Hello everyone, I've been lurking this website for a little while and decided to join. The majority of people on here seem nice and willing to help. I look forward to being a part of the community and learning from all of you. About me: I have been working on a field crew now for 9 years pounding hubs, cutting line and digging up pins in asphalt. I finally got my rear in gear and took some courses and I just passed the FS exam(what took so long right?) Now I'm looking for a company where I actually get to use more of my brain and less of my back.
Welcome to the forum! We are all happy to see new members.
What aspects of surveying are you familiar with?
I grew up surveying... learned to rear chain, before I learned to fish..... but that's another story! 🙂
What kinds of instruments are you used to?
What part of Illinois are you in? I worked in the Chicagoland area... Construction staking. Blizzard and Associates, in 1985-6
Nate
I've done construction layout for single family homes, small commercial buildings like banks and retail stores, and the occasional university building. Lots of topo and boundary work. The boundary work has been primarily in rural areas. In the past I've used a Trimble Robotic Station and a Topcon total station. At the company I work at now we use a steel chain for layout (if you can believe it), a Wild T1000 and an automatic level for everything else. The people I work for "Don't really trust GPS" so we rarely ever use it. I'm only a rodman so I just say "Yes sir" and do whatever grunt work is required. I'm in Southern Illinois.
Welcome! We're happy to have you and glad you decided to move up from lurker mode. 🙂
Your handle has a familiar ring to it for some reason. Perhaps you have some famous relatives.
Welcome. This is a great place to hang out and make connections. Many of us learn something new practically every day. On a weekend when things are slow that something might be how to determine the manufacturer and year of a motorcycle simply by listening to how it idles. On most weekdays it could be anything from skyscrapers to topos in Turkmenistan (sp?). From far southern Australia to Romania and Hawaii to Afghanistan.
Southern Illinois by some people's definition starts at I-80. I'm betting your south of I-70, though.
Haha, perhaps.
I lived in Ellicott City, MD for a while. I liked doing boundary work in that area because we would joke about finding a stone set by Washington or a stone wall laid out by Ellicott. I'm even further South; South of I-64. I'm not a native Illinoisan and it's been interesting to see the dynamic between Chicago and the rest of the state. They are surprised we have electric, running water, and computers.
Welcome aboard.........
I've had that wish for over 40yrs and on most days I am still in charge of the bending and the digging B-)
One branch of my ancestry spent many years in southeastern St. Clair County near the Washington County line starting about 1810. Have only crossed Illinois on I-64 one time so have limited personal knowledge of the area other than it was a more attractive place than southwestern Kentucky 200 years ago.
Andrew,
My mother's family (Thomasson) hailed from Massac County. We're practically cousins already.
andrew_ellicott, post: 327321, member: 10216 wrote: where I actually get to use more of my brain and less of my back.
Do you want to be in the office?
Welcome Andrew, If you are "normal" like the rest of us once you are in the office you will want to be in the field. B-)
Nate, that's the goal. I know this may be unrealistic, but ideally the next place I work will be under some wise old surveyor that's respected in the profession and doesn't mind me asking questions, because I will have a ton of them. I can study all the books I want and even pass the exam (I managed to do it for the FS), but I'm a strong believer in on-the-job training. I may be wrong, but I feel like one doesn't really understand a topic until they have done it in the real world and can also explain it to someone else. Also, as you know, I need 4 years of "responsible charge" of projects before I can sit for the PS. I don't think swinging a machete counts. I don't mean to sound like some primadona that doesn't want to get his hands dirty, because I know that is a critical part of the job...it's just that I need to focus on making this a career and becoming a professional.
FL/GA, I'm sure you are right. I'll probably still have to eat my lunch in the work truck.
Welcome Andrew. I'm also from S. IL - Flora, Clay county.
Practically, all my kin is from that general area.
E.
Well, Andrew, many of us are field addicts, with office interludes. You should see the cartoon, hmmm Let me find it for you... 
Here it is!
Greetings from StL, and howdy from a Madison County, IL resident.
