First off, thanks for all the great posts you all make on this forum. As a young surveyor it has really helped me to better understand the industry. This is my first post, and I hope that some of you can help me better estimate my worth in this profession. I am wondering what you feel the future holds for someone that is still just getting started in this field...
A little background information about myself; I've been in surveying off and on for over 4 years, the last 3 of which have been almost continous employment, I am currently an I-man at a mid-sized engineering firm, I have a 4 year bachelor's degree (not in surveying), and I hope to someday become licensed and possibly own my own land surveying company in Texas. Also, I really do enjoy land surveying, just thought that was important to add.
Any insight or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, in advance.:-)
Here in Texas, we need more of you young men that want to carry the torch one day.
Congrats on the degree BTW.
You have a refreshing attitude, so I think a surveying career is finding you instead of you finding it.
Sounds like you may need some more board approved hours, so work on those when you can.
Hopefully your company helps out with the cost.
Don;t know where you are located, but if you are ever in the hill country, give me a shout.
Good Luck.
Randy
Don't rely on other's opinions about the "future" of Land Surveying, no one can really answer that question;
Make your own Future.
Welcome Texas Boy.
Are you worried about your worth in monetary terms or your worth as a benefit to the profession ? This is something best done for love, not money. We need bright young men and women to carry on in the future, but the degree you already have may translate into more $$.
We need more educated young men coming into the profession. The best thing you could do would be to take some surveying classes, if you haven't already (you said your degree isn't in surveying). Take some classes in boundary law, hydrology, GIS and business (I don't know what your degree is in; you may have already taken some of those classes). Good luck. Like someone else said, make your own future.
I'm curious what your 4 year degree is in.
The way things seem to be in GA, don't come here.
Thanks for all the advice and compliments. To expand, my degree is in geography - resource and environmental studies. I took a gis class but really wish I would have taken more. Randy, I do need more hours to reach the board requirements of 32 hours, right now I probably have about 20 - 25 hours. I don't know how strict they are about how well a course has to exactly fit the boards requirements. Really what I need now is to start earning responsible charge time.
I would measure my worth in the value I offer my employer, the client and the profession. Monetary compensation is important, but not the most important thing. My pride in what I do and the work I produce is probably what I would say I most value.
Randy, next time I am in blanco county I'll look you up. I grew up in San Marcos, and spent a lot of time out on miller creek until my family sold the ranch we owned out there two years ago. It was great to have that ranch growing up. I hope you realize that you live in probably the most awesome place in the world, in my opinion. Sure beats the DFW metroplex where I now live . Maybe breakfast or lunch sometime at the hill country cupboard when I'm passing through.
There will be a future. The surveying career is changing, but there will be a need for our skills as long as there are the services we provide. You cannot trust engineers, GIS techs or lawyers to fill the need.
Running the Instrument is a good start. Learn from your peers, old timers Etc. You will get responsible charge when your ready . It takes years to be competant at running a crew doing construction, boundary and topo . Then years to be competant in the office . Your probably 8 years away from being ready to take the test unless you get more a more specific Surveying education . Its not for everyone it take dedication and study on your own time . It takes a special person to be a PLS .
Thanks again for all the great encouragement and insight into this career. I feel a lot better about the direction and process that I am on to reach my goal of earning a license. Other than taking some classes in surveying, studying on my own and learning as much on the job as I can, are there any other things I can do to become more skilled and knowledgeable about surveying?
One thing that I miss from my days of being a rodman at a small company during my summer breaks from high school, was the level of interaction with the licensed surveyor. He would form a second field crew for the busier summer months, and he would serve as the party chief and I would be the rodman of that crew. Invariably, I spent a lot of time at the office doing menial tasks like filing and making copies while he fixed problems, reviewed surveys, and ran the business end of things, but I learned so much about everything going on. Getting to pick his brain as we drove from job to job in the field, was invaluable to my understanding of how and why certain things were done. I owe him a lot for educating me about how to survey, and his willingness to include me is most likely why I chose a career in this field.
