Good morning,
I recently stumbled upon this community while gathering resources to study for my FS exam in Colorado. I was approved to sit for the exam 6 months ago but only now am making the time to study.
A little background:
As my Father has been a PLS since I was 3 years old (I am 29 now) I have been indirectly or directly involved in Surveying since I was 16 years old. My first experience surveying was actually as a punishment for being a troublemaker while I was in high school. The most vivid part of that memory is blue-topping a two-mile-long road improvement job in our hometown. Needless to say, after this endeavor I never pictured myself choosing a career in Surveying. Time went on and I received a Bachelors degree in Political Science of University of Colorado at Denver mid-2009 and planned to take the LSATs to go into law school. Life and circumstances eventually led me to change my mind on applying for law school (pretty grateful for this at the current time) and I looked to find work in my field of study. As many of you could imagine, I'm sure, the job prospects were less than fulfilling and I began working for my dads company (he is a one man gig). I worked with him part to full time for the next 4-5 years, the entire time still wrestling with the idea that I did not want to follow in his footsteps and that Surveying was not my path. Though starting to greater understand the words my Father had always told me ÛÏThis is not a bad gig, man.Û
All of that resistance disappeared one day in 2014 (at a time when I had stopped working for my Dad), with three words from the long-time love of my life: ÛÏI am Pregnant.Û
As it should for any man hearing those words, I knew it was time to spring into action career wise. I feel like most guys my age and in those circumstances would feel very lost at that moment (especially with a Liberal Arts degree). However, my father had gifted me something I had no idea he was gifting me at the time, a foundation of knowledge in a career that at that moment in Colorado companies were yearning for people with Survey experience.
I took a job at a small firm out of Wheatridge, and began working on mostly construction staking of new subdivisions in the eastern Front Range of Colorado. There was also a sprinkling of ILCÛªs and some boundary work in Blackhawk that the company was involved in. I eventually moved on from this position to my current job as a Survey Party Chief for a medium sized Infrastructure contractor based out of Denver with its own internal Survey department (of about 4-5 guys, overseen by a PLS). The company specializes in medium to large scale Infrastructure projects with a substantial amount of bridge work. I greatly enjoy and appreciate this job as it is well paying with amazing benefits and is salaried; which keeps me working and paid during the seasonal work slowdown in Colorado. Additionally, I have learned more about Roadway, Bridge and general construction staking then I ever could have imagined.
So here I am, enjoying my current position, but setting my goals to the future. The State of Colorado has decided to end the Experience and Examination Path to Licensure in July 2020, and as my Bachelors degree has nothing to do with surveying or engineering, that appears to be my deadline to get my license in the State of Colorado. Currently sitting at about 7.5 years of PLS verified experience so to the best of my knowledge, even if they donÛªt accept any of my college education for experience, I should have time to obtain 10 years of experience and test (and hopefully pass) my Licensure examinations prior to the termination of that path to licensure.
Happy to have found this website and board as I will likely have many questions to come as I impart upon the journey of committing to memory all of the necessary information to pass both the FS and PLS examinations. Time to get studying.
Welcome Brandon, you have found a great resource.
Welcome. This is definitely the greatest single resource you will find to help you along your way. Everyone helps everyone else in some way every day.
I will be in your area in late March to attend the National Association of School Boards annual convention. Plan to hang out some with my cousins and my wife's cousins in that part of Colorado during my free time.
I predict the next 25 yrs of Surveying to be some of the MOST interesting in history.
We finally have at our disposal, the TOOLS to thoroughly and completely retrace entire communities, in a quite short period of time.
Never before in history have we had so much.
Metal Detectors.
Chain saws
ATV's
GPS
Total Stations
the tool list, we now have is more than ever before.
N
Welcome Brandon. I look forward to hearing more form you, I am maybe going to send you some questions about your experience on becoming licenced, a side project of mine, experience vs pure college. If you don't mind.
It's always three little words that seem to make the most changes in life. Those three will put a man in action, if it doesn't then there is something wrong with him. Congratulations, I have two. Some folks on here have enough for a ball team.
Welcome to "home away from home" there are many highly intelligent people here (excluding me) that you can learn from. We can also learn from the experiences you have had. 😎
Welcome brandon, I took the electronic FS in Nov 14 and the paper PS in Oct 15 and I am just finishing my 3rd state specific. if you need any help on study material, I'd be happy to help.
Welcome.
