Hey all. I was wondering if there's a spot to collect and share study materials for the FS and the PS exam.?ÿ
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Thanks.
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Professional Publications, Inc. would be a good place to start
Your state surveyor's association may sell reprints of the hand out materials from the seminars that they've sponsored over the years. I found that to be a great source of study material, especially for the state-specific portion of the exam.
A look through this area of the site will provide you with enough opinions on what you need to get and study for each test.?ÿ
As far as sharing, I'm not sure what others think, but downloading what you can and buying the rest for your own study folder and library is what I've done and would suggest.
You are going to want to build a survey library of your own. I will loan people books out of my own library but require that they leave something of equal value with me to insure that the book comes back. That is a policy I arrived at through experience. This is not a trivial investment.?ÿ
I like to recommend the 2nd (or 3rd) edition of?ÿBoundary Control & Legal Principles?ÿfor people entering the profession and looking for a primer on boundary principles. These can be had fairly cheap from alibris.com.?ÿ Later you can judge for yourself whether the latest (7th edition) is worth having.?ÿ
Same goes for Brown's companion piece?ÿEvidence and Procedures for Boundary Location.
Other books I include as essential to a good survey library are Ghilani's?ÿElementary Surveying?ÿ(a recent edition but not necessarily the most recent), Van Sickles'?ÿGPS for Land Surveyors?ÿ(4th edition, the latest), Bergeron's?ÿPocket Guide to Business for Engineers and Land Surveyors, and Wattles'?ÿWriting Legal Descriptions.
The 2009 BLM?ÿManual of Survey Instructions?ÿis essential for the student everywhere in the USA and those practicing in PLSS states. This can be downloaded free, or a hardcover may be purchased.
Practice tests and study guides are extremely useful for test preparation. There is the Fundamentals of Surveying Practice Exam, by George Cole, and Surveying Solved Problems, 5th Edition by Jan van Sickle.?ÿ?ÿ
Yes, there is some investment in both time and money here.?ÿ?ÿ
This is not a comprehensive list of all books that a surveyor might find useful. It is merely what I consider the core that should be included in every surveyor's library. My own library contains at least a dozen others.?ÿ
For studying, the CALTRANS video series can be found on youtube. They are now over 30 years old but still relevant. And free.
