We all have our own special route through life that led us into the surveying profession. ?ÿSome had family or close acquaintances working in or around surveying. ?ÿI did not. ?ÿOthers found their niche while serving in the military. ?ÿI did not. ?ÿA few of us went through engineering classes and found surveying to be fascinating. ?ÿI did not. ?ÿI had worked as a professional engineer for several years before applying surveying knowledge from the university courses. ?ÿThen I gradually moved into focusing more on surveying.
My aptitude in mathematics is what led me to enrolling in engineering in the first place. ?ÿScience was sort of interesting but couldn't hold a candle to math.
As an elementary student I did very well academically in most everything except handwriting and art. ?ÿIt was my Eighth Grade teacher in my little school that brought to my attention the fact that I was head and shoulders above my classmates when it came to math. ?ÿHe encouraged me to do work "outside the box" to keep myself challenged. ?ÿThe next thing I knew I was working with logarithms and algebra on my own. ?ÿDiscovered what a slide rule was. ?ÿWe had no form of special education or separate classes for those exceptionally capable in specific areas. ?ÿWe were lucky to still have our little school at all. ?ÿHis extra effort work with me woke up my internal drive to succeed at a higher level than the standard expected. ?ÿThis drove my high school math teachers nuts because I expected them to provide similar extra effort in moving me forward.
All good things come to an end. ?ÿMr. Voral Manson was that teacher who woke me up. ?ÿI attended his funeral today as a sign of respect and thanks for what he did for me in the 1960's. ?ÿHe was a few weeks short of his 93rd birthday. ?ÿOnly one other former student of his was present and that one had been his next door neighbor for many years.
"We all have our own special route through life that led us into the surveying profession..."
Oh so true.?ÿ
Most of the folks that had a prominent effect on my path to surveying have also passed on, save one or two.?ÿ I've thankfully never missed a chance to tell each and every one of them "thank you" for the direction.
I was never good at math. I was in a Forestry program that required it. One day the instructor said " Otto Has A Hairy Old Ass". Otto was one of our Forestry instructors, and that made us all laugh. O/H A/H O/A, Sine Cosine Tangent. That one statement help me get through the Trig stuff and beyond!
My favorite school teacher taught history.?ÿ My first two years of college I majored in history.?ÿ Then I sat down one day and said to my self, "What are you going to do with a history degree?"?ÿ I had a cousin who was a surveyor and talked to him about it.?ÿ I was pretty good in math and loved the outdoor work idea.?ÿ Within a month of working as a rodman/chainman I was hooked.?ÿ Then as I got more responsibility I began doing the research.?ÿ I was right back with history again and really liked what I was doing.
Then along came the recession of the early '70s and I went to work in construction laying out heavy industrial projects.?ÿ I hurt my back in 1978 and couldn't work.?ÿ My wife said, "If you can't work you're going back to school".?ÿ I completed my degree in engineering, worked construction another few years (was miserable) and then went back to surveying for a friend.?ÿ Another friend told me about an engineering company who was looking for a surveyor/engineer to help design roads and compute rights of way.?ÿ I went there, got my Surveyors license, and promptly stopped surveying and went back to engineering.?ÿ When I got my Engineers license I promptly stopped engineering and went back to surveying.?ÿ I ran the surveying department of the engineering company.?ÿ Now I'm retired, but will ALWAYS consider myself to be a surveyor.
Andy
I was born to be a surveyor.?ÿ Mr. Harry S. Beale was my Voral Manson: geometry and trigonometry teacher as well as major encourager.
I don't have chromosomes, I have northings and eastings (or ordinates and abscissas).
When it's all over I will have lost my bearings and got out of line.
I enjoyed the math in college but did not really excel in it. Luckily most math that are needed in our jobs are all done by software nowadays.?ÿ
Survey profession I think is for the young in body. Could not manage to really go to difficult sites later on in age.
Do I like the surveying profession? YES.?ÿ
Would I recommend it to my son? NO.
