Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Business, Finance & Legal › Surveyor shortage redo
I’ve been at this for almost 40 years, after getting quite a late start due to chronic indecisiveness in my youth – and now I can truly say I’m sorry I finally decided on surveying as a lifestyle. It’s -1 outside with the wind, and my creaky old fat ass is staying right in here by the fire.
The low-pay-lament has been going on as long as I’ve been at it, and everybody talks tough until there’s a correction in the markets, then the fees drop back to keep the lights on, and catch up takes years.
I too would never recommend surveying as a career path – unless it’s gov’t service with a guaranteed pension plan – and you want to be part of a bureaucracy…
SS
P.S. – here’s my retirement plan:
An E One is a sewer pump. They list for 7,500 and the contractors charge 15k plus installation.
We buy stakes for about 0.70-0.90 and charge 2.00 plus installation. If I had a project with 1,000 stakes, then we’d be talking apples and apples. Though it takes them an hour to set a pump and how many days would it take for 1000 stakes?
I foresee the shortage of surveyors. We need to change the fees to pay the kids to attract the talent. I completely agree that I would not recommend surveying with the current downward salary trend. We will continue to get the less educated and therefore we will continue to erode at the appearance of the profession.
Take a look at the workshops/classes offered in at the Pennsylvania conference in January. A mixture of many topics, including business principles, etc.
John,
You going to the conference in Hershey? I’ll probably be there.
John – that is all well and good, but can you accept PDH’s for the business (marketing) topics? My understanding was that you can’t. This is from 4.5(b) of the “Continuing Education Provisions”:
“Continuing professional competency obtained by a licensee should maintain, improve or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior
to initial licensure, including law and ethics applicable to the profession, or develop new and relevant skills and knowledge. No credit shall be given for a course in practice building or office management.”That last sentence sure makes it sound like you can’t, and in PA you won’t know that you don’t have valid CE’s until you get audited and they tell you they don’t count. I personally think business management should be included as acceptable CE’s.
My main concern when computing my fee is the amount for liability.
That can not be done in quoting an hourly fee.
Well……it can if you are true to the hourly fee but I have never met anyone who was. I mean if the liability for the job does not agree with hourly fee then you need to raise the rate. If your rates are done properly they should have all of your associated costs of doing business (direct employee costs, insurance, equipment, incidentals such as gas and repairs, rent, utilities, etc. etc.) plus a profit margin built into them. But people don’t use the rates they claim to have and it is just a talking point to allow them to puff out their chest.
In the words of a wealthy client: You cannot get rich working hourly.
I don’t need to be rich, I want to be comfortable.
??Among the rich you will never find a really generous man even by accident. They may give their money away, but they will never give themselves away; they are egotistic, secretive, dry as old bones. To be smart enough to get all that money you must be dull enough to want it.?
?? G.K. Chesterton- Posted by: spledeus
In the words of a wealthy client: You cannot get rich working hourly.
I don’t need to be rich, I want to be comfortable.
In practice I do not charge by the hour but I do have an hourly component to it. I mean if I price something at $7500 I have factored in the research, travel, field work, drafting and other factors like recording fees. However if situations arise once in the field that go beyond the original scope expectations then I am going to charge more or I stop right there and take my payment and mosey on down the road.
That’s the biggest quote of Bull**it I have ever seen.
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