Texas SIT Exam

> .... Would my experience in Iowa allow me to sit for the exam?
I think so, yes. The FS is a national exam. If you were asking about any other state except Texas I'd say yes for sure. But Texas has it's own ways about some things. Not sure if this is one of them.

Some years ago I sat for FS, PS and State exams in Oregon largely on the basis of experience acquired in British Columbia, Canada. More recently I sat for the Oklahoma PLS on the basis of experience in Oregon.

One other thing I forgot to ask.

How would a person prove that they have had experience such as I?

Here's what I was thinking of doing. Preparing an Afft. showing my experience, I have worked under 3 PLS's over the last 8+ years. Having the owner of the company signing it and have it notarized and recorded in the court house to that the doc. becomes official.

Has anyone else done this?

I can't say about Texas

But in Georgia when you receive your package to complete for the application you also receive letters for recommendation and for confirmation of experience (to be completed by the responsible person). These are mailed directly to the BOR.

Andy

> How would a person prove that they have had experience such as I?
The application package includes Experience Verification forms which you send to the PLS's you worked under together with stamped return envelopes addressed, usually, direct to the state board you are applying to.

Check out this document from the Texas State Board. Their website is pretty clear.

Here it is straight from the Boards Website.

Texas SIT Candidate Guidelines

Randy

As I stated earlier I have worked under 3 PLS's, 2 of which have sense passed away.

Technically I can only prove that I have worked under my current mentor which is 2 years. Is my current mentor allowed to verify the total time of my tenure? I can verify thru time worked with timesheets but that only proves that I was on the payroll and not time surveying. My current boss the owner of the company will verify that I do nothing but survey but he is a PE not a PLS.

The website Randy posted is your starting place.

Under the SIT tab there is a wealth of information to get you started.

What part of Texas are you headed?

You Need Someone To Confirm Your Work History

Having worked for a now deceased surveyor is not an impossibility to overcome. The firm owner/professional is best but not a requirement. Most crew surveyors work with other crew surveyors, some of whom may now be licensed. Since they should be willing to affirm that you in fact did work under the deceased LS using them as a reference is your best bet. The usual request is for 5 references at least 3 of whom must be licensed in the field, so even a well rspected non-professional may fill your bill. You may have worked for a firm that also had a PE, hopefully who is not deceased, and that might be a suitable reference for your work record.

Since you indicate you have some education a survey professor or instructor, while possibly not a professional would be a suitable reference. Then there are the other surveyors in your employer's neighborhood or better yet survey society. They can at least explain that they were aware of so many years of your emplyment with the LS and that he spoke highly of you. Lastly there may be a municipal professional that reviewed work from that office and was aware of your work possibly from your initials on submitted plans as draftsman etc. or that you in fact were the man to discuss revisons/corrections with.

I used a review PE for a PE application. I was a reference for an LS application who was a crew chief at two different firms that we worked at over the years. I would have to dig that out as I am not sure if I was already an LS at that time or just a PE.

Hopefully you have kept some sort of log for your experience over the years. I can pretty much document employment and project hours for the last 30 years. However because I worked as an engineer more than on survey work, I needed a better breakdown when I first began to fill out my experience application paperwork. I contacte d2 former emplyers and they allowed me to come in and sit down with the time books for me to fill in some blanks. There were different codes for types of work, plus I went nthrough v=certain project files that seemed more important. Verifying things like project acres, numbers of lots, counties and municipalities worked in. One of the experience topics is court house research. I included the total different counties in 2 different states.

Lastly, I hope your experience can show an increase in responsibility and variety of work over the years. Ten years of I-man work is not ten years ofr experience but may be only one year of experience ten times over.

Does your current boss employ a surveyor on the payroll? If not what you are now doing may not qualify as survey experience. PA is a stickler for a minimum number of years doing boundary line work and also wants both office and field experience.

All that beingsaid the requirements are less strict for the Fundamentals of Surveying exam. In PA, once you pass the FS, your experience starts over at zero for the PLS requirement.

Paul in PA

Paul, thank you for clearing up some concerns I had. The firm does employ an LS. All the work I do and have done for the last 8+ years have been surveying and nothing else. I currently co-manage the survey work in and out of the office. My experience and leadership has gotten me where I am today. I was hoping that a PE/boss could verify my time as worked.

I am relocating to the Houston, TX area, Sugarland to be more specific.

I cannot see myself doing anything else. I truly enjoy surveying. How many people do you know that enjoys going to work everyday. The challenge of the next job, being a detective and a sleuth and just following in the steps of the last surveyor are really cool. We get to see parts of the timber that haven't stepped on for over a hundred years. I get to see the beautiful country side on a cold winter day, traverse thru the timber during fall time, retrace a river meander from the 1850's, I could go on. Its the only career that I can think of that at times its so quiet that if you are out in a cornfield during July you can actually hear the corn growing.

I would also suggest simply calling the Board and telling them your situation and see if they have any suggestions beyond the information on the website. They're usually very helpful.

> I would also suggest simply calling the Board and telling them your situation and see if they have any suggestions beyond the information on the website. They're usually very helpful.

Only before they brought in and since they replaced that guy from the polygraph board. While he was there, you really did not want to have to deal with that mess.

B-)