The Modern GIS Accelerator takes you from ArcGIS-dependent to independently building with open-source geospatial tools in 14 days. Portfolio projects. AI-native development. No fluff.
See the full curriculum ↓“A shift from simply using tools to truly understanding the logic behind geospatial workflows.”
We surveyed 981 GIS professionals. Here’s what they told us is holding them back:
New frameworks, formats, and platforms launch every month. You’re paralyzed by options and exhausted by hype. You need someone to tell you what actually matters.
Your entire career has been built on proprietary tools. You know there’s a modern stack out there, but you don’t know where to start—or if your experience still counts.
You see AI transforming how people build software, but you don’t know how to apply it to GIS workflows. You need a framework, not just another ChatGPT demo.
You’ve done years of GIS work, but nothing lives at a public URL. When you apply for modern roles, you have nothing to point to that proves you can build.
University certificates take semesters. Bootcamps take months. You need to level up now—while working your current job—and can’t afford to wait.
You keep hearing about GeoParquet, PMTiles, and the lakehouse pattern. But nobody has explained what any of it means in terms you can act on.
Every part of the course ends with a deployed, documented project. These aren’t hypotheticals—they’re real work at real URLs.
A shell script that downloads public geospatial data, converts across formats with GDAL, and organizes outputs—pushed to GitHub with an annotated README.
A complete urban analysis delivered twice: five progressive SQL queries and a Python notebook with choropleth visualizations and GeoParquet export.
Your Part 2 analysis results converted to PMTiles and displayed on an interactive web map with clickable popups, a legend, and styled layers.
A full end-to-end project of your choosing: data ingestion, spatial analysis, web visualization, and a README written as a professional case study.
4 parts. 20 lessons. 8 mini-lectures. 4 ESRI Bridge lessons. All focused on the 20% that gets you 80% of the capability.
Replace proprietary dependency with a connected toolkit you control. QGIS setup, command line + GDAL mastery, shell scripting, and the AI operating model.
SQL and Python from zero to building real analyses. PostGIS via Docker, spatial queries, GeoPandas pipelines, and the integration pattern that connects them.
Ship your analysis as a live web map. Cloud-native formats, MapLibre GL JS + PMTiles, GitHub Pages deployment, and optional Streamlit apps.
Cloud architecture that makes sense, DuckDB querying Overture Maps from S3, the platform landscape, and your capstone project.
Your relationship with AI evolves as your foundation deepens. By Day 14, you’re building 3x faster because you know enough to direct AI effectively.
Describe a GIS task in plain English. AI generates the CLI command. You execute and verify the output.
Write your SQL and Python first. AI reviews your code, explains differences, and helps you spot-check spatial output.
You make the design decisions. AI generates MapLibre boilerplate, popup templates, and CSS. You read and modify.
You architect the full pipeline. AI generates code across SQL, Python, and JavaScript. You verify and ship.
A $27K salary increase means the $599 investment is recovered in your first 9 days at the new rate. Everything after that is return—and today it comes with $196 in bonuses on top.
A $27K salary increase means the $699 investment is recovered in your first 10 days at the new rate. Everything after that is return.
Accelerator students share their experience publicly—on their own channels, in their own words. Tap a video to watch.
“Before the Accelerator, I had no experience with QGIS and only a basic familiarity with command-line tools, VS Code, and cloud computing. The biggest transformation is my ability to grasp how maps are developed and how spatial analysis works—a shift from simply using tools to truly understanding the logic behind geospatial workflows.”
“Before the Accelerator I was hearing about GIS tools and databases piecemeal—from LinkedIn, without a clear direction. After, I saw how the concepts build on one another and what’s important versus what can wait.”
“The Accelerator is great for extending your knowledge in geospatial Python and Spatial SQL. The Spatial Lab also offers so much—learning tools and the chance to interact with other users. Great stuff.”
“Matt Forrest’s Modern GIS Accelerator provides a strong overview of the modern geospatial technology stack. The program clearly frames how today’s geospatial tools and platforms interact within cloud-native and distributed environments. For anyone wondering what comes after traditional desktop GIS, this is a solid starting point for understanding the direction the field is moving.”
“I’m 46, changing careers, enrolled in a GIS program through UCSD which is very much based in ArcGIS Pro. Since discovering your content it seems like everything has moved away from setups like ArcGIS and it’s overwhelming to figure out where to start.”
“I’ve been working in the field for almost 15 years, but in the last five I’ve got lost. I did an MA in GIS to update myself, but I couldn’t synchronize with new tech. I need guidance to really catch up.”
“I have a desktop GIS background and that still feels relevant, but I don’t know where to begin to make the transition to where geospatial data and analysis are headed. Is my ArcGIS Pro experience moot?”
“I want to learn spatial SQL. I have zero knowledge of SQL. Should I learn it first and then focus on spatial SQL?”
“I recently graduated and want to add more tools to my tool belt. More in the automation or imagery analysis sense. I feel I’m getting better with ArcGIS Pro but want more.”
“New technologies are popping up every few weeks; keeping up with them is a challenge. Summaries, interactive learning methods, practice with data, and setup guides might help.”
This isn’t just the course. For a limited time, enrollment includes two bonuses built to answer the two questions every student asks next: “where does my career go from here?” and “who keeps me accountable?”
This isn’t just the course. Every enrollment includes the Career Compass course free, so you know exactly what to do with your new skills after Day 14.
The complete 14-day program: 20 video lessons, 8 mini-lectures, 4 ESRI Bridge lessons, 4 guided portfolio projects, all templates and cheat sheets, with lifetime access.
Turn your new skills into a career move: positioning your portfolio, targeting modern GIS roles, and navigating the transition from analyst to builder.
The community membership: live group calls, direct feedback on your portfolio projects, career guidance, and a private network of GIS professionals—free for your first month.
The Accelerator gets you the skills. These two bonuses solve what comes immediately after. Career Compass is included with every enrollment—the free Spatial Lab month is only available while the timer is live.
The Accelerator gets you the skills. Career Compass—included free with every enrollment—solves what comes immediately after.
Skills without a strategy stall out. Career Compass is the roadmap for what you do with everything you build in the Accelerator:
Self-paced doesn’t have to mean alone. Your first month inside the community is on us, so you can go through the entire 14-day program with support:
The Accelerator is the course. Spatial Lab is the community that includes the course plus ongoing support. With this offer, you get a full month of both:
The Accelerator is the course. Spatial Lab is the community that includes the course plus ongoing support. Here’s how they compare:
Enroll today, go through the full 14-day program—build the pipeline, write the SQL, ship the web map. If you don’t feel like you’re becoming a modern GIS builder, email us within 14 days of purchase and we’ll refund every dollar. No forms, no hoops, no hard feelings. The risk is entirely on us.
Based outside the US? Regional pricing may be available →
“Before the Accelerator I was hearing about GIS tools and databases piecemeal—from LinkedIn, without a clear direction. After, I saw how the concepts build on one another and what’s important versus what can wait.”
14 days. 4 portfolio projects. One modern stack. Plus Career Compass free and a month of Spatial Lab free—$895 of value for $599, backed by a 14-day guarantee.
14 days. 4 portfolio projects. One modern stack. Plus Career Compass included free—backed by a 14-day money-back guarantee.