to work as GIS specialists or have transferred to Cornell University, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and elsewhere.

Even students who major in other areas at Cayuga, such as science or criminal justice, are encouraged to choose elective courses in GIS for added high-tech credentials.

Becoming a GIS specialist means learning technology such as satellite imaging, remote sensing and the global positioning system (GPS). At Cayuga, GIS students receive hands-on training in each of these areas, using the latest software and hardware.

Cayuga also boasts the nation's only community college program with ties to an on-campus NASA applications institute. The Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology, located in the newest campus building, uses GIS to solve real-world needs and problems. The IAGT has supplied water quality data for Cayuga County and soil data for the Finger Lakes vineyard industry. The institute also helped emergency planners in the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, by downloading images of ground zero to aid in directing traffic and services. And through IAGT summer programs, more than 350 teachers have learned how to weave GIS into K-12 classroom lessons.

Having IAGT on campus also affords some of Cayuga's GIS students excellent opportunities for internships and even jobs upon graduation.

This summer, the GIS Summer College Experience for high school seniors at Cayuga Community College will offer a weeklong, hands-on training program in GIS technology at the end of June.

Participants earn a college credit, team up for a community service project, and receive a GPS unit of their own to keep.

Pamela M. Freeman is director of publications and communications at Cayuga Community College