The Most Visible Aspect of Our Profession are the guys in flip flops and shorts waving that yellow stick and digging holes in our front yard.
I know the word "important" is not synonymous with "visible" but my observation is that the professional surveyor is the person uniquely qualified to serve the public by bridging the gap between the record and the monument. The record and monument are both enormously important but the value of each depends upon its relationship to the other. Or should I say that one is useless without the other. The visibility of our profession is enhanced to the extent that society recognizes (sees) the surveyor as the person who can reliably bridge that gap.
A few things pop into my head with that statement, not the least of which is 'responsible charge'. My seal does not indicate the survey was done by another trustworthy soul. It certifies the work was done under my direct supervision. If another Surveyor did the work last year I am more likely to point the potential client to them than perform the work over...
Don't get me wrong. I don't go around breaking out quarter quarters in defiance of the monuments of other surveyors. I simply report the evidence and explain my decisions. That brings me back on point.
As a Surveyor I want to see evidence of those who went before me on the ground. From my perspective that puts monuments on top. At the same time I recognize the majority will see a LOT more maps than pins. The maps are also a place where the layman will see our artistry (or lack thereof).
The one un-mentioned candidate- The hung-over guy with a pot leaf on his hole-y t-shirt taking RTK shots under the trees next to the road. You don't see them often, but the image sticks with you...
> The groupies - can't seem to survey anywhere without attracting crowds of attractive young women.
Oh yeah, how could I forget? (Just don't tell my wife about...)
The groupies, of course !
The Shredder?
> "...the map will end up in some file folder somewhere before a quick trip to the shredder."
>
> Good Lord! If that's the practice in Texas, conditions there are even more primitive than I had imagined.
That's the reality of what happens to survey data that isn't recorded in a public archive. Even in a public recording scenario as it would be implemented in Texas, it's likely that the actual originals would be so inaccessible as to be as good as shredded, a scan stored digitally being the likely means of record.
The Shredder?
Direct recording in the form of a pdf file should be in the near future if not already here. A deed in pdf form could include the description, plat, pictures, all kinds of stuff. They can't complain about the size of the paper anymore.
Right now in my backward county they scan everything into the recorders files and send back the original. I'm thinking about including some survey drawings, plats, whatever with - say a boundary line adjustment agreement.
The Shredder?
> Direct recording in the form of a pdf file should be in the near future if not already here. A deed in pdf form could include the description, plat, pictures, all kinds of stuff. They can't complain about the size of the paper anymore.
It's already possible to add maps in the same format as the instrument to deeds and other instruments submitted for recordation. Obviously a letter-size map isn't typically extremely useful as a means of conveying the same level of detail that a metes and bounds description can, but is good as an aid to following the description.
Considering todays technology, I do not think the general public sees surveyors as the source of maps anymore, most people don't know the difference between a map and a plat.
In the past surveyors were viewed as the source of maps but not anymore...
The most visible aspect of surveying to the general public is "tripod with camera"
> The groupies - can't seem to survey anywhere without attracting crowds of attractive young women.
Chicks dig surveyors!