Brandon Pulling, post: 404478, member: 12326 wrote: Good morning,
I recently stumbled upon this community while gathering resources to study for my FS exam in Colorado. I was approved to sit for the exam 6 months ago but only now am making the time to study.
A little background:
As my Father has been a PLS since I was 3 years old (I am 29 now) I have been indirectly or directly involved in Surveying since I was 16 years old. My first experience surveying was actually as a punishment for being a troublemaker while I was in high school. The most vivid part of that memory is blue-topping a two-mile-long road improvement job in our hometown. Needless to say, after this endeavor I never pictured myself choosing a career in Surveying. Time went on and I received a Bachelors degree in Political Science of University of Colorado at Denver mid-2009 and planned to take the LSATs to go into law school. Life and circumstances eventually led me to change my mind on applying for law school (pretty grateful for this at the current time) and I looked to find work in my field of study. As many of you could imagine, I'm sure, the job prospects were less than fulfilling and I began working for my dads company (he is a one man gig). I worked with him part to full time for the next 4-5 years, the entire time still wrestling with the idea that I did not want to follow in his footsteps and that Surveying was not my path. Though starting to greater understand the words my Father had always told me ÛÏThis is not a bad gig, man.Û
All of that resistance disappeared one day in 2014 (at a time when I had stopped working for my Dad), with three words from the long-time love of my life: ÛÏI am Pregnant.Û
As it should for any man hearing those words, I knew it was time to spring into action career wise. I feel like most guys my age and in those circumstances would feel very lost at that moment (especially with a Liberal Arts degree). However, my father had gifted me something I had no idea he was gifting me at the time, a foundation of knowledge in a career that at that moment in Colorado companies were yearning for people with Survey experience.
I took a job at a small firm out of Wheatridge, and began working on mostly construction staking of new subdivisions in the eastern Front Range of Colorado. There was also a sprinkling of ILCÛªs and some boundary work in Blackhawk that the company was involved in. I eventually moved on from this position to my current job as a Survey Party Chief for a medium sized Infrastructure contractor based out of Denver with its own internal Survey department (of about 4-5 guys, overseen by a PLS). The company specializes in medium to large scale Infrastructure projects with a substantial amount of bridge work. I greatly enjoy and appreciate this job as it is well paying with amazing benefits and is salaried; which keeps me working and paid during the seasonal work slowdown in Colorado. Additionally, I have learned more about Roadway, Bridge and general construction staking then I ever could have imagined.
So here I am, enjoying my current position, but setting my goals to the future. The State of Colorado has decided to end the Experience and Examination Path to Licensure in July 2020, and as my Bachelors degree has nothing to do with surveying or engineering, that appears to be my deadline to get my license in the State of Colorado. Currently sitting at about 7.5 years of PLS verified experience so to the best of my knowledge, even if they donÛªt accept any of my college education for experience, I should have time to obtain 10 years of experience and test (and hopefully pass) my Licensure examinations prior to the termination of that path to licensure.
Happy to have found this website and board as I will likely have many questions to come as I impart upon the journey of committing to memory all of the necessary information to pass both the FS and PLS examinations. Time to get studying.
:gammon: Welcome to Surveyor's Anonymous, you've taken the first of the twelve steps towards recovery. Good luck and don't forget to drop a little grist for the mill here now and then. 😉 :clink:
Nice first post.
I remember very well applying for my first LS license which was in Colorado, 1975. I did not do a good job delineating my "land surveying" experience from my other surveying work and I was denied a chance to take the exam.
If memory serves, it was required to have at least 2 years of responsible charge land survey experience together with 5 or so more years of other surveying experience to sit for the exam.
I called the board and explained that I had misunderstood the instructions on the application and could I please resubmit?
At the time, if I remember correctly, the chairman (or secretary?) of the board was a man by the name of Ochs and he wasn't swayed by my story and pretty much told me to come back in a couple years and try again.
Welp, I had a nice job offer contingent upon my getting "registered" by sometime in 1976. I had completed my ICS correspondence course and was going to night classes at the Colorado School of Mines to brush up on Colorado surveying law. And I was ready to take the test.
So I picked the name of a Boulder attorney out of the book and gave him a call. He had me stop by the next day and tell my story to him face to face.
He asked me a couple questions, looked up a thing or two in his law books and gave the board a call. It took him only about 10 minutes of conversation with Colonel Ochs (I believe he was referred to as colonel) and I got the go ahead to send in a new application.
