Was looking at the news section and there is an article about a "senior surveyor". He may be older than he looks, but dang he looks young. Says he has a whopping 12 yrs of experience and first became a senior surveyor after 6 years of experience. I an not entirely sure what the west coast means by senior surveyor, but I expect that it means he is the supervisor of the survey crews.
All this to ask, how long did it take for you to: a) become a party chief and b) supervise other crews?
When I became licensed and started running my own business. School of hard knocks with lots of CE since then.
To tell the truth, I rather enjoy having reached that stage in life where I can get out of doing something by simply announcing, "I can't/don't do that anymore." Yes, I could do it, but, I really don't want to. I've had enough of that kind of experience. One example is changing oil in my vehicles. To heck with it. I'll gladly pay a few minutes worth of my billable rate to have someone else do it while I do something more beneficial to me.
I started surveying in 1982 and didn't know a plumbob from a bowling pin. About 6 years later was given a crew and a beat up old Chevy truck to take home at night. I got licensed in '95 and was moved into the office where I supered 2 crews.
A) 6 years
B) 13 years
a) 2 years
b) 4 years
I forgot to add mine. Started surveying in Feb, 1990. I remember because I just had started dating my wife when I got the first surveying job.
a)5 yrs (1995)
b) 2000? (10 yrs)
I've noticed that a few times to.
I was handed a Survey crew long before I was really ready for it. I had about 5 or 6 years of mostly office experience. I tend to learn in self-taught fashion so it worked out for me. It took me a while to learn that most people don't learn like I do because it always puzzled me why someone couldn't just figure it out like I do.
I dragged my feet on the exam until about 18 years in then I passed it on the first try six months after the LSIT. I had 10 years of small private firm experience which the California exam seems to be geared for because it wasn't that much different from what I had been doing since my Dad taught me how to calc a coordinate 20 years before.
7 years and then 10 years. I started in 82'. At 11-12 years I was junior partner in the firm.
First part time job summer of '70 - age 19.
First full time job, May '71 - age 20
Chief of parties - 3 months later with as many as 5 crews working under me. Never was a party chief.
First license age 24 - May '74 in WV
Second license later that year just barely 25 in VA.
Started my own business at 25 - April Fools Day, 1976. Been going strong ever since.
Looking back I sure was young and foolish!
Slight correction. Licenses were in '75. Got the years mixed up - must be getting old! Oh wait, that's where this thread started.
1 MONTH
2 YEARS
But I began with 18 months of survey tech. school.
^ No offense, but that's scary.
a.) 4 yrs
b.) hasn't yet happened (MI economy).
Became a PC at the ripe old age of 21 in 75 after 6 years of PT working(about 3 Mo./Yr) and 6 mo. FT as a IM. My entire party was older than I was.
Did the next 5 years in construction, then the next 6 in Land surveying. Got my first registration then, Feb 14, 1987. Got No. 6 in Feb. 1997.
SJ
We used to say that about First Solos at ridiculously low times like 4 hours back before the FAA added a bunch of requirements before an Instructor could solo someone. Basic stuff like, oh, how to get back to the airport.
My first company ran two-man crews, so not really considered party chiefs. Of the 3 crew chiefs we had, 2 of them were PS's - clearly you're not running a crew over them. The other one, unlicensed - well lets just say you'd need the jaws of life to retract your vice grips out your rear end if you ever pull one of his monuments. I honestly don't get the 'lets hand a kid a crew to run cuz he's been to college' mentality some places seem to have. Whatever happened to coming up thru the ranks & mentoring?
None taken, but actually it's not that scary. I was lucky enough to work for very smaller outfits that had very involved owner surveyors. First 4 weeks were intensive training in various surveying projects. Worked with the owner and every party chief in the company for a week or so. Continued to be assigned to a senior crew chief if something new came up. But you can't do this with someone who hasn't been to school for surveying. Those were the guys I was in charge of, even though they had been with the company for a couple years.
There is a difference between hiring a laborer and hiring a survey technician.
> Those were the guys I was in charge of, even though they had been with the company for a couple years.
>
Here we go.
No offense, but I believe that when it came out that you only had schooling, it would have been my last day working there, if I were those guys.
Roadhand,
Notice I didn't say for a lot of years. I've learned an awful lot from folks with no college degree. Never considered quitting when an unschooled, but very experienced surveyor was my boss. On the contrary, we learned from each other. But there are those with no degree who resent formal education, and those with formal education that resent those without it. I'm not in either camp. But I have common sense enough to recognize what both have to offer, as well as their limitations.
