Greetins from abroad

G'day Nic
Being a foreigner probably can't welcome your as such, but welcome from The Great Southland.

Can't help notice the Surname.
Is that a common name?
I love watching you blokes play cricket.
There's one of your namesake that gives our blokes Larry do.

Welcome aboard Nic.
You will get all kinds of information here.
However, right now it's just after 3 AM on the east coast so most everyone else is likely asleep.

As to becoming licensed in the US, each state has its own rules so that will depend where you plan on practicing. Already having your degree in surveying certainly helps with that.

Eric.

Welcome friend.

I am noticing a recent uptik of new international posters.

All well behaved friends are welcome.

:gammon:

welcome Nic, My first impression is that you are probably over educated for a surveyor in the usa 🙂 but then again I could be just referring to my generation! LOL

Dtp

Wendell..Might consider moving this to Land Surveying

Welcome. Discovering this site will be a great reward for you. There is an unbelievable range of expertise and experience represented by those who participate here regularly. It does help to be a bit thick-skinned at times, though. You will also be amused frequently by the different modes of communicating in what is supposed to be English. Richard from Tasmania, who has already responded, had a laugh yesterday at some phraseology commonly used in the US but which has a different context where he lives. Your post provided me a similar chuckle in a place or two. Thank you.

Welcome Nic - you have picked a great site, there is a tremendous amount of information available here. One thing you may find is that there are regional differences in surveying practices in the USA. We definitely do not all do things the same way, sometimes due to customs, sometimes due to local laws & regulations. Perhaps it is the same there? I look forward to learning from you as I have from all the others here!

And to all those of us here in the USA, did you catch Nic's statement "I have just recently written my law exams and have been upgraded to a PLS." Nic - here in my state I hardly knew there were laws until AFTER I was licensed - a very bad idea but one we don't seem to be able to change.

Again - welcome!

Thanks all for the replies. Apologies for the delay on my side, I am on the other side of the world after all:-)

Richard - Yeah I suppose it is. It is from Dutch descent and I'm sure a derivative of the European "Stein" seeing as the original settlers that landed in the Cape of Good Hope in the mid to late 1800's were mainly Dutch. And yes, I love watching our team give yours a hiding every now and then:-P

Foggy idea - how do you mean "over educated"?

Holy Cow - Thanks. Being a SAFFA we are naturally thick skinned and seeing that we have 11 official languages and probably the same amount of unofficial languages on top of that probably makes us the best interpreters in the world.:-D

Jim in AZ - I have gathered that which does not make my choice any easier. Is it a mission to convert your license to practise in other states? Fortunately over here a PLS may practise in any "state" - we call them provinces of which we have 9.

The law exams I am referring to can be likened to the board exams lawyers and accountants would write. Once a candidate has completed their degree it is a requirement to carry out your articles - for PLS candidates it is roughly 2 years under the guidance of an experienced PLS and their are various fields that we have to work in for a set minimum time. All in all it will take a straight A student 6 years to become a PLS if he/she can line up the work, but realistically 8 to 10 years from the very start of their studies.

Thanks again for all the replies - what may seem trivial to you is new to me and I appreciate all your feedback.

Regards,

Nic.

Start With The NCEES

They are the key source for testing and licensing.

http://ncees.org/

First problem, the US has 50 State licensing boards as well as:
The District of Columbia
Guam
North Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
Virgin Islands

The NCEES site has links to 55 surveying boards.

Contact the NCEES for an evaluation of the comparability of your license testing exams.

Next you have to decide where you want to be a surveyor. Based on your personal non surveying activities I suggest the Southeast US as your first place to look.

Each state handles foreign degrees and education a little different than the US based experience and education. Starting with your university has it been accredited by any US accrediting association? This may occur because of US military students or for other reasons. Have any students from there been successful in US testing, etc. At each state board site you will find links to the state laws on licensing. Some states clearly lay out a path for foreign experience and education while in other states it my be solely up to you to convince the board of your educational and experience quality.

Next check the ABET site

http://main.abet.org/aps/AccreditedProgramSearch.aspx/AccreditationSearch.aspx

ABET accredits engineering and surveying programs in the US as well as some internationally.

In South Africa I see that the University of Pretoria is ABET accredited in Information Systems. If convenient go there and ask some questions about US work.

Find out what connections any of the Kwa-Zulu Natal faculty has with US Colleges.

Find out what Alumni have migrated to the US for work or for education.

I checked out the Surveying curriculum at Kwa-Zulu Natal and it appears comparable to most US 4 year degrees.

Next find out what US-International companies have projects in your locality.

Be aware that this board has posters from all over the former British Colonies, Europe, SE Asia and more, so you don't have to limit yourself to the USA.

