> Thanks to all that have replied. It is interesting to see the responses. I am one of those people who don't mind working hard each day, my only goal is not to become a topo monkey, I hate those things sometimes.
>
You're way ahead of the game with that way of thinking. You'd be surprised how many of those there are out there, Licensed and all. In fact some in multiple states.
Good Luck
Ralph
Consider A Step Back
I am unsure if the St Lawrence program qualifies for Association of Ontario Land Surveyors membership, whereas a concentrated 2 year degree does. After that your experience carries greater weight.
There is a similar conundrum here in PA. Penn State University Wilkes-Barre has a 2 year AAS and a 4 year BS surveying program. After the second year a BS candidate can take the Fundamentals of Surveying exam, but it does not qualify him until he receives his degree 2 years later. However if instead the candidate takes his 2 year AAS degree he can also take the FS exam and experience accumulates immediately. Thus summer or part time employment gives him a head start even as he continues to the BS degree. But to receive the AAS after 2 years one must take the one surveying course that does not qualify for the BS. He must then retake a slightly more rigorous course for BS credit. Had I been a Penn State student I would have taken that additional course. Instead I opted to commute and attend college in New Jersey because it was closer to my home. Actually what I did was take a step back option. I had a BS Civil Engineering and was already a Professional Engineer. Later in life I completed the requirements for an AAS surveying, but in PA having the BS CE it was not neccessary to actually receive the degree. Having the AAS qualifications without the AAS degree was sufficent to continue at a university. If I in fact needed the degree I would have no qualms in taking the official step back.
The US has more than 50 jurisdictions registering surveyors and the rules vary considerably. PA only counts experience after the Fundamentals toward professional licensing, others may allow it with less or no additional experience after the fundamentals.
In any case contact the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors for evaluation of your education.
Paul in PA
"...Completely proficient with a total station ..."
In light of a previous thread ask yourself to re-evaluate this comment. How good is the total station you're working with? What results can I expect? What errors can I expect? How tight can I really measure, AND PROVE IT?
How does the advent of angular encoders effect how I wrap angles? How does the dual axis compensator affect an effort to place points on a straight line?
> "...Completely proficient with a total station ..."
>
> In light of a previous thread ask yourself to re-evaluate this comment. How good is the total station you're working with? What results can I expect? What errors can I expect? How tight can I really measure, AND PROVE IT?
>
> How does the advent of angular encoders effect how I wrap angles? How does the dual axis compensator affect an effort to place points on a straight line?
Hello,
These are all good questions, and unfortunately I cannot answer. This is the type of thing I would expect to learn in the field. The total station that we work with works to the mm, but may be adjustable, its just a standard 100.000 meters display. I am a big believer in that training can always be found, we always work with standard error tolerances that raise red flags between my co worker and I and use common sense to tell us if the instrument is giving a reasonable reading. We know that hot days make it difficult for distance. We do not process our data as the city has designers that do such a task. If they find a great error in our work we go out, remeasure, and confirm the details. We had to measure an airport runway centrepoint 4 times over a few weeks, to prove that our instrument and our work is done accurately. That was a very
interesting job, I couldn't keep my eye off of the airplanes, and working on an active runway keeps you on your toes !
For those of you wondering here is the link to the program I am currently attending.
http://www.stlawrencecollege.ca/index.aspx?iPageID=139&iMenuID=6&progId=551
Thanks,
Steven Gill
Consider A Step Back
> I am unsure if the St Lawrence program qualifies for Association of Ontario Land Surveyors membership, whereas a concentrated 2 year degree does. After that your experience carries greater weight.
>
> There is a similar conundrum here in PA. Penn State University Wilkes-Barre has a 2 year AAS and a 4 year BS surveying program. After the second year a BS candidate can take the Fundamentals of Surveying exam, but it does not qualify him until he receives his degree 2 years later. However if instead the candidate takes his 2 year AAS degree he can also take the FS exam and experience accumulates immediately. Thus summer or part time employment gives him a head start even as he continues to the BS degree. But to receive the AAS after 2 years one must take the one surveying course that does not qualify for the BS. He must then retake a slightly more rigorous course for BS credit. Had I been a Penn State student I would have taken that additional course. Instead I opted to commute and attend college in New Jersey because it was closer to my home. Actually what I did was take a step back option. I had a BS Civil Engineering and was already a Professional Engineer. Later in life I completed the requirements for an AAS surveying, but in PA having the BS CE it was not neccessary to actually receive the degree. Having the AAS qualifications without the AAS degree was sufficent to continue at a university. If I in fact needed the degree I would have no qualms in taking the official step back.
>
> The US has more than 50 jurisdictions registering surveyors and the rules vary considerably. PA only counts experience after the Fundamentals toward professional licensing, others may allow it with less or no additional experience after the fundamentals.
>
> In any case contact the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors for evaluation of your education.
>
> Paul in PA
I plan to contact them as soon as possible, working with a licensed OLS may be my only option, I am not a person who is fond of school, I would rather have experience than schooling, but we shall see what the requirements are. I am having a rather hard time finding them.
In my opinion the requirements should be laid out clearly, and the local licensing authority should be integrated with colleges and university. Such a program could not be run at every college or university, but it would be nice to have graduates who do a four year program, have one {whatever is required by the authority} year placement, and graduate with a job, a degree and an OLS license, or the state/province equivalent. Sending out 20, 25 students that are ready to work and licensed may be good, but I have no idea on how the Ontario or international job markets would handle an increase in licensed professionals.
Thanks,
Steven Gill
Steven
I would encourage you to seek more education. I know that UNB and Calgary have exceptional survey programs. Each program would teach you the concepts behind the questions I previously posed. It is highly unlikely you would learn them on the job.
What total station are you using?
I shall look into further education.
This is the Total Station being used:
http://www.trimble.com/5600.shtml
It is in the city's budget to buy new equipment this spring as this equipment is beginning to get outdated, so there will be a new total station to learn. The city is starting to move to GPS technologies. The current total station that we have does everything we need it to do for our job, ie. there has never been a time where we wish it did more. Actually one exception, finding property markers in thick brush might be easier if we can get a GPS signal, instead of measuring and using the wand to find the IB's, SIB's, and IP's.
Thanks,
Steven Gill
"...The total station that we work with works to the mm..."
This is doubtful with the 5600 series. (Look at the Data Sheet)
A UNB or Calgary will teach you the theory behind total stations; which ultimately, is much more valuable than knowing how to operate one. Once you understand the theory; learning how to operate a total station becomes MUCH easier. You need to understand those questions I posed earlier.
It's quite simple Gill,
Its not whats preferred, you need both. If you plan to go and survey anything without the education or the experience you've got another thing coming.
> It's quite simple Gill,
>
Its not whats preferred, you need both. If you plan to go and survey anything without the education or the experience you've got another thing coming.
Does this include refineries?
Ralph