I have a job opportunity in Florida that I will be flying out to interview for in the near future. I have only ever surveyed in Canada and was looking for any advice or topics to study to familiarize myself with the differences in the way Geomatics is used south of the border. Coordinate systems, imperial vs metric, ALTA's, government provided control networks ect.
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This question may be more geared towards those that have done the move previously or have experience surveying in both countries. Any topics or learning resources would be greatly appreciated.
I started my survey career in B.C. after graduating from B.C.I.T. and moved to Oregon in 1995.
Mostly, the basics, there isn't a lot of difference between surveying in the U.S. v. Canada. The differences are in the fringes. ?ÿ
Boundary surveying. In B.C., you find a monument the only question to really ask is if it is in its original, undisturbed position. If it is it controls the corner position. Period. In the U.S. it may be controlling and it may not be. You have to consider how and when it got there, whether it is called for or not in the legal description, and whether the adjacent owners have done anything in reliance upon it. And you may find all manner of things passing for monuments. And I'm not sure that Florida has a recording law, so you may find monuments with no corresponding survey record. Which may be a shock for you.
ALTA's - if you get a copy of the spec and spend an hour reading it you will know more about them than 90% of the competition. You are used to getting everything relevant to a property from a single central source - the registrar. In the U.S. you may find relevant documents from many sources, sometimes even from the under the proverbial mattress. An ALTA starts with a report from a title company that is vaguely like the registrar's report. It lists various deeds and other charges against title. Ideally it lists everything, but often there are spurious things listed, and sometimes things are missing. A big part of a successful ALTA is working with the title company to get the title report in order.?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ
Metric v. imperial - whole numbers and decimals in both cases. Different scales but it will probably take you a day, maybe two, to get used to it.?ÿ
Every state has coordinate projection zones, almost all have more than one. And more are on the way. It's a setting in the dc. ?ÿ
Good luck in Florida! Nice time of year to sojourn from the Great White North.?ÿ
One word of warning - you will be hard pressed to find anybody to talk hockey with. Saturday afternoon in winter, 5pm - no game on TV. WTF?
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I can??t speak to surveying in Canada but Florida has a lot of old folks who go around saying ??eh??? a lot, so you should feel right at home.
Here's a handy reference map showing the extent of the PLSS (rectangular) system. It takes in all the states shown in color. States in white use metes and bounds. As you can see, surveys in Florida are PLSS, with the Initial Point having been established in 1824.
One word of warning - you will be hard pressed to find anybody to talk hockey with.?ÿ
Depends on where in the state you are...Tampa Bay has playing in four of the last eight Stanley Cup Finals
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Metric v. imperial - whole numbers and decimals in both cases. Different scales but it will probably take you a day, maybe two, to get used to it.?ÿ
What, switching units didn't create a complete breakdown in your work flow and make you question your very existence??ÿ
I'll add azimuth's versus bearings, as another non issue (especially moving north to south).?ÿ
One thing that is harder to get used to is that a big chunk of the salary they are offering will probably go to medical insurance.?ÿ
What, switching units didn't create a complete breakdown in your work flow and make you question your very existence?
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Ask all the "US SuRveY FoOT caNnOT bE ChAnGEd iTs UNaMurrIcaN" crowd. ?????ÿ
What, switching units didn't create a complete breakdown in your work flow and make you question your very existence??ÿ
I've said it before, I'll say it again. Switching to or from metric isn't a big deal. Going back and forth every day is.
Tampa Bay has playing in four of the last eight Stanley Cup Finals
That is so, but you will have better luck discussing cricket with the average Tampa Bay resident than you will hockey.?ÿ?ÿ
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Metric v. imperial - whole numbers and decimals in both cases. Different scales but it will probably take you a day, maybe two, to get used to it.?ÿ
What, switching units didn't create a complete breakdown in your work flow and make you question your very existence??ÿ
I'll add azimuth's versus bearings, as another non issue (especially moving north to south).?ÿ
One thing that is harder to get used to is that a big chunk of the salary they are offering will probably go to medical insurance.?ÿ
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Bearings are traditionally used in the US?
