Hello everyone. ?ÿI??m looking for some advice about my current employment situation. I live in the Bay Area in California and have been surveying for about 7 years. I went through the union apprenticeship program and took and passed the FS last February. I work at a union shop where I??ve been for about 4 years. My predicament is that I??ve been trying to get the office time to take the PS but it??s been impossible. I love my boss and he??s a great mentor for the field but he??s been promising to bring me into the office for training ever since I took the FS. I??m decent with TBC and know a little starnet and civil3d so I??m not starting from scratch. It seems like none of the union shops allow the field guys to get into the office. I??ve looked into going back to school and even started taking some prerequisite classes. I know there is a huge shortage of guys wanting to get licensed so I don??t understand why it??s so difficult. Do you think a small non union outfit would be better? Trying to get a degree? When I??ve talked to other companies they say they would bring me into the office but I really don??t believe them since there is also a lack of qualified field personnel. What routes did most of you take to become licensed. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Love this forum. Thanks.?ÿ
Congratulations on passing the FS.
Start applying.Your new job is interviewing the next opportunity for you. Do your homework, and don't take no for an answer.?ÿ
People that have passed the FS have probably the best chance to get to the next step especially when you are asking to get into the office.
They've had plenty of time. Go find anything you can to get a new mentor that will get you the office and not field time you need.?ÿ I'm right behind you and take the FS in 8 weeks.?ÿ
Tons of jobs for people like you, and you just have to go to find the one that will get you across the line.
Good hunting, you're going to have fun.
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Yes congratulations on passing the FS. I have been putting my feelers out as well about getting into the office full time. ?ÿRight now on the other side of the USA we are in the same problem of needing field work completed. So I am trying to be patient and just keep my ears open. I am in a unique position as my boss friend knows I am looking and we are on the same page. He would have had me in the office a long time ago but the higher ups don??t see it that way as they need field work completed. I do both but office mostly is adjustments or trouble shooting someone??s mistakes. ?ÿI am thinking about taking a cad /civil3d course on my own. Because seems that??s what a lot of people use. Just keep going and you will get to where you need to be. ?ÿJitterboogie gave great advice. Its not easy but don??t let yourself get bitter during this transition time. Keep working hard until the right opportunity comes along. Good luck.?ÿ
I took a couple civil3d classes on my own and they were really helpful just to start getting the basics down. I also took a couple of excel classes that have been very useful. I just can??t believe how hard it is to break into the office. Thanks for the advice and I will definitely keep looking.?ÿ
Get into Law School. You'll never get rich Surveying. If you've passed the FS examination, the LSAC test to get into Law School will be a piece of cake. We definitely need some Attorneys with logic and law knowledge. I predict you'll have more clients begging you to take their cases than you can ever handle. No bugs, snakes, brush to hack through, sleeping in flea bag motels, scraper drivers trying to run over you, gators, snarling dogs. Did miss anything?
@skeeter1996?ÿ Be aware that a surveyor brain doesn't work the same way as a legal mind. I was an RLS when I took the LSAT, and did well on it, but after a few law classes I was painfully aware that my 2+ 2 always =4 doesn't apply when you have to consider the precedent of every word in a ruling or statute, and some of them defy logic. I then settled on accounting as a backup career - accounting at least makes sense.
Send me a resume.?ÿ At my office, you would be project surveyor.?ÿ I would oversee your fieldwork and office work through filing the appropriate boundary map.
I've done very well for myself and have made more than many attorneys.
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L
@la-stevens I PM??d him your contact info. ?ÿHe said you are a little farther away from him than he??d like, but he will reach out to you anyway.
I told him to tell Larry that Brad Ott sent ya.
Again, it was great to meet you in person last week!
@skeeter1996 Hey I was running a scraper on hwy jobs at age 14. I never tried to run over anyone lol. But I would sometimes run my pan on the ground and load that sucker up with dust and release it as I passed by but I promise I never ran over anyone. ?ÿI had an old grumpy boss that was always picking on me and playing pranks on me. ?ÿSo one day I saw him enter the Johnny porta potty. Now mid August in Mississippi it was hot and humid. Well I piled a mound of dirt in front of the door on that Johnny. After a few hours in there he never played a joke on me again.?ÿ
Caltrans has over 100 surveying vacancies statewide (office and field), but about 40 of those are in the Bay Area. That is District 4 and they have satellite offices around the district, but the HQ building is in Oakland.
Keep the effort up.?ÿ It took me a few years after I became licensed to get into office.?ÿ That was 30 years ago and I worked hard to climb the ladder.?ÿ At this point in my career, I manage a staff of 28 in the survey department, make better money than I ever imagined that I would and own a piece of the company.
Like the song says, "if you have a dream, chase it because dreams will never chase you back, if you have a chance, take it......."
Best of luck and keep up the good work!
@bruce-small Accounting is another good career once you get clerk's working for you that really do all the work.
You reminded me of a good ol' boy friend of mine whose funeral was yesterday.?ÿ When his father returned from doing all sorts of heavy construction work in the South Pacific during WWII, he immediately started teaching his 14 year-old son how to operate everything possible.?ÿ They had the first privately-owned bulldozer in the area as his father had purchased one on the Army surplus list.?ÿ By the time he turned 15 he was doing everything from pulling a sheepsfoot to dozing on State highway jobs his father contracted.?ÿ He was allowed to complete high school at 17 before going fulltime all year long.
You don't need the office to pass the exams and apply for a license. All you need is a chair and some concentration.
Stay in the field and start reading boundary law stuff in your spare time. There's no CAD on the exams, only knowledge and approved calculators. Once you are licensed someone will teach you all the office stuff. Stop asking permission and go do it.
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@holy-cow well I am honored. I am blessed beyond what I deserve. Hopefully My children will be able to survive and grow based on teaching them young. Teaching my 11 year old daughter how to operate farm tractor and all my kids. Give them confidence and not cockiness. ?ÿI am still learning everyday. ?ÿI miss home some but I make do where I am now. Times have changed but I still find ways to safely teach my youngest kidos how to operate equipment when available. ?ÿ
When I was on the path to licensure, I had to complete my day in the field, then spend my off hours drafting what I had collected that day and occasionally turning a hand on drafting others field data. In my situation, field crews started at 6:00 and finished at 2:30 unless we were working out of town or had an hour or two from completing the survey. This allowed me 2 1/2 hours most days to work with the office staff.?ÿ Not only did I achieve my goal of gaining the office experience, I got a good reputation for being motivated and having initiative.?ÿ If you like the place you are employed, see if something similar will work for you.?ÿ Not knowing all of the rules of a union office, being union might throw a monkey wrench in those plans unless you get prior approval.?ÿ Good luck!
then spend my off hours drafting
Are you saying you did this off the clock in order to learn? Admirable but a union would not allow that-only as paid overtime.
@half-bubble California applicants need at least one year of office training to apply..
@bill93?ÿ
Yes, most of that time was off time.?ÿ After the first month, the owner noticed I was spending my off time getting the product out, so he authorized me to get paid as a journeyman draftsman for time at the computer. It was less than my hourly rate in the field but better than no pay at all.?ÿ Like I said in my reply above, I do not know what the unions allow or does not allow. I can only speculate that something similar to my situation would require prior approval or special negotiations in order for it to pass their litmus test.
@half-bubble California requires qualifying office experience to sit for their exam.