Every other job that I've had since then, I have found myself wondering why certain decisions were made and wishing I knew how our field data was being used to calculate solutions. Its much more efficiency driven, and basically just collecting as much quality data as possible, then we go back later and stake out points to more accurate cogo. Most times we don't even have the actual plat with us in the field, just a plot of points with coordinates to search for or set.
Do any of you think that maybe returning to a smaller operation where I can maybe contribute to things in a more mentally challenging way is a good idea? I probably wouldn't make as much money or have the benefits I have now, but I'd learn much more and maybe become licensed sooner.
Just a few thoughts, and I sure don't want to sound as though I am unhappy with my current position or employer because that is not the case. I'm just wondering if it is the best environment for me to learn and become a better, more well-rounded surveyor. Thanks, and sorry for the long post.
The way the State Board of Registration works in Louisiana regarding credit courses related to Land Surveying is that they look at the specific syllabus of each course. The people in Texas might do the same thing, so call them and ask. That way you won't be wasting your time taking courses that will not be approved.
I have a young man working for me who is much in the same boat as you. I give him more attention than he would ever get anywhere else and beat him with a stick on a regular basis. You have a much better chance of real experience at a small firm than you will at a large one, you just probably won't make as much money.
The main problem I face at the moment is that he is taking his surveying hours at the local junior college (he also already has a four year degree). The instructors tell him he will be ready to sit for the SIT in a few months and that as RPLS's they will sign his application. I know he does not have even 6 months responsible charge and I have told him that I will not sign his application at this time. He has worked part-time for me for three summers while attending college in West Texas and part-time while attending TJC in Tyler. I am sure he will be a very capable surveyor in the future, but he does not yet meet the criteria. I am sure he will wind up seeking employment with someone who will sign off for him.
Bruce
PS: Engineering work is not supposed to count toward your responsible charge time.
I presume SIT means surveyor-in-training. How long is the SIT period? Does a SIT individual have any signing authority? If not, why would it matter if a person becomes SIT not long after finishing academic requirements? Just wondering.
I agree that years of experience is a good thing in this business.
There is a bright future in surveying in Texas considering the number of RPLS's and the median age. Find someone that is willing to teach you (most likely a small company) I'm a firm believer in getting the most interaction with your mentoring RPLS as you can to learn how and why boundary decisions (the books and classes just can't cover some of the issues that arise). Keep in mind the type of work performed might not be as broad as a big company, but to make a good surveyor you have to be trained by a good surveyor. Also you will continue to learn in this profession until the day you retire,
Yes, SIT does mean Surveyor-in-training. No, they can not sign anything. In Texas you need 6 years responsible charge or a combination of responsible charge and specified education, still adding up to 6 years, to sit for the SIT. Two years later you can sit for your RPLS.
I had an SIT that was allowed to sit for the SIT exam while still in college. Imagine my surprise when I learned that this individual did not even know what a concrete right-of-way marker looked like or what its purpose was.
Bruce
> First off, thanks for all the great posts you all make on this forum. As a young surveyor it has really helped me to better understand the industry. This is my first post, and I hope that some of you can help me better estimate my worth in this profession. I am wondering what you feel the future holds for someone that is still just getting started in this field...
>
> A little background information about myself; I've been in surveying off and on for over 4 years, the last 3 of which have been almost continous employment, I am currently an I-man at a mid-sized engineering firm, I have a 4 year bachelor's degree (not in surveying), and I hope to someday become licensed and possibly own my own land surveying company in Texas. Also, I really do enjoy land surveying, just thought that was important to add.
>
> Any insight or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, in advance.:-)
I had the same background as you, only I got my degree 35 years ago. Yes, one can make a living at surveying. A good place to see current wages is on the BLS (bureau of labor statistics) website. I've specialized in boundary surveying for most of my career and I've worked gov., and large and small engineering firms and for approximately the last ten years I've run my own business (I wish I would have started this about 10 years earlier). For me the natural place for a surveyor is his/her own shop.
Thanks again everyone for all the insight and advice. I've got a lot of windshield time today (Dallas, TX to Woodward, OK) for a job I've been helping the environmental dept. with their GPS data on. It was fun at first, when we started in July, but now I just want to get it done so I can start actually surveying again.
