how long were you an I man before a party cheife

> Im an up and coming I man hopeing to be a party chief one day. I was woundering what kinda of experience and journeys you went on before party cheif as an I man. And how long it took you to get to partt cheif..

Grammar and spelling are very important components of leading a crew and communicating effectively.

:good:

Never was an Iman, never was a party chief. Went from chainman to office work to chief of parties. And that was all before I was 21.

I was an instrument man from 1968 to 1977. There was a period in there I performed PC duties on a large dirt project ('73-'74) but the responsibilities were limited.

I was awfully proud of the fact that when a traverse didn't close, my PCs started looking at everything else but a busted angle. I was methodic and precise and I took my job seriously. I could be relied upon for good data. I'm pretty sure nowadays nobody would endure nine years of a subordinate position.

PS - I also have trouble spelling the word 'chief'. That's why I abbreviate party chief as PC. 😉

Forgive the grammar and spelling phone was all messed up

Rule No. 1 !!!!

> Forgive the grammar and spelling phone was all messed up

Don't blame the instrument, your help or field conditions for something that was actually within your control.

Rule No. 2 - Refer to Rule No. 1 as much as possible.

> Grammar and spelling are very important components of leading a crew and communicating effectively.

I was a rodman on a three man crew for six months and occasionally ran the gun; then went straight to running a crew. Granted, having English as one of my college majors gave me a leg up on the competition.

how long were you an I man before a party cheif

> ... I was wondering what experiences and journeys you went on before becoming a party chief or an I man. And how long it took you to get to party chief.
A lot of that will depend on your educational background. I had 3 years of college and several years of working in a semi-related engineering field before my first day of surveying. I spent only a brief few months as a chainman before moving into the office. Then, after about 2 years, I spent time in the field as "Instrument Man" on a crew that never had a "Party Chief". Then some time as I-Man with a Party Chief. Then back to the office. I never worked a day where my job description was "Party Chief" until a year before I got licensed (ie/7 years). And that only lasted 2 months before I was back in the office.

If you have no specialized surveying or engineering educational background you should expect to mentor a minimum of a couple of years, and perhaps much longer, before reaching independent status. You can compress that with motivated study.

:good:

I went from rod man to party chief within 3 months.
I was highly motivated and read every book I could get my hands on. Most of them were loaned to me by my boss.

ditto

What Michael said. It was a quick march up the ladder but I was really hungry, literally and figuratively speaking, and I wanted it badly. Four years later I was an RLS. I've always believed in education so with me it was study, study, study.

I never worked as an Instrument Man. My employers from 1984 to 2000 were small time before I started working for the State of California in 12/2000. I was a chain man for a short time then worked as a civil drafter-designer then went out in the field as PC.

My job title since about 2003 is Transportation Surveyor Party Chief (Caltrans). It requires an LS license. I work for CalFire (Dept of Forestry and Fire Protection).

ditto II

Did some slugging though N MI swamps & woods for about a year after college. Even whacked my leg with a machete once, and don't step near a hornets nest. Just a couple pointers of things not to do.

Took me less than a year, went into office work, then direct to combo office/field (PC) mode at a different company for several years. Then PC for a city for several more. Then kept moving on.....

Never looked back, and even to this day I still hate setting up my gun. (they keep getting heavier) I'm solo and it's a robot or GPS gear. But as the PC, I always ran the smart end of the crew - the rod. For staking, I'd have a bag boy to carry hubs, etc, but I always determined the point and took the shots. Always had good I-men and good walkie talkies.

Good luck to ya.... 😉

There is very little if any support for someone without a degree any longer moving up in surveying. I have worked for one major, one regional, and several small time operations. Each has policies regarding support for advancement including mentoring, educational, and training, it is mostly a smoke screen.

If you do not come in with a degree or get one then your prospects and pay are limited. In recent years I have found the support for those looking to get into surveying and advancing as it once was has all but faded away.

Companies look for push button chiefs who can barely think for themselves.

Until surveyors stand up the profession will age out of existence in the coming decades.

As I said there is little support from the big or mid sized companies for their surveying groups.

Well said

I didn't really want to go that route here, but fully agree that it is the path this "profession" should be on. Or we'll soon become a trade, like plumbers, bug guys, even electricians, to name a few. We'd be better off hooking up with the lawyer crowd than the trade crowd, since basically the jest of our liability is law related.

Our own worst enemy is ourselves, and we're holding ourselves back. Nobody will look a developer in in the eye and say "...NO, I can't do that and this is why...". Instead it is, "... I can do this for so much but it's not complete, so call me back..."

Well said

In my early work I was called on to do all phases of the work.

Got away from it for a few years.

Jumped into the fire by starting my own business with very limited resources and equipment. Never looked back.

I was surveying for four years before I started chiefing. The first few years of chiefing I did not really develop much for a variety of reasons, in the last few years I have found the right combination of education and experience that make me feel that I have "come into my own" as a party chief. I have been at it for around 13 years all told.

There is a lot of elasticity in the industry and I have met some chiefs that could not hang as a chainman at other, higher caliber shops. Focus on the skill set not the title.

I ran the instrument for about three years before becoming a PC. However, I bore a lot of responsibility before and during that time, especially when I worked under a party chief who didn't know the difference between a bearing and an azimuth...

As an aside, I still need to obtain my PLS but since I work in a public sector agency which has no real incentive for licensure, I've been dragging my feet even though my arm has been rather heavily twisted in the past by other PLS's.

As others have said, education is essential these days. Continuing education is also a must.

I was a civilian I man for less than a year. I ran crews for several years before becoming a crew chief.
Take the education comments to heart. It took me twenty years to get my first license. It's a long haul if you don't get some school behind you...