New Career Need Help

Posted by: @jhickman

?ÿI have knowledge of getting point info from surveyors and I have helped with some boundary surveying but other than that I have very little knowledge of how to work the equipment and exactly what equipment I would need to get prior to starting.?ÿ

A. This does not sound like you are experienced/trained enough to take on the job, even with ideal equipment.

B. Have you figured out your road to eventual licensure? Without the background now, how many years will it take in your state?

$100,000 a year is only $50 per hour considering 50 weeks at 40 hours average.

Real surveyors make five times that.

The very first thing to do is sit down with the person wanting you to do the field work to decide exactly how this is going to work?ÿ because he will need to be the one who trains you in every phase of operating the business and be the one to sign off on your experience when you go to apply for licensure some day.?ÿ He is the person who needs to purchase vital equipment upgrades to resell to you when the time comes.?ÿ Without a license, you do not need to own anything but your working attire.?ÿ This is still his baby, even if he wants you to raise it.

Your wish list for equipment may not align with his thoughts, but, push to make upgrades for equipment that you will have to learn to operate quickly.?ÿ It's only worth something to him if you are guaranteed to be able to operate it efficiently.?ÿ Do not assume that the seller of the equipment will provide you a ton of training.?ÿ Salesmen make promises but they generally barely know how to turn it on, themselves.?ÿ No matter what you have done in recent years, this will be an all new challenge that you are the only one who will make it succeed or fail.?ÿ Can you handle that??ÿ Can you handle having no Holidays and no vacation days and working whatever days and hours are required as opposed to clocking in and out at specified hours of the day??ÿ In this arrangement, do not expect to have any kind of health insurance policy paid for by anyone but yourself??ÿ Figure out what your benefit package has truly been worth to you before jumping on this opportunity.

Sort that all out before worrying about which is the best equipment because the equipment will not make the business live or die.?ÿ Your commitment to making things work will do that.

@dave-lindell

I think he's talking net...

@bill93 you are right I donƒ??t have the training currently but I plan to learn much of what I need to learn from the guy I will be working with but he said he is not willing to get new equipment or learn new equipment. He said he is still working in cad 2000 or something like that. Thatƒ??s why I think there has to be some sort of training for a week by one of these bigger companies to learn what I need to for basic surveying and then get more advanced and knowledgeable as time goes on.?ÿ
I have called the licensure office and know my path. It will take another 5 years but Iƒ??m willing to do it.

Posted by: @bill93

B. Have you figured out your road to eventual licensure? Without the background now, how many years will it take in your state?

Posted by: @jhickman

I am just tired of small town politics so I was hoping to go out on my own so I can have freedom to determine what I do with my time and life.

Getting into private sector Professional Engineering and Surveying may get you deeper into small town politics.?ÿ Surveyors often are in the position of representing their clients in local planning board and zoning board meetings.?ÿ Often this means both the board members and the general public questioning everything you say.

As Bill noted you need to know exactly what is required to get a surveying license in your state.?ÿ In Ohio, Per Ohio Revised Code 4733.11, you would need:

Section 4733.11 | License qualifications.
(B) The state board of registration for professional engineers and surveyors shall consider an applicant to be qualified for registration as a professional surveyor if the applicant satisfies all of the requirements listed in either division (B)(1) or (2) of this section as follows:
(2)(a) Graduation from an accredited curriculum in civil engineering of four years or more in a recognized school or college;

(b) Successful completion of at least sixteen semester hours, or equivalent quarter or trimester hours, of approved surveying courses in surveying and mapping arts and sciences, except that courses successfully completed as prior studies may be credited by the board toward this requirement, of which at least six semester hours, or equivalent quarter or trimester hours, are in surveying of land boundaries;

(c) A specific record of four years or more of surveying office and field experience completed in addition to, and not overlapping in time, any school work completed under division (B)(2)(a) of this section that is of a character acceptable to the board, at least two years of which shall be after college graduation, with at least two of the four years of work in surveying of land boundaries under the direct supervision of a professional surveyor, who may indicate in writing that the applicant is competent to be placed in responsible charge of the work;

(d) Passing the prescribed examinations under divisions (A) and (C) of section 4733.13 of the Revised Code.

?ÿ

1.)?ÿ I would say it depends where you live.?ÿ I've worked mostly in the wide open midwest, so GPS is a great tool out here.?ÿ If I was in the pacific northwest I might pass on GPS, at first at least-- because the tree canopy is so heavy.?ÿ But yes, a robot and a pair of receivers are the workhorses for many surveyors.

