My girlfriend and I listen to a talk radio show every day in our shared home office and two particular hosts teaming on a 4 hour segment often refer to ZipRecruiter as a source for income potential on any given career, today, the topic was something to do with tip jars in legalized pot dispensories where their salaries were discussed, according to ZipRecuiters.
It made me consult the same source for what a Professional Land Surveyor makes in NJ and reading what they wrote made me laugh uncontrollably.?ÿ I particularly loved how they said the job market for a PLS in NJ is not strong and what the pay is in the 90th percentile.?ÿ Both are a joke, the market for a seasoned PLS is fierce as the State is only issuing about 7 new licenses a year and the rate of those retiring or passing away is far more five or ten times the new licences per year in NJ.?ÿ I get calls or emails from head hunters almost daily offering me $150K/year based on a 20+ year old resume that is floating on the internet.
This may be the problem that we have trying to recruit new people into the field and convincing people to get a degree to become licensed (I will state that I am anti-degree) when somebody without a degree and the right mentoring (like I had and give) can pass the same exam.
Open the link and let me know what you think if you are licensed in any state.
Professional Land Surveyor Annual Salary in New Jersey ($72,929 Avg | Jun 2022) - ZipRecruiter
Slary reports for land surveyors never seem to get it right. I have wanted to investigate this, but haven't gotten to it. Usually they report for "Land Surveyors", not "Proffesional Land Surveyors" and I suspect they include unlicensed field and office help, but they couldn't be doing that here...or could they?
It would take a lot more than $150,000 to entice me to New Jersey.?ÿ
Despite the ages-old importance of the surveyor, today their are only a fraction of the number of other professionals needed to accomplish society's needs.
This ignorance of what a surveyor is, what a surveyor does, and what it takes to be a surveyor is a predictable result, especially by those who depend on "standard" statistical analyses. Those who make these egregious errors aren't even aware such errors are possible since the "right" answer is the one spit out by their rulers, the programmatic algorithms.
"Garbage in = garbage out." Thus it is. Thus it will be. Thus we must remember to work around it.
JAC
If you look at many other professions (attorney, architect, etc...) you see a similar pattern.?ÿ As has already been said, from the low range values reported it looks like they are including the various levels of professional attainment in the results, not just licensed professionals.?ÿ I doubt there are many PLSs making only in the mid-30Ks (although there is the unfortunate possibility of that!).
https://www.aols.org/resources/reports/salary-studies
?ÿ
Granted, it only relays information of the people who participate but it is a "real world" reflection of the salary for an OLS.
That ZipRecruiter thing has the PLS average annual salary for my area at about $79,000. That was probably valid 2 years ago.?ÿ
@norman-oklahoma I was making $79K before the market crashed in 2008 and that did not include profit sharing and annual bonuses.
I was making $79K before the market crashed in 2008 and that did not include profit sharing and annual bonuses.
This is an average number, not a senior PLS number.
The salary number is skewed. The term Land Surveyor belongs to the licensed individual.
The title ?Professional? could be argued that it is a result of the degree requirement being in place. Florida heard such a case and held that opinion.
Everyone else is field tech or office tech. Individual titles vary within those specialized fields if not licensed.
My favorite is Survey Project Manager. Half the people with that title are not licensed.
As for the degree question? I??m for the educational requirement for surveying.
I surveyed for 20 years before returning to school. I knew what I was doing. However, university pulled the curtain back. It have insight on why I was doing what I was doing. Three semesters of survey law really hammered home a lot of missing pages.
Schooling was multifaceted for me. Respect from my engineering partners, personal refinement and professional growth that is recognized world wide. I can go anywhere in the world with my particular degree and license and meet most of the requirements for licensure minus a test for local laws and practices.
Respect from my engineering colleagues through university experiences. There is something to the human experience when partaking in a similar initiatic experience. It??s a brotherhood.
University solidified my experience in surveying with an education. I knew what to do, but now I know why I??m doing it. Academics isn??t a piece of paper. It??s something earned.
Most arguments for getting rid of the license requirement boils down to personal issues with one??s own life choices. It??s hard, takes too long and costs money. It is hard. I did it with a full time job and a new born. It takes long. Time passes by regardless. Cost? You must ask your employer to invest in you. Move on of they say no as they just told you that you??re not worth the investment in your/their future and the surveying profession.
Amen. I'd upvote this a couple dozen times if I could.
?ÿ
I really struggle with the Survey Project Manager issue. I like the idea of having a licensee who (ostensibly) understands surveying managing a project, but after nearly 20 years - and going from chainman, to licensee with a four-year degree - I have come to an unpleasant conclusion.
I would rather have someone who knows little to nothing about surveying, but who is an excellent manager, running projects. A surveyor can be a good project manager, but being a good surveyor does not automatically make someone competent at managing projects. They are two completely different skill sets with minimal overlap. Let the surveyors survey, and let the managers manage.
The number one reason I haven't gone after the PM title at my employer (despite being constantly pushed) is that I'm not impressed with the quality of leadership and management, and have no confidence that I would get the kind of mentorship that is required to become a competent manager.
It's aggravating because I would like to take that step, but I'm not about to get hung out to dry by the same folks that I keep bailing out of trouble.
But that's where the money seems to be. Technical competence, planning and problem-solving ain't as lucrative as simply inking a deal and pitching it to a team without any idea of how to complete the work.
