Chances as a Surveying Tech

do it, cary. looks like you have a start already

Oh I'm definitely doing it! Just wondering if enthusiasm will hold up in an interview vs. 2 years' experience? I'd like to hear your opinions from the "other side."

Oh absolutely you could get a job at a Survey or Engineering company as a draftsman. I taught a few CAD classes at a community college, and the list of places where my students wanted to work or got jobs at was vast. From plumbing companies to electrical work.

If it was me and I wanted a career in drafting I would want to design or draft something that was going to be made on a CNC machine, or with a 3D printer.

From someone who would be sitting across the table from you in an interview I would say that above all I am looking for someone who wants to work. As has been mentioned in other threads, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find employees who show up on time, care about what they do, and are willing to work hard. Anyone can be trained to do survey work if they have a desire to do so, what I cannot train is how to work hard and push through days that are miserable without bellyaching the entire time.

Focus on what you bring as an employee, highlight your work ethic and your enthusiasm for the profession. That would shine through to me far more than any lack of experience.

That enthusiasm helps us that have gotten a little burned out to remember why we started doing this kinda work in the first place.:good:

Start applying!

Where are you located, there are a lot of folks here that may be able to put you to work.

Scott Ellis, post: 368171, member: 7154 wrote:
If it was me and I wanted a career in drafting I would want to design or draft something that was going to be made on a CNC machine, or with a 3D printer.

I eventually wound up in drafting for a shop that does CNC machine cutting.

Years ago, I started in surveying, in the field. Eventually migrated to surveying offices, drafting... expect for the frequent times folks from the field crews called in "sick" (usually when it was either 100+ degrees or 15 with wind. Other times when the work load was heavy enough an extra crew was needed).

Then came the Great Recession and I left surveying. Survived a number of other recessions, but not this last one.

A couple years ago, I saw an ad for where I work now. The owner decided to take a chance on me. Bottom line, usually not exciting as one might hope for, but usually not bad. As in surveying, it baffles me how many folks don't know math. Even basic math that is used every single day in such environments.

We don't do much in the way of decorative "stuff", mainly because the machines where I am just can't do it. There are shops that have the ability to cut the more decorative things.

Working in close proximity to sales "people" can be very distracting for people like me who like to concentrate on the project at hand. Especially when the drawings get complicated (extremely detailed).

I really appreciate all your input!

Paul D, post: 368172, member: 323 wrote: From someone who would be sitting across the table from you in an interview I would say that above all I am looking for someone who wants to work. As has been mentioned in other threads, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find employees who show up on time, care about what they do, and are willing to work hard. Anyone can be trained to do survey work if they have a desire to do so, what I cannot train is how to work hard and push through days that are miserable without bellyaching the entire time.

Focus on what you bring as an employee, highlight your work ethic and your enthusiasm for the profession. That would shine through to me far more than any lack of experience.

Awesome, I was hoping someone would say that. I want to work, and I want to do it well. I think I'll go far in the field, just wish I'd realized it fifteen years ago 🙂

Adam, post: 368189, member: 8900 wrote: Where are you located, there are a lot of folks here that may be able to put you to work.

I'm from England originally, but living in Pittsburgh PA. Should be finished with all my courses by this time next year.

I was in the same place as you at about the same age. Up until then I'd done every kind of work imaginable from stock broker to commercial fisherman and framing carpenter. Guess some of us have to try on a lot of hats to find one that fits just right. Up until then none of those hats really fit right but I remembered back when I was a teen I'd had summer jobs working on survey crews as 'the gopher' and had more fun doing that than just about anything else. I think it was because we were always going somewhere new and not knowing what was around the next corner made life more interesting than being stuck in some office cubicle 40 hours a week. What I needed was a challenge so I put life on hold and went back to school and got a degree in the subject of surveying in my mid 30's and in the meantime took every single opportunity I could find to work with other surveyors and it didn't matter to me doing what or if I made a few bucks less than I could somewhere else. No job was to dirty or boring, I tried my best to just have a great attitude and attack everything with gusto. In the end it all paid off when I sat down to take the licensing exam and on passing, one door after another opened up for me. Sometimes I have to pinch myself.

If you have the aptitude for this work, go for it. Remember a good attitude goes a long way. Make it your mission. The moment you make that determination to do something, the universe will align to put you on that path, but it is ultimately up to you to make it happen.

Good luck!

BTW, I'm originally from England as well. Cheers!

Good to hear your story, Williwaw. It's an incredible feeling to find your calling. I'm just as excited now as I was a year ago when that Eureka moment hit: standing there in my yard, tape measure, string, pen and paper in hand, about to map our back yard for a pool deck - and yes, it does feel like once that decision was made, the next steps just fell into place. Every bit of research I've done suggests a perfect compliment to the skills I love to employ most, my temperament‰Û? everything. Haha, I better stop or the wife'll get jealous 🙂

Cary M, post: 368160, member: 11598 wrote: Good day all,

At the ripe old age of 34, I finally realized what I want to do with my life. It's been staring me in the face forever - lots of architects/drafters in the family, my favorite "toy" as a child was graph paper... I love to map/diagram/plot, it just never occurred to me that someone might pay me for it...

If you have a passion for a certain field, it will show. And as an employer I'm more than happy to hire someone that actually likes what they're doing. It is not common, sadly.