Check with US Surveying Colleges for the names of South African students or graduates. There are at least 90 institutions with 2 and/or 4 year degree programs.

Welcome aboard.

Paul in PA

Nic (and others), I've pondered your 'written my law exams'.
I gather you don't make up your own exams? Rather give answers to questions by others.
This is one of those language matters aluded to.
Here we'd "sit" for our exams.
I saw others made similar comments so assume it's what you do when exam time comes - 'just written my exams'.
Just curious.

Start With The NCEES

Thanks for the advise Paul, I appreciate the effort you have put into your reply. This is a good starting point and I will use this to further my readings.

Well we don't stand for our exams, so, yeah, sure, we do sit for them hahaha:-D

I see what you mean by the language and interpretation differences. Just made me chuckle.

That Is A Problem With Those That Speak Anglais

They don't speak American Inglish.

BTW, you will find that the grammar police are quite active on this board and have way too much fun.

In that light, I advised (verb) you by giving you advice (noun).

Don't know how they break that down in SA.

Something I forgot to add last night, you should be qualified with your BS to immediately sit for the FS,(Fundamentals of Surveying Exam). Since it is now on computer you may be able to take it in SA. It may not be necessary to take the FS and PLS depending on the stte jurisdiction you choose.

You note that you wrote the PLS exam, how many hours was it?

Did you also previously take a fundamentals exam? If so, how long.

Some State (noun) Surveyor Laws specifically state (verb) that both exams must be taken. Some boards are anal about their laws and even in which order you take the exams.

With a BS and the FS under your belt the experience to take the PLS varies from zero to 5 years. Suppose you received your PLS in a State requiring 2 years experience, another state could require additional experience.

If NCEES says your exam is equivalent to the PLS I doubt any Board would argue it. Be aware that most states require a 2 hour state specific exam on state specific items. In PA a part of that exam would be on stormwater analysis and management. Surveyors in PA can do stormwater and erosion control design which other states consider strictly engineering.

Wherever you plan to come to keep a good record of your experience, especially boundary work versus engineering survey work. Also line up any African professionals you want to use as references prior to coming over. You might want to create a "curriculum vitae" for each to aid a State Board member in evaluating your references.

Another thing to consider on where you want to land are the state surveying systems themselves. The original 13 Colonies plus Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia follow the English system of metes and bounds. The balance have some form of the rectangular Public Land Surveying System. Texas was a Republic with it's own land surveying system prior to joining the United States. Florida and SW US have considerable Spanish influence over large areas of land prior to being a part of the US. Louisiana has major French influence.

Lastly in the US we use two different feet as well as chains, rods, perches, poles and varas to name a few.

Paul in PA

Greetins from abroad>It was a joke, son, a joke I say 🙂

Just kidding around with you Nic, 🙂

That Is A Problem With Those That Speak Anglais

Paul is steering you in the right direction.

Each State is somewhat different than its adjoiners, even if somewhat similar. Much of that has to do with the year when the first surveying was authorized in that State and how many years intervened before the task was completed. The official instructions can be substantially different between one part of the State and another depending on which set of official instructions was to be used. Also, the equipment that was available, or not, may be substantially different. Much of the early survey work was carried out during a time when the local population (roving or somewhat stationary) was not at all happy and prone to do vile things to those performing the surveys.

The State-dependent tests are geared to evaluate knowledge on the history unique to that State as it affected the initial surveys. Those initial surveys in the State to my east were started nearly 100 years prior to the completion of similar surveys in the State to my south, for example.

Key Word Is "Comity" Not "Reciprocity"

Assuming your degree, PLS exam and experience are acceptable, you are interested in licensing by "Comity".

Comity - courtesy, respect, a willingness to grant privilege, not as a matter of right, but out of deference and good will. Paraphrased from Blacks.

Reciprocity is a matter of right.

Essentially if you received your PLS based on similar education, experience and testing that is equal to or better than a states requirements the State Board will respect that.

Some boards get anal if one uses the term reciprocity and some state laws have specific language to state it is not reciprocity.

Twice I meant to add the above to my replies and forgot it.

While making this reply I grabbed my Black's Law Dictionary. Nobody brought this up yet, but if you want to work in the USA you need USA surveying reference texts. Blacks should be one of the first on your list. Post a thread on surveying texts when you are ready for a flood of additional advice and ready to begin investing in your US surveying career. It would be interesting to see what may be in common with SA.

Paul in PA

Howdy

We all use the same equipment from most of the same vendors.

Main difference is the name we give to everyday things and events that everyone shares.

Try this site "http://gisc.tamucc.edu/"

They have some surveyors from across the pond that transitioned to Texas Surveying.

good luck