After having worked for an civil/surveying firm in western NC for 10 years, my employment came to an end in 2010. I have worked part-time since for various surveyors doing mapping and field work. Education and experience is not the problem.
In western NC, the economy is still struggling. A few small companies have listed positions, BUT at $8.00 an hour a person will starve.
It would seem that most I have got an interview with including several regional firms like what they see, but when it comes to salary they seem to want people to work for poverty wages. Several have said my educational classes and experience price me out of most available jobs.
So, at this point I have applied to quite a few companies within the CONUS with little result. It would seem that the need of my employment in land surveying has come to an end.
Anyone have any leads to companies that are looking for someone who is capable of field to finish.
Thinking of taking up mechanical drafting.
It is sad to see a profession that held such promise go to poverty wages then still demand a four year degree.
I would question the economy before I'd question the profession.
There've been a lot of posts recently about pipeline work.
I would seriously look into that if I were you. Travelling is better than not working at all.
Sorry to hear that. But, 10 years in the profession is plenty of time to make the decision to do what you need to to stay in it. You are probably getting squeezed out of the market by others that got licensed. I've seen it personally, guys that thought the crew chief train would never end and didn't want to make the effort to get licensed. Again, not sure if this is your situation, but just what I've seen.
So, yes, there are not as many places at the table these days, but that doesn't mean there is nothing to eat.
Yes, not just the p/l work. The well/unit work is going strong too. Especially in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Mississippi.
You got to be willing to move.
We & our competition have several openings at our various offices in LA and Texas.
Undergoing long term unemployment is a serious struggle. When I went through it recently I found that I had associated a tremendous amount of my self worth with my work. When there was no work to be had I felt that I in turn had less worth as a person.
It is important to understand that this is not the case, sometimes there are just no jobs and the people who have them are as often lucky as they are especially qualified.
Attitude is especially important during rough times, play your cards the best you can and keep your head up.
Mechanical drafting can be cool if you have the right head space for it, although I would imagine that much like surveying to be a good mechanical drafter you need some field experience with the tools and parts and what not. If you go that route I would think that getting acquainted with 3D modelling and soft like Solidworks may have some cross over into BIM and some other fields that are related to surveying.
Use your own counsel, I don't think there is going to be much of a future in land surveying as we have known it. Surveyors are well along the road of loosing the need for contractors to employ them on construction sites, rapidly trending towards specialized technicians and high tech. equipment improvements, that makes surveyors not worth the expense. I know surveyors don't like such comments and choose to bury their heads in the sand, I may be wrong but the trend did not start yesterday. There will always be a need of Boundary Surveyors, but that is not usually a lucrative area or have high employment needs to keep many busy. Rapid development of software and equipment is rapidly making the need for a license unnecessary and I believe that is what is driving a lot of the new stuff we see coming down the line. Some high end firms will need a few specialized surveyors, probably with Masters and Doctorate Documents but that demand would be limited. As I said, use your own counsel.
jud
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I think Cliff hit the PK nail on the head.
Technology cannot replace the art of surveying.
You may have LiDar and a man to run it but who
Will interpret the findings? Machines and tools
can't replace the man on the ground making decisions.
If you love surveying, don't give up. I won't.
Cliff definitely hit the nail on the head, and the economy isn't getting any better at this point, but I'm hopeful that will change very soon.
As to finding work I agree with others that you are going to have to be willing to move. There's plenty of work down around some of the Gulf states, as has been stated, and there's also a plethora of work up in the Dakotas area and even Pennsylvania.
In the end with the economy the way it is I don't think you're going to find a huge demand for almost anything construction, industrial, or commercial related.
Good luck.
How about posting your resume?
I wouldn't blame the economy or the profession. I think what your seeing goes across all professions. Poor Management.
Management has FINALLY realized they can work smarter with fewer people. If they were good managers, they would have realized it before the recession.
it may be time to make a choice. I have had to move to follow work several times. Or find a job that is needed locally. Firms here are paying 10-15/hr and there were a few openings recently. Its not what it used to be but it is better than $8/hr, the cost of living is likely higher too.
Search surveyor jobs at URS Corporation. We usually have one or two openings.
Seems like a lot licensed surveyors are working in positions that they are over qualified for.
Good luck.
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> After having worked for an civil/surveying firm in western NC for 10 years, my employment came to an end in 2010. I have worked part-time since for various surveyors doing mapping and field work. Education and experience is not the problem.
>
> In western NC, the economy is still struggling. A few small companies have listed positions, BUT at $8.00 an hour a person will starve.
>
> It would seem that most I have got an interview with including several regional firms like what they see, but when it comes to salary they seem to want people to work for poverty wages. Several have said my educational classes and experience price me out of most available jobs.
>
> So, at this point I have applied to quite a few companies within the CONUS with little result. It would seem that the need of my employment in land surveying has come to an end.
>
> Anyone have any leads to companies that are looking for someone who is capable of field to finish.
>
> Thinking of taking up mechanical drafting.
>
> It is sad to see a profession that held such promise go to poverty wages then still demand a four year degree.
What are you guys paying your survey technicians and surveyors?
I AM NOT a "Surveyor". I started in the woods of South Ga. in 1970. I worked for a couple of amazing Surveyors. I studied Mech. Eng., had to drop out after 3 years, out of cash. Got a job at a power plant expansion. Between heavy const. I always had a place to go back home with the Surveyors. I envy all of you guys, your insight and wisdom has been a critical part of my life. I have never been unemployed for more than a week since then. Most times the jobs call me, not the other way around. Road/Bridge work pays a lot less than Industrial, but usually gives weekends off. Road/Bridge work is generally salary, 80k+. Industrial work is hourly, as a survey manager, and generally offers from 10 to 40+ hours of time and a half a week, plus per diem. The last power plant I did, 5 years ago, required 96 to 112 hours a week of me for 750 days straight. I brought home around $3000 a week or more. I have now moved 35,000 miles, 23 states. I am 59, and pretty tired, but still employed, I get around fine. I should have been a land surveyor. AutoCad since DOS, all types of equipment, all environments. Keep your spirits up, keep learning. We will ALWAYS NEED LAND SURVEYORS! You might need to re-locate, though.
I personally wouldn't put all that much hope in the employment for anything. Maybe you might look at how your employment could aid in the unemployment of others. My attempts at employing others were all mostly bad. Paying all the taxes and just dealing with the government regs are not worth it. So I work solo or use a family member once in a while if I can't do it myself.
I think manufacturing will come back to America but it will be mostly automated, done by machines. Surveying has already gone down that road. There used to be crews, now replaced by a single operator and technology. So to stay employed one needs to be able to replace several other employees or become self employed.
In the end the fate of employees lays in the hands of employers. We need one big change if being an employer is worth the effort. You become an employer in an attempt to better your own situation. Today in America an employer is expected to be some sort of social organization for its employees. Until that changes and the incentive returns to be an employer being an employee is going to be difficult.
There are lots of very good people that would do a great job and be super employees. But the burden of being an employer in today’s environment is just to great.
I agree.
There has to be some incentive ($) for a business owner to expand and take on more employees (responsibility).
Damn - looks like TX is the place to be right now.