Land Surveying as a career?

[USAFpj]

Lately, I've been dealing with a lot of land surveys for myself, my Uncle, and my Grandmother. I can also state that I am interested in 100% of the job description.

I'm currently employed as a contractor and can work as much/little as I please, but man, I can see dropping everything to become a licensed Surveyor. Is anyone on TBN a surveyor, and any words of wisdom? My choices are either to head to Clemson full timefor a Bachelor's, or OKC has a 100% online AA in Surveying. Would love some perspective from anyone, really.

I'm 41, married with 3 kids, and overseas contracting pays the bills immensely, but I'd drop it in a heartbeat for something stable near me at a third of the pay.

 

[dmccarty]

There seems to be a shortage of surveyors in my area. I would guess that work got scarce over the last few years with the economy but seems like there is always a need for a survey. Sure beats jumping out of aero planes and helo copters. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing:

They only negative I can see with being a surveyor is having to deal with ticks, chiggers, and owners in a property dispute. Not sure which is the worse of the three and the first two can be handled with bug spray. Not so much the last one.

Later,
Dan

 

[IXLR8]

We have a shortage of surveyors in my area. I talked at length about it with the surveyor who did my property. According to him, the amount of training required and the expense of the equipment are barriers keeping folks out of the business here. I think he said he had almost $100K invested in equipment and software.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Its a good career, but you are not done with 4 years of school, you have to pass a fundamental test to get a training certificate, then you have to work for a licensed surveyor for at least 4 years and take another test before you get your license. That doesn't include buying any equipment or software either. (this is how PA works atleast.)

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Well, George Washington got his start that way, and look where he landed. My neighbor is a retired surveyor, and although he doesn't talk much about it, he did complain that he was getting too old to climb the hills, ford the creeks and rivers any more. I would certainly look at the physical aspect of it; maybe by the time you retire you could own the company and be the boss. FWIW, we don't get along too well; it all started over...get this...a property line issue. He does spend a lot of time sticking little orange flags in his back yard.

 

[USAFpj]

Ha! The physical aspect is not a problem... for now, anyway! From what I gather, a lot of the surveyors are getting older, and not a lot of new blood coming in. Seems to stem that a lot of states require a 4 year degree and a ton of hours in the field before you can even sit for the test. The problem is that the younger guys feel that if they have to spend the $$$ and time to learn a career around mathematics, why not just become an engineer? Depends on the State requirements, I reckon...

 

[dodge man]

I am a land surveyor and have been doing it for 32 years, of which I've been licensed for 24 years. I like the job a lot. About half of my work is boundary work and the other half is surveying for engineering work. I spend about half of my time in the office and the other half in the field. My degree is in civil engineering but I am not a professional engineer. I have also done some construction inspection and design work over the years and do quite a bit of Autocad drafting. The best part of my job and the company I work for is the wide variety of work. I really like it.

The bad part, as you already know, and this varies by state, you usually need a 4 year college degree. I graduated when I was 22 years old and got my license when I was 29 years old. At the time that was about as quick as you could get licensed in Illinois. This also varies by state and I know in Illinois it can happen as quick as 4 years now, but you have to work under someone license and they have to sign off for your experience for that 4 years.

Pay? It can be pretty fair to poor when you don't have your license, maybe $20 an hour on average, some places more, some less. Once licensed? Maybe $40,000 to $100,000 a year, but once again this can vary. If you like technology and computers, it can also be a bonus.

You also hit the nail on the head, the college requirement has thinned the ranks some. Engineers also make more money but I personally wouldn't trade jobs with an engineer.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Ha! The physical aspect is not a problem... for now, anyway! From what I gather, a lot of the surveyors are getting older, and not a lot of new blood coming in. Seems to stem that a lot of states require a 4 year degree and a ton of hours in the field before you can even sit for the test. The problem is that the younger guys feel that if they have to spend the $$$ and time to learn a career around mathematics, why not just become an engineer? Depends on the State requirements, I reckon...

If I could go back, I would do a dual surveying and engineering degree, it would only be a year more of school.

 

[dodge man]

I know it very common to get both the surveying and engineering requirements both in Illinois.

 

[/pine]

FWIW...Some states also require a security bond to obtain a license...