It was accepted and I was admitted to take the two day exam.
I studied my butt off, knowing I better get it right or I was failing for sure. A large part of the exam was "essay"..... long hand written answers to questions like: "discuss fully the doctrine of adverse possession" I used lots of paper up and after waiting three months or so was rewarded with an unbelievable letter from the Board...... signed by Ochs.
Anyway, I don't know the current law but make sure you have the correct "land survey" experience or your application will definitely get kicked back
Good Luck and enjoy your career.
Monte, post: 404488, member: 11913 wrote: Welcome Brandon. I look forward to hearing more form you, I am maybe going to send you some questions about your experience on becoming licenced, a side project of mine, experience vs pure college. If you don't mind.
No problem. Would be happy to answer some questions
Welcome Brandon
2xcntr, post: 404608, member: 584 wrote: Nice first post.
I remember very well applying for my first LS license which was in Colorado, 1975. I did not do a good job delineating my "land surveying" experience from my other surveying work and I was denied a chance to take the exam.
If memory serves, it was required to have at least 2 years of responsible charge land survey experience together with 5 or so more years of other surveying experience to sit for the exam.
I called the board and explained that I had misunderstood the instructions on the application and could I please resubmit?
At the time, if I remember correctly, the chairman (or secretary?) of the board was a man by the name of Ochs and he wasn't swayed by my story and pretty much told me to come back in a couple years and try again.
Welp, I had a nice job offer contingent upon my getting "registered" by sometime in 1976. I had completed my ICS correspondence course and was going to night classes at the Colorado School of Mines to brush up on Colorado surveying law. And I was ready to take the test.
So I picked the name of a Boulder attorney out of the book and gave him a call. He had me stop by the next day and tell my story to him face to face.
He asked me a couple questions, looked up a thing or two in his law books and gave the board a call. It took him only about 10 minutes of conversation with Colonel Ochs (I believe he was referred to as colonel) and I got the go ahead to send in a new application.
It was accepted and I was admitted to take the two day exam.
I studied my butt off, knowing I better get it right or I was failing for sure. A large part of the exam was "essay"..... long hand written answers to questions like: "discuss fully the doctrine of adverse possession" I used lots of paper up and after waiting three months or so was rewarded with an unbelievable letter from the Board...... signed by Ochs.Anyway, I don't know the current law but make sure you have the correct "land survey" experience or your application will definitely get kicked back
Good Luck and enjoy your career.
Thanks for you insight. Here is a link to the current relevant state statutes for the Board of Licensure in Colorado: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dora/AES_Applications
My understanding is that the most important part of experience is that it is progressive in responsibility and well rounded in nature. Because of this (and the fact that there is extremely limited opportunities at my current position for boundary work), my current Survey Manager always makes sure I am involved in anything non construction related in order to allow him to vouch for this kind of experience.
I would be grateful for any of you guys with years more experience and experience obtaining your LS to take a look over the applicable laws and point out any misunderstandings I may have.
Howdy Brandon
Welcome to the site
:clink:
Brandon,
A quick read says you are on track, but it would be wise to network with Colorado Professionals for reliable information. You don't want to get tripped up near the end.
You could probably shorten the run with a few classes here and there. It helps round out your knowledge base too. Even your liberal arts degree might have some credits you can pull into the mix.
Best of luck, Tom
thebionicman, post: 404665, member: 8136 wrote: Brandon,
A quick read says you are on track, but it would be wise to network with Colorado Professionals for reliable information. You don't want to get tripped up near the end.
You could probably shorten the run with a few classes here and there. It helps round out your knowledge base too. Even your liberal arts degree might have some credits you can pull into the mix.
Best of luck, Tom
Thanks for your advice. I recently signed up for the Colorado Land Surveyor Refresher Courses through Professional Land Surveyors of Colorado. http://www.plsc.net/docs/2017_Refresher.pdf
I'm hoping to be able to network and discuss my current progress towards my license with instructors there to make sure I'm on track. I also plan on getting in touch with a guy my dad worked for a number of years with at the City of Thornton. He is now on the Licensing Board.
UPDATE: I passed the FS Exam in August.
Will be submitting my PLS Application to sit for the exam in June.
Brandon
Brandon Pulling, post: 448618, member: 12326 wrote: UPDATE: I passed the FS Exam in August.
Will be submitting my PLS Application to sit for the exam in June.
Brandon
Congrats. You passed the tough one!
