WOW!
Really! 30 PDH's in two days? Sounds like real quality education! LOL
Steve
I did not think of that. I cannot imagine hiring a surveyor, who maintains his license with bogus Continuing ed.
Life is like that, though. I have looked at all the links above, and I don't really have one picked out.
My weakest part is State Plane Coords, Reference datums, and all the things modern software can do.
Least squares, and their practical application. I want to take courses, that I will actually learn from.
Nate
Nate
Not that it will help with your current situation, but if you really want to learn something in a class, try signing up at a college that has online surveying classes like Great Basin College or East Tennessee State University.
Taking one class per semester will give you more than enough PDH's. Each college credit hour is worth 45 PDH's (3 credit class = 135 PDH's).
A list of classes that Great Basin offers online is here.
A list of classes that ETSU offers online is here.
I did that in collage. Took 2 calc classes that no one wanted to take as they were 8 am classes. I elected to take those ones beacuse I knew the prof didn't give weekly, or surprise quizes. Only 3 exams and the final. Went to class a total of like 5 times. Bs in both classes. Moved on. Work within the rules that are given to you. Move on.
WOW!
It depends on how fast you can read the slides. So long as you pass the test at the end, you get a certificate for the hours. It does list your actual seat time which some states require. I went thru a 3 PDH class in about an hour on average. Time spent was also related to how much previous knowledge I had of the subject prior to taking the classes as well. And since it is unlimited, I have since taken more classes just for the learning aspect as opposed to the "have to by law"
Learning Least Squares
After you get your PDH taken care of, download Star*Net. Last I knew, the free demo mode had full functionality for data sets of 10 points or less and unlimited measurement observations. Put in some sample problems and see what it does. There is enough information in the Help screens to figure it out from some examples. Learn what each of the items in the output report mean.
A lot of LS tutorials drag you through all the math theory, which really doesn't teach you much about what it is good for, just what you need to do it by hand or how to write a computer program for it (which I've done). Where LS really outdoes all other adjustment methods is the almost effortless ability to process redundant measurements, like cross-ties in a traverse and GPS plus traverse data.
All you need from the math are the concepts of "standard error=standard deviation of your measurement process", "best fit", and "95% confidence".
Wolf and Ghilani have some good information on using LS in their textbooks (you can pick up a used/prior edition cheap). Again more math than application, but enough application to get some sense of it.
If you can't come up with a good example to see the syntax and to run, email me through the site and I'll send you one, but there might be one that comes with the program.
surveypdu.com looks pretty interesting. Courses in Solar, and Green Streets. I have always wanted to place a solar charger on the base, and to think more about street design. I'm picking through it, and probably going that way, with the 50% discount above.
Startin tomorrow, and gonna get it in.
Thanks everybody for your advice.
Shucks. I forgot about the 20 yrs thing!
N
Got it done...Through PDHONLINE.ORG
Well, I took 2 Jan Van Sickles courses, One on GPS, and the other on Coordinates. The one on Coordinates was harder than I expected. But, it sure made a mark on me. Now I want some of his books!
Then, I took one of Jonathan Terry's courses on ALTA Surveys. It was fun. Very educational. "No living sacrifices..."
It has material that I will refer to, if and when I perform an ALTA survey.
I can honestly recommend courses by those 2 authors. Good stuff.
I also took a 2 hr safety course. This rounded out my 30 hrs.
I did not just take the Quiz... I read all the material. And, learned from it. I believe in Continuing Education.
Nate