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We used to use them and still come across them everyday when we reference old plans but everything newer is done in azimuths.
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Thanks for the tip on the medical insurance thing. Is that something that is mandatory and gets taken off your pay? How significant is it? Up here we are provided extended medical at the employers expense (it doesn't come off our salary, usually, I had one job where it was subtracted off our salary and I was able to opt out). That being said, I am looking very forward to leaving our medical system behind.
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I started my survey career in B.C. after graduating from B.C.I.T. and moved to Oregon in 1995.
Mostly, the basics, there isn't a lot of difference between surveying in the U.S. v. Canada. The differences are in the fringes. ?ÿ
Boundary surveying. In B.C., you find a monument the only question to really ask is if it is in its original, undisturbed position. If it is it controls the corner position. Period.
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This actually changed recently with new rules that came into affect in the Land title Act. I'm pretty sure, I'm still a LST so I could be wrong.
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In the U.S. it may be controlling and it may not be. You have to consider how and when it got there, whether it is called for or not in the legal description, and whether the adjacent owners have done anything in reliance upon it. And you may find all manner of things passing for monuments. And I'm not sure that Florida has a recording law, so you may find monuments with no corresponding survey record. Which may be a shock for you.
ALTA's - if you get a copy of the spec and spend an hour reading it you will know more about them than 90% of the competition. You are used to getting everything relevant to a property from a single central source - the registrar. In the U.S. you may find relevant documents from many sources, sometimes even from the under the proverbial mattress. An ALTA starts with a report from a title company that is vaguely like the registrar's report. It lists various deeds and other charges against title. Ideally it lists everything, but often there are spurious things listed, and sometimes things are missing. A big part of a successful ALTA is working with the title company to get the title report in order.?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ
Metric v. imperial - whole numbers and decimals in both cases. Different scales but it will probably take you a day, maybe two, to get used to it.?ÿ
Every state has coordinate projection zones, almost all have more than one. And more are on the way. It's a setting in the dc. ?ÿ
Good luck in Florida! Nice time of year to sojourn from the Great White North.?ÿ
One word of warning - you will be hard pressed to find anybody to talk hockey with. Saturday afternoon in winter, 5pm - no game on TV. WTF?
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Thanks for the detailed response, I was hoping you would chime in as I remember your briefly told me your past experience of making the switch via DM a while back.
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Thanks for the tip on the medical insurance thing. Is that something that is mandatory and gets taken off your pay? How significant is it? Up here we are provided extended medical at the employers expense (it doesn't come off our salary, usually, I had one job where it was subtracted off our salary and I was able to opt out). That being said, I am looking very forward to leaving our medical system behind.
You're in for shock.?ÿ It really depends on the employer.?ÿ Good ones that value their employees will usually provide health care for the worker.?ÿ As for price, I'm self employed and paying a little over $700 a month for a high deductible plan (I'm 57).?ÿ I don't think our system is all that great.?ÿ As a nation we spend well over what western civilizations on a per capita basis have nothing to show for it other than rich insurance companies.
I don't know what part of FL you are interviewing, but FL is f@#$% hot in the summertime. I don't mean just "oh yeah it stays in the mid 90s", I am talking you are gonna sweat out in the high 80s too due to humidity. You will get used to it, mainly just used to sweating, but the environment is what I would worry about the most.?ÿ
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Of course, at your level you are likely to enjoy the AC most of the day. I am in GA and by 9 am I am soaked to the bone in my own sweat.?ÿ
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Wish you the best, I hear BC is gorgeous and the fringes of FL (the beaches) are amazing.
If you will be working outdoors, familiarize yourself with the wildlife -- alligators, pythons, venomous snakes ... and various nasty plants , all the stuff that you don't usually encounter in Canada.
When shoveling snow off my driveway I tell myself that's the price I pay for avoiding the above list and more.
Good points all around. The climate, and flora and fauna, are radically different than what you're likely used to.
It's really all about how well you adapt to different environments. Some folks can handle it, others not so much. If you have the right attitude you'll do fine.
I'm with @john-putnam in that you're more likely in for a rude awakening when it comes to benefits.
