considering a career in land surveying

It is a good line of work. Although you could end up in an office one day if you decide to go for a license. I'd recommend looking into a 2 yr course at a vocational school. You'll work your way up the ladder a bit faster. You'll need strong math skills. Writing is a plus as well. You might get lucky and get someone to train you, smaller companies typically will spend more time teaching the basics.
Good Luck

The MATC program is a good program. Wisconsin surveyors are a good bunch. The present economy is very challenging however for anyone associated with real estate or construction. For that reason, some may not be as encouraging they may once have been.

Wisconsin, in my opinion, has a very high standard of professional performance. I wish the surveying and land records of other states were as good as Wisconsin's.

Don't plan on getting rich, but it is always a challenging profession for both your body and your brain. And it's often just plain fun too.

The economy will recover and the generations of older surveyors will die off (many will never really retire - it's just too enjoyable). There will always be a need for surveyors, but the laws of supply and demand will always rule how much they make.

> Also, I promise not to pester with annoying/embarrasing newbie questions

Actually, this is the best way to learn. Just try to avoid posting 20+ threads for each question. Most of us would be glad to answer your questions.

Good for you! It is not often that we get a lot of young people interested in the profession. I have been working as a surveyor in NJ for 7 years, and I love it. I went to college for Civil Engineering at Rutgers, and I enjoyed my surveying internship so much I went back to school at NJIT and got another degree in land surveying! I will sit for the license exam in October of this year (hopefully I pass).

In your state if you wish to become a licensed land surveyor you would need a 4 year bachelors degree, or a 2 year associates with 4 years of experience. You could see what the course work is like and decide if you want to go on. You do not have to be licensed to work as part of a field crew or even as an office technician/drafter, but it is good to have a license if you ever want to be the head of a survey department or open your own surveying business. Plus there are financial considerations.

The work can be physically, mentally, and intellectually challenging, but it is equally as rewarding when you solve the problems. Best of luck to you in your endeavors!

Here are the requirements for Wisconsin.

> Also, I promise not to pester with annoying/embarrasing newbie questions 😀
>
> Thanks and hope to hear from you 🙂

I see your first mistake. Do not promise to not pester with newbie questions. In fact you should promise that you WILL question everything.

Second, some of the best advice I ever heard was:

Do not pursue your pension, pursue your passion.

At your age the world can be yours if you pursue it with passion. Find something you really love doing and find a way to do that.

Sounds like you have already given this considerable thought. That is good. But be aware that at this stage of your life you have only seen a small glimpse of any profession. Call the area surveyors and see if one (or two or three) will give you a part time job. Yes, it will be grunt work but you can not aspire to deserve to be on top without having earned your way by starting at the bottom.

By all means, look into the 2 year program. If you still like what you see and have learned of the profession, you might wish to continue to a full 4 Year program. There are several fine programs in your area of the country.

Your future is yours to create. Time to get out there and make it happen.

Larry P

WI,

Don't worry about pestering or newbie questions...ask away.

This is a pretty nice bunch to the new guys, so feel free to ask about anything.

My advice about going into surveying:

Surveying is a calling to me, a very fulfilling and interesting career. I think it is a high calling.

It is a multi-faceted profession. Some guys end up catering to the general public who do not value surveying services, while others find that "sweet spot" of clientele who are willing to pay for the value they get from the professional serving them, and they do very well. I suppose that situation is true of any profession.

Congratulations on being a serious 18 year old guy thinking about the future.

-Steve

While much of surveying is outdoors you will also spend many hours digging through the ancient files in musty courthouses and similar recording locations doing the fun part of the job, research. Boundary surveying is ten times better than construction layout. Note: Someone else will tell you the exact opposite opinion.

Like any job, you will get out of it what you put into it. Halfhearted goals produce halfmiserable results.

This can be a rewarding career choice for the right person.

If you want to be all you can be and have ambition, then definitely go to school. But, dont stop at a 2-year degree. The further you go down your career path, the more you will need education-wise.