And as for your "ripe old age"; I'd rather hire someone that was 90 and liked what they were doing rather than hire a 22 year old mouth-breather that whines about everything.

A good, solid and intelligent assistant is a rarity in my business it seems. I'm betting someone that could produce quality work with little supervision could make a great living at it in the right environment. I think a lot of us do our own final CAD work because it's a lot easier than pulling hairs trying to get production out of the "mouth breather" I mentioned above. Good luck, sounds like you've already found the trail.

paden cash, post: 368202, member: 20 wrote: I'd rather hire someone that was 90 and liked what they were doing rather than hire a 22 year old mouth-breather that whines about everything.

HEY! I'm a mouth breather... however, I'm nowhere near 22...

😀

Cary M, post: 368160, member: 11598 wrote: Anyway, finally realized what I want to do. Last year I started a college certificate in Civil Engineering, which will include classes in drafting, construction materials, route surveying etc.

My question is, do you think such a certificate will be enough to get my foot in the door as a surveying tech? A lot of places seem to be asking for 2+ years experience.

I would say that you should elaborate on the story you've provided here. Show your enthusiasm and your desire to be a surveyor. As someone that interviewed others for several positions, the ones that stood out to me were the ones that showed an interest in surveying as a career, not just as another job. You could see the passion in their eyes and hear it in their voices. Just talking to them made all the difference. A resume is just paper. While experience is important, that doesn't necessarily mean that the most experienced are the most qualified and/or desirable for the position.

I started an AAS in Survey Engineering at 34 or 36 and now a license and a half later I'm still at it. Like you, wish I'd known at 18.
One thing that got me a few jobs was to show a paper portfolio -- field notes, peg books, sketches, maps, CAD drawings, research projects. I traversed and mapped some favorite parks with compass and pacing, working out the latitudes and departures and adjusting the traverses with the ubiquitous HP35. Being able to talk about that in the phone interview got me in the door a few places, showing the notes got me on the on-call list with some local old-timers who taught me boundary principle & local history I would not have learned otherwise.

paden cash, post: 368202, member: 20 wrote: And as for your "ripe old age"; I'd rather hire someone that was 90 and liked what they were doing rather than hire a 22 year old mouth-breather that whines about everything.

A good, solid and intelligent assistant is a rarity in my business it seems. I'm betting someone that could produce quality work with little supervision could make a great living at it in the right environment. I think a lot of us do our own final CAD work because it's a lot easier than pulling hairs trying to get production out of the "mouth breather" I mentioned above. Good luck, sounds like you've already found the trail.

I appreciate this, thanks for responding. It's good to hear that there's a degree of mouth-breathing action at the bottom too, definitely boosts my chances of getting to the top of the pile! That said, I'm sure I'll be whistling a different tune in years to come when I'm hiring - I'll cross that bridge when I come to it...

Wendell, post: 368206, member: 1 wrote: I would say that you should elaborate on the story you've provided here. Show your enthusiasm and your desire to be a surveyor. As someone that interviewed others for several positions, the ones that stood out to me were the ones that showed an interest in surveying as a career, not just as another job. You could see the passion in their eyes and hear it in their voices. Just talking to them made all the difference. A resume is just paper. While experience is important, that doesn't necessarily mean that the most experienced are the most qualified and/or desirable for the position.

I can't wait to go in for interviews! My confidence in that respect is something new, and that was a big tip-off that this is the right track.

The resumes at my current job can be painful sometimes. Someone recently listed one of their skills as, "always shows great attemtion [sic] to detail." Doh.

half bubble, post: 368211, member: 175 wrote: One thing that got me a few jobs was to show a paper portfolio -- field notes, peg books, sketches, maps, CAD drawings, research projects. I traversed and mapped some favorite parks with compass and pacing, working out the latitudes and departures and adjusting the traverses with the ubiquitous HP35. Being able to talk about that in the phone interview got me in the door a few places, showing the notes got me on the on-call list with some local old-timers who taught me boundary principle & local history I would not have learned otherwise.

That's a really good idea. I'm building up my CAD portfolio at the moment - simple stuff so far but experience in Photoshop (of all things) has helped me to pick it up quickly. I'll look into borrowing equipment from the college too.

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts!

Cary,

Where in Pittsburgh, PA area are you getting this 2 year Civil Engineering certificate?

Depending on where you end up working with it, I would suggest you look into available Surveying courses. College level Surveying courses vary wildly all around the US.

I would hope you consider additional education as a part of any employment offer.

Paul in PA

Paul in PA, post: 368262, member: 236 wrote: Where in Pittsburgh, PA area are you getting this 2 year Civil Engineering certificate?

Depending on where you end up working with it, I would suggest you look into available Surveying courses. College level Surveying courses vary wildly all around the US.

I would hope you consider additional education as a part of any employment offer.

Hi Paul. I'm at CCAC, which seems to generally have a good reputation. It's just 8 classes (one year full-time) but I had to take Algebra fundamentals too because, well, it's been a while 🙂 Also studying part time due to work/kids, so I'll finish this time next year.

Cary,

When you are on the CCAC campus gather information on their solar energy technical program and also LND 201, Geographic Information Systems. Both would be useful in an engineering or surveying office.

Paul in PA