I remember the old days when surveying was fun...

Me too. To much of this now

Yes, back when the only thing that needed a battery was the work truck.

If that failed we could at least get the truck started by pushing it a few feet.

😉

AMEN BROTHER!

One of my best summers was spent as a rodman/chainman for Pacific Gas and Electric in 1981. We cut brush, measured distances by tape, turned a million angles, hiked up and down hills and mountains, leveled dozens of tribrachs with barber poles in a thousand set-ups, set offsets, route surveys, topo surveys. It was a great summer, from Santa Rosa to the northern Sierras! Nobody pushed any buttons, except on a calculator in the evening to check closures.

Today's technology is indeed impressive, but the "romance," if you can call it that, has been diminished. I suppose there were those, too, who thought going from a transit to a theodolite or from a dumpy level to an auto level were steps down, too.

But who am I to make such a claim, since I now work with data from space-based lidar systems...

Well, so far, for me it IS still fun, but...

> Now it just seems like a job. It certainly isn't as fun anymore as technology refuses to keep up with my pace (edit: and budget) of choice.
>
I've only been at it less than a year, and it's NOT a job. But I can surely understand the shift in the challenge, from working the problems on the ground (or in the dirt, for the construction surveyors), to just trying to stay current and knowlegeable with the latest (very expensive) tools.

Field measurements are still only part of the challenge though aren't they? There's still the research and common sense, that must bring some satisfaction no?

Well, so far, for me it IS still fun, but...

> Field measurements are still only part of the challenge though aren't they? There's still the research and common sense, that must bring some satisfaction no?

Yes rfc, we are born to measure and make our decisions that we will back up. We like that. The thing missing from "research and common sense" is the legal end of things.

That law part is what so many take for granted and underestimate and will some day bite them. Maybe.

I don't mind all that legalese crappolo, but it is bigger than the dumb re-rod we put in the ground and I suppose it depends on a persons professional character. Please put a 4 in front of your 1 yr experience and contact any of us at any time.

We ARE on your side grasshopper and just want to keep folks like you focused. It is a big deal IMVHO, and thank Wendell for this venue to bring it up with your peers and other professionals.

We've had that "research and common sense" stuff figured out for many many years. Back in the days when it was "fun", even with all that legalese stuff they keep changing on us.

Glad you chimed in. Keep at it....;-)

I remember the old days when surveying was NOT fun...

Wayne,

I really do hear what you're saying. I've felt that way more than a few times.

But if you shut your eyes and click your ruby Red Wings together and repeat "There's no place like tail-chaining" over and over....

I have fond memories of surveying before the technology arrived. As romantic as one can be, I still remember the "gruel" of chaining and clearing line. The "cardio" factor never bothered me, but the snail's pace with which real data was realized is what I remembering hurting so much. Working ALL day just to wrap some angles and measure a couple of legs of a traverse is soooo frustrating.

My "fun" nowadays is derived from remembering just how damn much work it was just to bound a section. We finish one up now in a day. Complete with good OPUS solutions and corner recovery records completed. THAT'S the fun, man!

Being able to run two or three miles in each direction while restoring a corner on a Standard Parallel just to see "how things fit". That is a true joy!

As heavy as our work can seem sometimes, I try and put it in perspective. If what we do nowadays isn't fun, it's at least AMAZING compared to the old days! 😉

Well, so far, for me it IS still fun, but...

The part where everything comes together is still incredibly fun. While I don't get the satisfaction of pulling the last distance and checking flat, I also don't have to chain a half mile with 1500 feet of elevation change. The tools bring unreal amounts of information into the mix at an ever increasing rate. Given the rate at which my body is wearing out I see the changes as a good thing...

I remember the old days when surveying was NOT fun...

:good: :good: :good:

See, surveying is still fun. Us old timers love the good old days, some of us went through some bad old days, now we are where we are. I still love it and enjoy making my client satisfied, even the neighbor. I just have a hard time keeping up with technology, as this is a very windy area and things do pass by. Kinda weird in it's own way.

Thanks for putting in another perspective Mr Cash. You do that very well.

3 clicks for my Red Ruby Wing's.... even Roadie may agree.... 😉

I remember the old days when surveying was NOT fun...

I can agree with both of you on this one.

On the one hand it is really nice to do less fighting against nature while accumulating data.

On the other hand, when retracing, it is easy to get so far away from the footsteps you should be following that you forget what you are really doing.

For those who have never had to do it the hard way they think that what they are doing today IS the hard way. OMG, it took 30 seconds to get a fix. Why didn't it happen in 10, dang it? Those who have never listened to a printer take nearly 10 minutes to print out a single sheet get irritated when it takes one minute. Then there are old timers who started out with no such thing as a printer because WE WERE the printer.

Nostalgia can be tempting. But since I got my GPS units in '04 I have not had to bring a loud, dangerous, smelly, dirty chain saw to a job. And chopping out a line for sight and tape through dense brush where hornets might be nesting was never really any fun. And latitudes and departures were a hassle. I like progress. All those old tools are still sold and legal to use, at least in my state. Go for it.

I'm a young feller for a surveyor- 51 😉 but when I moved from being a crew chief at a small company into the office our field equipment was a Sokkia SET 3 with an SDR33 das collector and no GPS. When I started running solo and went back into the field ten years later it was with modern robotics, F2F data collection, and stuff like OPUS.

I had the opposite reaction, the technology reinvigorated my love of the profession that had just become a job. And the funny thing is I'm damn near a Luddite (right Gavin?).

As for new technology busting your budget - if you're paying for your equipment rather than having your clients pay for it you're doing it wrong 😛

I remember the old days when surveying was NOT fun...

[sarcasm]How about the memory of chaining through a mile of muck you sank up to your knees in while dragging a mud covered chain that seemed to weigh 50 pounds after a while. All the while a 40 mile an hour wind buffeting and throwing things at you Really got a great sense of achievement from that....[/sarcasm]

:good:

:good:

> our field equipment was a Sokkia SET 3 ...

We've still got 3 SET 3E instruments that get used every day. They are older than some of our employees, but they keep working.

> As for new technology busting your budget - if you're paying for your equipment rather than having your clients pay for it you're doing it wrong 😛

That is one of the more sensible comments I've read in quite some time on any threads. I get some odd reaction at times about "...it only took you 2 hrs, why is it $700..."

I just reply that "... as technology has advanced, I've tried to keep up. It cost money. My clients pay for it, NOT ME..., and I have the expertise, license, and liability to go with it. Thank you. " (those are the checks you cash ASAP)

Did you ever pass wind in a church, or expel urine up a rope?...;-)

I remember the old days when surveying was NOT fun...

What I miss the most is being part of a crew. I'm solo now, but I started on a 3 man crew in 1980 and those guys were my best friends at the time. I loved going to work every day. We worked hard but we had a blast doing it. I was a beast back then and never got tired. Also I was low man on the totem pole so I never felt any pressure. But the truth is I could never do now what I did back then. I'm 50 lbs. heavier and 35 years older with arthritic knees. I often wonder how much I could get done now if I had that 20 year old body again. I guess what I really miss is my youth!

THAT'S MY MOTTO...