2.)?ÿ Carlson was very user friendly the last time I used it.?ÿ I've never looked into the price of their stuff but I would assume it's easily cheaper than both Trimble and Leica, and maybe even Topcon.?ÿ As far as support-- I think this probably depends on how you expect to buy.?ÿ The local equipment dealers have been a lifesaver for me when it comes to troubleshooting things, but I don't know if they would be so helpful if the companies I work for didn't drop tens of thousands of dollars on their stuff.?ÿ I would just say if you plan to buy new or used from your local dealer then I'd expect them to be a quality resource for you, but if you shop ebay for stuff then you might be on your own.

3.)?ÿ I dunno, I haven't been able to get very good info on what various survey roles make or should be expected to make.

Wow JHickman, this is such a bad idea for you I almost feel as if we're being trolled ???? If you've been working in the field of municipal engineering you must have some working knowledge of what it takes to survey. I would hope you have a working knowledge of what it takes to run a business and I agree with the comments above: equipment is the last thing you need to worry about. As a matter of fact, the kind of equipment a company uses is far down on the list of priorities no matter what your role in the company is. I would rank it a little higher than the brand of the trucks they drive.

If all you need to do is make $100k per year then there are much easier ways to achieve that than what you're talking about. Getting licensed is not something you just walk into. It was a 15-year process for me involving several years of schooling, working with LSs all over the country, and working in as many different aspects of surveying/engineering as I could find. I'm not saying you can't do it, but this sounds like a raw deal for you.

@dave-lindell C'mon now.?ÿ Most surveyors are not billing out at @250/hr for 2000hrs/year.?ÿ That would be $500,000 billable.?ÿ With a 2.5-2.7x multiplier that would be a raw salary of $185k to $200k per year.?ÿ Definitely guys doing that, but it's the top few percent...

1. There are a number of guys posting here who are solo operators making a very nice living at surveying. I'll defer to them, but I'd say that it is very possible to net $100k/yr. YMMV, depending on your local market and business model. If you do mostly boundaries I'd say that will be harder to achieve. Engineering design support and construction a little easier, but potentially with more headaches. Those guys have been doing this for a while and have acquired the skills. You won't do as well right out of the box.?ÿ

2. Its a very tall order to be both an Engineer and a Surveyor.?ÿ Most Engineers who try their hand at Surveying treat the surveying as strictly an exercise in measurement. That is more valid for engineering design support and construction?ÿsurveying than it is for boundary surveying.?ÿ A lawyer would be better suited to switch to boundary surveying than an engineer would be.?ÿ ?ÿ

3. Most states, if not all, require a number of years of experience working at surveying - full time, under the supervision of a licensee - before you can test.?ÿ So you, and your partner, are committing to a long term proposition here. And I didn't hear you say that you really love surveying.

4. Leica and Trimble are the 2 premier brands IMHO.?ÿ Hard to say which is 1 and which is 2.?ÿ Topcon comes a rather distant 3rd. There are a number of rebrands of all these. As I posted earlier in another thread you can buy any of these for around $500/month. If you have a steady book of work that is very manageable. You are also going to want a GPS setup. And it makes no sense to stack brand new state of the art equipment on top of wobbly old tripods, etc.?ÿ

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I'd say that you have a lot of thinking to do.?ÿ

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I will say as to #3, yes you can make over 100k working 40 hours a week.?ÿ I only survey on weekends and will make close to $65k maybe a little more this year. My M-F 8-5 will bring in a fair amount more.

As far as equipment, Carlson Geomax setups (Leica lite) looks really optimal.?ÿ I will be upgrading to that from my Topcon825a dinosaur robot.

Posted by: @mark-mayer

A lawyer would be better suited to switch to boundary surveying than an engineer would be.?ÿ ?ÿ

Yes. Any halfway intelligent person can learn measuring fairly quickly, especially with current technology doing the tricky work.?ÿ The years of experience are to teach the law and weighing of evidence to make good decisions.

@drew-r I agree that equipment is down on the list if you are a big company but since I am not planning to hire anybody so it takes away the million headaches that come with having employees. It would be a 5 yr process for me but i donƒ??t know of many 1 man jobs that can get you out of the office a good bit and still make decent money. Iƒ??m young and live in a small town in the Deep South so maybe I just donƒ??t have enough experience but this seems like a good option.?ÿ

@mark-mayer I havenƒ??t had a long sit down discussion with the guy yet because Iƒ??m trying to get all the details down before I do. I understand this is a long term commitment by both him and I so it will definitely be discussed when I do sit down with him. I have quite a few things we both have to agree to prior to this partnership actually happening.

on the equipment, I hear about Leica and Trimble being top dog from some of my research but nobody clearly defines what makes them better. Is it more accurate? The software better? Last longer? More user friendly for a newbie? Iƒ??m not against purchasing either but is it worth it for more basic surveys??ÿ