My idea to get my career on a little better path for obtaining a license is this; take a class next spring involving calculations used by surveyors, learn as much on the job as i can by asking more questions, and then reaccess my situation in April or may to determine if I would be better off from a learning and involvement standpoint at a smaller company. If I feel that could be true, I would then start exploring other opportunities until I found a place that would agree to basically mentor me. Does that sound like a reasonable plan?
Have a great week everyone! Thanks for reassuring a young guy that all the hard work, sweat, and blisters are just part of earning your post as a licensed land surveyor. I knew that all already, but it sometimes is encouraging to be told that it will be worth it by those that have earned their license already. As someone said earlier, it is often viewed as a Muddy boats profession and that those boots should be worn with Honor. That was well put, and I totally agree. Thanks, again!;-)
Just a few thoughts:
You never know who you will wind up with or where....keep the job if you have one, and try to excel.
There are good licensed surveyors out of work right now that might give anything to have a decent-paying job.
A lot of the guys are right about getting under the wings of a good surveyor, but just because he is small, or does land surveying only, doesn't mean he is a great mentor. a lot of small-time surveyors are set in their ways, and may not be what's best for learning how to do things right.
I know a guy that worked with the railroads surveying for years. He never did get his license last I knew, but he is well-respected as an authority on railroads and railroad surveying by many licensed surveyors. (I think a lot of guys here have heard of him too).
You could end up without a license but still be one of the best at what you do. You could also change jobs and then find yourself out of work and the place you used to work still going strong.
I worked for a pretty good hard-working survey firm, but I was under some crew chiefs that weren't good mentors. They wanted to do everything themselves, and didn't work with you. I still sat next to them and pulled out my calculator and worked out the math even if they didn't ask me to.
I also disagreed with some of their ways. I am glad I questioned some of the things they did, and didn't just parrot what they taught by rote. Keep learning with your local professional society and from guys on this board. Keep up the diversity in knowledge, and don't put on the one-company-we're-better-than-everybody-else blinders.
Good luck to you. Sometimes I think we're a dying profession. The average age of licensed surveyors is high, and it isn't a real appreciated profession. You need to be proud and interested in what you do, because a lot of nonsurveyors think they know more than you do about surveying. That aspect probably isn't going to change either... It hasn't for generations.
> Just a few thoughts:
> You never know who you will wind up with or where....keep the job if you have one, and try to excel.
>
> There are good licensed surveyors out of work right now that might give anything to have a decent-paying job.
>
> A lot of the guys are right about getting under the wings of a good surveyor, but just because he is small, or does land surveying only, doesn't mean he is a great mentor. a lot of small-time surveyors are set in their ways, and may not be what's best for learning how to do things right.
>
> I know a guy that worked with the railroads surveying for years. He never did get his license last I knew, but he is well-respected as an authority on railroads and railroad surveying by many licensed surveyors. (I think a lot of guys here have heard of him too).
>
> You could end up without a license but still be one of the best at what you do. You could also change jobs and then find yourself out of work and the place you used to work still going strong.
>
> I worked for a pretty good hard-working survey firm, but I was under some crew chiefs that weren't good mentors. They wanted to do everything themselves, and didn't work with you. I still sat next to them and pulled out my calculator and worked out the math even if they didn't ask me to.
>
> I also disagreed with some of their ways. I am glad I questioned some of the things they did, and didn't just parrot what they taught by rote. Keep learning with your local professional society and from guys on this board. Keep up the diversity in knowledge, and don't put on the one-company-we're-better-than-everybody-else blinders.
>
> Good luck to you. Sometimes I think we're a dying profession. The average age of licensed surveyors is high, and it isn't a real appreciated profession. You need to be proud and interested in what you do, because a lot of nonsurveyors think they know more than you do about surveying. That aspect probably isn't going to change either... It hasn't for generations.
Although I agree with what was said here I do disagree with one statement...do get licensed. And remember you already have the degree, what you need is work experience with a land surveyor.
