What really gets me is that our fiat currancy has been dropping in value steadily since 1971 (gee thanks Nixon), yep the US dollar steadily dropping, prices rising on everything but land surveying. As many have learned your house did not rise in value, it just takes more dollars to purchase it because the dollar has steadily became weaker and weaker. Why is surveying still fetching 1985 prices...I don't really know, I guess the world is changing and the value of our product has gone down.
Meanwhile the equipment required to run a surveying business costs have tripled or more. If lightsquared screws everyones expensive GPS then that is just pretty major insult on top of injury.
As a group surveyors traditionally appear to not know much about money or how to make it, in the begining I did not care about the money just the hot chicks, adventure, and interesting mix of scientific measurments and the rugged outdoors. Also, I liked the idea of being known in the community as the local expert in all things geography, survyeing & mapping which is not the case for surveyors nowdays either. Now I do care mainly about the money and sadly its just not there in surveying like it used to be before all the bubbles popped.
It seems that the choice to be strictly a land surveyor is the choice to be relatively poor with a forecast of getting poorer in the future.
I hate seeing my beloved profession in the current state of affairs with the current outlook but what can you do aye, for me I started a new investing business and it is now outruning my formerly successful surveying business...
How about you, are you gonna ride this surveying pony to the finish line, it this profession gonna be there for you or are those days past?
I Like heavy equipment operation.
Maybe I get State Job.
N
> How about you, are you gonna ride this surveying pony to the finish line, it this profession gonna be there for you or are those days past?
It's still working for me. I'm probably too old to do anything else, but I plan to figure out ways to keep it going until I'm ready to retire, or until I'm no longer physically able to do the work, whichever comes first.
Dude,
I been telling you for years that you got to learn about the business!
A businessman or woman will know how to morph and keep going.
You thinking surveying is all about boundaries is sinking you.
If you had diversified long ago, you would be better off.
You should have been Scanning.
You should have been Lidaring.
You should have been GISing.
Now you are left to the few small boundary surveys while the rest
of the surveyors are kicking out the other work.
Should have got educated and learned about business.
Lucky for you I did not go into competition with you when I got laid off.
I just retired.
Surveying is a great profession and set me up in fine shape to retire!
Sadly it may be too late for you to go back and pick up the missing pieces.
Maybe some other surveyors can benefit from your mistake and make a good living out of surveying by getting educated and staying diversified. I know it is tough out there right now, but you have to get going and stop wishing it was some other way. You have to be tough too. Times are changing and you have to change too. Now, get to work on it!
Being a surveyor and running a survey business are two very different things. I don't have a good answer but I believe this is the main problem. If you're good at both - God bless you.
Wait...there were hot chicks????
Rick
> Wait...there were hot chicks????
>
Yes, 72 of them.
But you have to work yourself to death first.
:coffee:
Surveying has been very good for me and my family. No complaints here.
> Lucky for you I did not go into competition with you when I got laid off.
> I just retired.
Employee aye, try signing the front of the checks instead of the back for a few years and then get back to me on that chief.
Me too Gene, I am blessed with a comfortable life and could retire now at age 43 if I was that lazy, my employees laid off do not have the same forecast and that is pretty sad to me. I found a way to make it work so far but there is no denying that most traditional surveying shops are in decline not growth. The business man in me asks the question "would you invest in this business today if you were not a professional surveyor?" my answer is no, but I will sit back chill out and take all the profitable fun jobs I can get and pass on the losers, probably till I can't or won't go any more.