My best advice: beware the five most evil words in surveying which are: "I was always taught to.... " Meaning, don't accept that it's just always been done a certain way. Find out the underlying principles of what you are doing. If it is technical, learn the scientific principles that mandate doing it one way or another. If it is related to property boundary surveying, then learn the legal principles behind what you are doing, and let them guide you. Your surveying education will assist you in following this advice, but it won't do it all for you. You will have to learn some things on your own.

Final advice... have a back-up plan.

Great luck,

Stephen

wow! didn't expect so many replies so soon! Thanks for all the advice guys!

there are a few land surveying outfits in my area that I might try for a part-time job. I will be going to college next fall. At the top of my list is the MATC madison course which consists of a 2 yr course in civil engineering technology with an emphasis in land surveying. The nice thing about MATC is that they can arrange internships during the summer with local firms. It's also close enough to home that I don't have to relocate anywhere. Milwaukee Technical College also offers a similiar course that I am also considering.

If you really do enjoy being outdoors, surveying can be a great career. Many surveyors have an appreciation of history and find the job very rewarding. It's a career that lets you research historical documents and actually connect them to real situations in the field. It's great to find a monument that was described in a deed 75 years ago and probably hasn't been laid eyes on since. It's also satisfying to look at a road or building and know that you were responsible for laying it out correctly. It's been mentioned that you might end up in an office if you become licensed, but that is really up to you. Lots of surveyors are working solo these days and many of them post on this forum. They can tell you that solo work gives you a real balance between office and field, as well as a sense of freedom you get from being your own boss.

A fiew pices of advice I would give are:

Be aware that many states are going to a 4-year degree requirement in order to obtain licensure. I don't know the situation in your state, but you could probably get some good information from surveyors in your area or your state board.

Be prepared to start at the bottom, even with a degree. Most companies are much more concerned about profits that training new employees. As has been said, smaller companies would probably be more willing to spend personal time helping you, for the most part.

Be prepared to work with people who do not take the job as seriously as you do. Surveying does tend to draw a lot of people to field crews who are only there for a check and do not have any ambition to advance. Don't take this the wrong way, because there are lots of very dedicated surveyors as well, and they are the ones who tend to advance. Just remember to stay focused on learning and not let the less serious people influence you.

Pay attention all the time. If you are part of a field crew, pay attention to what the party chief is doing and why. Lots of people have a tendency to just walk away until the boss is finished with wht he's doing. Just watching can help a lot. Ask questions when you can, but remember that he does have a job to get done. If you're in the office, pay attention to what the more experienced people are doing. Pay close attention to what problems arise and how they are handled. Also, try to keep a very good report with clients. They will remember you and tell others about you.

Good luck if you do make this a career choice!

Chris B.

>
>
> A fiew pices of advice I would give are:
>
> Be aware that many states are going to a 4-year degree requirement in order to obtain licensure. I don't know the situation in your state, but you could probably get some good information from surveyors in your area or your state board.

This is true. Avoid going to private technical schools. St. Cloud State has a Land Surveying/Mapping Science program ( http://bulletin.stcloudstate.edu/ugb/programs/geog.asp). If you'll have trouble funding the program, think about joining the Air/Army National Guard/Reserves or Naval Reserve (Seabees). They all have civil engineering units that use surveyors. They also have money for college, both my sons financed their education through the National Guard.

Nicolet Area Technical College - http://www.nicolet.tec.wi.us/
Land Surveying Technician - http://www.nicoletcollege.edu/community/takingclassesatnicolet/classesfordegrees/coursedescriptions/courses_landsurvey.html

Run like wind.
Seriously though, email me with a number to call.
We can really talk then. I'd like to help. Maybe we can get together.

