Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition
Surveyors, Cartographers, Photogrammetrists, and Surveying and Mapping Technicians
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos040.htm
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Cool website, pea.
Our outlook is far better than some of the others. I was also surprised to see that the wages were pretty accurate for my area.
That is interesting and the following site is similarly interesting.
http://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-3031.00
When I was looking at the last edition online, both sources also provided a similar "faster than average" growth potential for surveying in general.... well, we all know that didn't happen over the past few years.
Another observation I had was, at least around my area, companies have been increasingly combining the positions of field (crew chief with robotic) and AutoCAD person (setting up any field work, downloading, manipulating and drafting). I am slightly confused as to how more people are going to be required when there are now fewer people on the crews due to robotics and one person is arguably doing the job of two.
Those are 2008 numbers. They were projecting a 15% growth in the number of surveyors and a 20% growth in the number of technicians by 2018. I just don't see it.
My guess is that a lot of the growth is based on extrapolation of recent (well recent for the time of the study 2003-2007) numbers rather than an analysis of the market and technology forces driving the demand for surveyors.
My conservative guess would be that in my market (DC) between winter 2007 and spring 2009 there was a 25% - 30% drop in the number of surveyors and technicians employed by large AEC firms. I just don't see those jobs returning as well as a big jump in new jobs in the next seven years.
This website breaks out this category into far more detailed occupations: http://www.insidejobs.com/articles/surveying-and-mapping-jobs-and-careers
Also pretty interesting is these pages show positions that come before and after a job (like on Cartographer) Don't know how accurate it is but at first glance it seems reasonable.