I recently was given the info on the ages of all of the Registered Land Surveyors here in Tasmania.
There are a total of 92 although there are an uncertain number that are not practising. Total Tasmania population around 500,000.
I worry about the wealth of experience that will disappear in the next ten years.
I've seen similar numbers here in the US of A over the last few years. We are an aging lot and I'm reminded each year when I attend our annual convention with a sea of gray hair. I guess there will be a great deal of 'experience' that will eventually pass with time. But that's inevitable in any profession.
I have an old school buddy that survived Viet Nam and continued his service as a gunnery instructor at Ft. Carson for the rest of his career. There was a time in the late eighties and early nineties he was distraught because our military was full of young men and women that actually had no combat experience whatsoever. And of course that changed.
It won't be too long before the less experienced surveyors outnumber the well experienced. But that's not really a bad thing. They too will get their time in the sun to harden off and wear their earned badges of experience. That is the circle of life.
But now consider this: The larger number of older surveyors (I fall in that category) with all the experience were once a large number of young "inexperienced" surveyors...that probably outnumbered the older folks at that time...and we screwed stuff up. We screwed stuff up so bad we've spent our entire careers "fixing" everything we originally messed up!
So I guess being younger with less experience is merely an exercise in securing a work load for your later years...B-)
Unfortunately I can't do much to reverse that.
No sure how I'm to view that graph. Honored or downcast?
Or to look forward to filling in the 81 column? :party:
But seriously it's an issue that has been seen coming and not readily accepted or addressed. Not just akin to surveying either.
The modern University training brings with it challenges not previously encountered. Mainly hands on field practise where trainees work along side fellow surveyors.
How ever, the academic needs are not always easy to achieve outside a 'classroom'.
Modern ways dictate some things in life, but time honored field practices can't be had in classrooms , nor by staring at screens.
I think having a mentor, (don't like that word really), an experienced surveyor on hand can be beneficial.
I was fortunate to have one such bloke who I respected greatly and conversely who had great faith in me, particularly in my youthfulness and inexperienced ways.
I valued his contribution in my life. It was precious.
The post (World) War era was a boom almost everywhere. People built, people used land, and land surveyors made money and got their friends to help.
Now...well, it is a little different. Due to changes in the workflow, tech, and the housing booms, we need maybe 10% of what we had.
