Story I heard about the union, locally. From a guy on the inside.
Once you are "in" as any trade you can take courses the union offers to learn other trades. Which sounds good. One of them is a 3 day course on surveying. After which the union considers you qualified to fill open surveyor positions. If a union employer has a need to hire a surveyor, and such a guy is the only "qualified" person in the hall, then the employer must hire that person or no one at all.?ÿ
I've worked with the union guys and most of them are extremely good at what they do. Which is construction staking, period.?ÿ ?ÿ ?ÿ
I think the union that surveyors fall under varies from place to place. These "survey technician" positions have fairly rigorous training requirements, including a lengthy apprenticeship. Other unions, often allow their members to do some measuring with survey equipment in support of their core duties. That sounds like what you are describing.?ÿ
As far as the original question... Union surveying is not a good way to move towards a professional license, but if you like that kind of surveying (I detest it) and don't mind the hard cap to your earring potential, it can be a good career. It certainly will pay more than working as a crew chief (do those still exist?) for most boundary surveyors.?ÿ
