I've been working in GIS since 2004, and really enjoy the work still, though I've recently started phasing out of the "doing" and am getting into the "managing the people who do it". I have worked in the natural resource sector of my provincial government since 2005, starting out as a tech, then into an analyst role, and am now supervising a small staff of analysts and techs. My best advice for getting a job, at least in my province, is be willing to relocate. The rural/more remote offices tend to have a hard time attracting people, particularly students or new grads who don't want to live "up north". Taking jobs in those locations is great for gaining the few years of experience needed to get a higher level position. As for skills, learn python if you haven't already - the ability to automate workflows and/or analysis is very attractive. My org uses ArcGIS, so someone who is pretty familiar with it, plus the rest of the Arc ecosystem (ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS for Server, Collector, Survey 123, etc) would be great too.
I'm happy to answer any other questions you might have!