Retirement six years later.

Twenty-eight years with one organization.....  much different from my experience. I'm with my 15th, and hopefully final, group in my (so far) 35 year career. And that is not counting a couple where I filled in for a few days while between "permanent" positions.  I must say that I learned a lot about different ways organizations operate, some good, a lot of bad. Nevertheless, I envy the stability of being with a single group all that time.  

I pretend to be retired since my accident two years ago.  However, most days I am still doing things that require a license.  I still have a little engineering work that requires my license for that.  So, I will be renewing both licenses in the next few months. 

I retired 5 years ago and can truthfully say I haven’t missed it for a minute. I started out working for the local heavy construction company in 1977, the summer after my first year of college, and never went back to school.  Party chief was a neighbor I’d known all my life. Worked on every big road job in the area, along with a lot of site and strip mine work.  At times there were 3 survey crews with 14 guys. In 1988 I got my license, went on my own, did a lot of subdivisions, site layout, and large boundaries.  Bought one of the first robots, a Geodimeter System 4000 in 1992 because it was hard to find help.  Did it all pretty much by myself until 2000 when my original party chief/neighbor decided to retire.  So I went back to the construction company as a contract surveyor, used my truck and equipment and they paid me to be available to take care of whatever jobs they had and not take on other work.  When the old party chief saw how much easier things were with robotics, data collectors instead of field books, software instead of a calculator, he decided to stay on and help for another 5 years. Between 2005 and 2020 I did it all solo.  Went from working up field books and driving stakes on every job to spending 90% of my time working on 3D models for machine control.  After Covid, a couple of kids with grandkids moved back to the area.  We sold our house to one of them and needed a new one, so I retired at 63 to build it, thinking I would keep the equipment and survey when I wanted to.  Also had taken over most of the family farm and bought and rented some neighboring land, so between row cropping and haying about 500 ac and building a house, I found I had plenty to do without surveying.  Finished the house, sold my equipment, and didn’t renew my license last year. Didn’t hate it, but I did it for almost 45 years and that seemed like enough.  I’m reminded of that any time I drive anywhere on a major road in West Ky., because I’ve probably walked that same route many times staking r/w and driving blue tops, or created a 3D file of every foot of it. 

I wouldn't mind being retired right now but I'm still in my 40s.  hah  I thought maybe I'd still go to conferences even after I retired not because I needed the credits but to support and encourage the survey students who show up.  When I was in a degree program and attending conferences it was cool to see how some surveyors really seemed to care about the success of the profession and chose to put their money where their mouth is.  And now that I've been working a bit it impresses me even more when I see it.  It's just a cool energy to be around.

And I have about six years to go before I can retire - hope I make it that far

A few years back there was a story circulating about a surveyor for the state of Indiana who was retiring at the age of 104. I wonder how he is getting on?

After over 50 years surveying and construction, I still like what I do and I have a few good clients, some I have with over 30 yrs institutional knowledge.  Not taking on new jobs or clients.  With the cold wet weather this year in the mid atlantic, I'm looking forward to spending 6 months a year in LA doing very little surveying but fishing, golf, spending time with family and remotely taking care of existing clients.  I think surveying helps keep 3/4 century brain cells bouncing around and hopefully spitting out correct data.  

Posted by: @norman-oklahoma

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A few years back there was a story circulating about a surveyor for the state of Indiana who was retiring at the age of 102. I wonder how he is getting on?

Bob Vollmer dies at age 104 | wthr.com

I retired in 2022 after 45 years surveying. I worked for a local surveyor for 19 years and then 26 years in my own business. I could have retired a few years before I did, but still enjoyed it and thought I would miss it. Surveying was a great career but I haven’t missed it for a minute 🙂

Retired in 2025 after working 67 years, the last 62 in surveying, the last 58 as an RLS, the last 25 with my own company. I gave away all of the equipment and files to an outstanding local surveyor. We moved to a nice retirement community where they provide everything and now I sit on the glider with my coffee in the morning and watch the grass grow. Surveying was wonderful to me and my own company very lucrative, but I took all the certificates and awards off the trophy wall, put them in the trash, and never looked back. I thought I would miss surveying but not the slightest; turns out reading my Kindle is a lot nicer than going to work.

Biggest regret is not going into business for myself years earlier, but I never heard my peers mention how nice it was so instead I listened to the naysayers who said you can't make money surveying. Maybe for them it was true, but I worked solo and worked smart, with my wife handling the home office, so best of all worlds. Yay.

14 years retired this month.  I had enough of the stress, a triple bypass helped me get out the door, along with my loving wife. I missed it for a while, mostly my coworkers. Like a lot of us, I still notice fresh paint and flagging tied here and there.  Plus monuments and control points catch my eye.  I still hear from a few still working and they have all the work they want.  When I used to talk to the kids at career fairs, I told them surveyors are going to be in short supply in a few years, near as I can tell , I was right.  Aloha 🤙

Posted by: @bruce-small

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Biggest regret is not going into business for myself years earlier, but I never heard my peers mention how nice it was so instead I listened to the naysayers who said you can't make money surveying.

That is awesome.  I just got approved for a business loan to buy a base/rover setup today.  I think I would love running my own shop but getting clients still concerns me.  I've had multiple solo surveyors tell me the work is out there but for some reason that part of the business still makes me nervous.

I'm not sure that I'll have a regular retirement.  Maybe I will, but I enjoy doing this too much.

I turned 60 last September and I can't wait to retire. Don't get me wrong, I love this profession with a passion, but for the last twenty years I've had employers try their best to squeeze every last drop out of me, often doing the work of two or three people and then having them kneel on my neck when I tell them I'm burnt out and need rest. My present situation finds me replacing two people, a licensed surveyor and a drafter. Though the pressure is less, their expectations remain unrealistic. As apparently I'm a glutton for punishment, I will soldier on, but I know very well my time on this earth is limited and my bucket list long.

Carpe Diem.

@bstrand You can't wait until you are no longer nervous. The nervousness will not go away.

@lurker Yeah, suspected as much.

I still take pictures of survey markers on vacation.  I know they survey in Switzerland.

Posted by: @bstrand

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That is awesome.  I just got approved for a business loan to buy a base/rover setup today.  I think I would love running my own shop but getting clients still concerns me.  I've had multiple solo surveyors tell me the work is out there but for some reason that part of the business still makes me nervous.

Why are you starting with a loan for new equipment? There's so much used equipment, that's the way to start.

@robertusa The loan is for used stuff.