Land Surveying is a great profession in dire need of young people such as yourself to step into a profession with many aging land surveyors. You will not go wrong getting the most education that you can in this profession. I would speak to former students at the college your are considering. If there is a better curriculum, don't hesitate to move. You will be glad you did. Ask how many of the graduates have their own business. Keep in mind that land surveying is dependant on a healthy economy, which isn't good at all right now, with many unemployed. Positively, your work will vary, being both in the field and in the office. You can make yourself indispensable by learning to do both. The best to you and good choice.

> >
> >
> > A fiew pices of advice I would give are:
> >
> > Be aware that many states are going to a 4-year degree requirement in order to obtain licensure. I don't know the situation in your state, but you could probably get some good information from surveyors in your area or your state board.
>
> This is true. Avoid going to private technical schools. St. Cloud State has a Land Surveying/Mapping Science program ( http://bulletin.stcloudstate.edu/ugb/programs/geog.asp). If you'll have trouble funding the program, think about joining the Air/Army National Guard/Reserves or Naval Reserve (Seabees). They all have civil engineering units that use surveyors. They also have money for college, both my sons financed their education through the National Guard.
>
> Here's two more closer to home:
>
> University of Wisconsin-Madison - http://www.wisc.edu
> Civil Engineering - http://www.engr.wisc.edu/cee/current/undergrad/curriculum/spring98/ce/
>
> Nicolet Area Technical College - http://www.nicolet.tec.wi.us/
> Land Surveying Technician - http://www.nicoletcollege.edu/community/takingclassesatnicolet/classesfordegrees/coursedescriptions/courses_landsurvey.html

I can't join the National Guard or Naval Reserve as I have a hearing impairment that disqualifies me from military service. If it wasn't for that, I would jump at the opportunity to serve. I will see if I can contact some former students from the MATC program or others. Maybe next summer I will call around the local surveying firms and see if they will offer me a summertime job.

Pick up a couple books on basic surveying and see if you find them interesting enough to read in your spare time. That will help gauge your interest level and give you some background.

Try your local library. Used book stores, ebay, and Amazon can offer bargains. I like Wolf and Ghilani (not necessary to get latest edition) for a recent one, and Davis, Foote, and Kelly for a classical one. The older one explains a lot of things in detail that get glossed over in newer books. Even if a machine will do it for you, understanding what it is doing, i.e. what you would have to do yourself with older tools, is quite valuable.

And continue to follow this forum. It gives you insight into what people in the profession worry about that isn't highlighted in the books.

Several pieces of advice:

1 - Get the Bachelor Degree
2 - Get the Bachelor Degree.

(it is so important, it deserves being said multiple times.)

3 - If you really want to be a surveyor, while in school and after graduation, take classes in the following areas, yes, go way beyond the minimum requirements for the degree: Any law or pre-law class you can get into to, and take as many business management courses you can possibly take.

That is why I strongly recommend the 4 year degree. The math, statistics, state plane coords, technical writing, balancing traverses, theory of GPS, and the bunch of related scientific courses are great, but if you pursue boundary surveying, you will be using the LAW well over 50% of the time, and (hopefully) you will be running a business 40% of the time, leaving 10% of your time for playing with the "toys". Educate yourself accordingly.

Consider going North a few miles and attending Michigan Tech, as opposed to any 2 yr program. In the long run, it will pay off. Plus living in 'da UP is about as good as it gets.

If God made you for driving trucks, don't stoop to driving bull dozers.

If God made you to dig ditches, don't stoop to being a king!

Surveying is partly bred into you... it gets into your blood, and well, I have been surveying all my life... short hiatus doing sheet rock.

I started full time, when I was 15, but, had been doing it since I was 7.

I am a 3rd generation surveyor.

Also, with modern equipment, often 1 day of field work, can generate 2 days of office work/courthouse research.

So, as progress occurs, you will wind up in the office more. Automation helps, but finding and interpreting all the deeds still has to be done.

Nate

As someone with a two-year degree, I agree with Wayne. If you're serious about surveying as a career, get the degree from MTU.

That being said, I know the guys that teach at Milwaukee and Madison and they are both outstanding surveyors/educators.

-Jeff