Thoughts on the future

I know many States are adding educational requirements for testing. I see good and bad there. Many Licensed Surveyors I know have learned everything on the job and are very good surveyors. I see many reaching the experience level to test, but are unwilling (or able) to go back to school 2-4 years depending on the state. It appears there will be a shortage of Licensed Surveyors in the near future. Hopefully they don't let Engineers start surveying. Most of us see the messes from a math solution minded engineer. Rarely weighing the field evidence, only crunching numbers and marking the legal description. Sometimes to the .000001 of a foot, but 8 feet away from the true position.

Forty-one years ago I was wearing those boots looking around at all these old codgers at BBQs and fish frys wondering the same thing.

If you like what you do and vision yourself liking that with a big company or on your own in the future, then you know your answer.

Keep learning everything you can about surveying and become another survey junkie for the long haul.

If you can make it thru the lean years the plentiful ones will be that much better.

Good luck

:gammon:

Doom

If we are fortunate and follow the general rules of supply and demand, then life will be great.

If the lawyers catch wind of surveyors actually starting to charge the rightful amount for our work, then deregulation will cripple our profession.

If our profession would step it up and regulate GIS data, then life will be good again.

Recently licensed myself, I often think about the same thing. As for your first possible outcome, we couldnt be that lucky. I'll play the pessimist, and go with outcome number 2.

I have my BS in Civil Engineering. Yet I chose to pursue my surveying license first. While I enjoy, and take pride in my work, I'm constantly reminded of the fact that surveyors are looked at as a necessary evil, we make less than our engineering counterparts, and (at least in my state) you have to jump through more hoops in order to get licensed.

Until these things change, less and less will choose this profession. And considering the interests of the younger generations, well, there's no app for surveying.

-V

First place to start is in public education, get rid of the existing administrators and teachers, replace them with people who are retired from a meaningful job, they have real life experiences to teach. Stop all federal and state funding of local schools and let all schools be funded locally. Don't need a fancy plant or ball games to educate kids, the one room schools used to put out kids that had only attended 2 or 3 years that did well in the world, they knew how to read and do arithmetic and if they had the need they were equipped to educate themselves further in areas of need. What are we rated at today, think I heard that of all of the industrialized nations we were 35th in education. More money does not provide education when the educators are not educated themselves about what takes place and is needed in the world outside of academia.
jud

I think this is something that every profession is going to go through. The baby boomers have started to turn 65 and there is going massive and unprecedented retirement over then next 15-20 years, creating a lot of opportunity for the next generation. I see this as a good thing. The "market" always sorts itself out. If there is a true shortage of surveyors in the future, you can bet the students will take notice of the wage increases.

:good: :good:

Case in point boys and girls. To make matters worse, the public sector is controlling the GIS. Lots of fine lines and gray areas in between. Lest we forget NGS controlling the center of the planet.

I'm one of those old 70's survey grads from Mich Tech. but right about now thinking I should have picked optometry as a profession.

But I still love my job. Wanna hire me and buy all my shyte.... just have your girl call my girl and we'll get back to ya' soon as we're done with whatever we're not working on....;-)

I have often wondered the same. Then when I see two nieghboors argueing about a property line I think; there is no way a GIS junkie would put his arse on the line knowing what his data is based on.

I think we will be okay people... Don't start freaking out... By the way I gradumaitted in 2008 also...

I believe that there is either a gloomy future for our profession or a very bright one. It all depends on whether or not we, the Professional Land Surveyors will have the courage to take the reins of our profession and drive its future ourselves ... or are we going to continue to let engineers, lawyers, GIS folks, title companies, etc, drive our profession into the dust bin of history.

At our current efforts of taking back our profession, I can see the end, and it ain't pretty........

"Come ahead!"

surveying will be fine for a while
our skills will be invaluable to the GIS community in the future

There is a lot of long term opportunity in the profession in western Canada. Our firm and others are actively recruiting from all of Canada and the US.

> 1. Due to the amount of surveyors who are reaching the age of voluntary or involuntary retirement, there will be a huge demand for younger land surveyors such as myself.
> 2. Due to a lack of available surveyors and diminishing new licensees, states will begin to deregulate the practice of surveying and will begin to put more responsibilities in the hands of engineers, GIS professionals, etc.
>
> Is surveying going to be a viable industry when I reach my 40s, 50s, 60s? What is everyone's take on the situation?

What makes you think there will be a lack of available surveyors? I think those who will remain in business will actually be able to pick & choose their projects, and low balling will decrease. Also, my experience is the bulk of those who attend the chapter meetings are the oldsters & the youngsters - the ones in between are presumably working or too busy to attend.

Engineers don't get paid more than surveyors in my state

If you are a young, licensed surveyor your long term future is very bright.

In the area I work in there surely will be a lack of available surveyors in 5-10 years due primarily to the fact that many of the current surveyor's are in their mid to late sixties. This seems to be very similar to the demographics that I see at the Maine Society of Land Surveyors annual meeting, which typically brings out a majority of the active surveyors in the state. On top of this fact, I would say that on average only about 10-15 land surveyors become licensed as professionals in Maine on a yearly basis. I think it is fair to say that in 5-10 years that the number of actively practicing land surveyors in Maine will be cut by 15-25%.

lucky

I'm also a young surveyor. I don't think the proliferation of GIS or engineers doing topo surveys is a threat to my job. Who's going to provide the data for a GIS that's good enough resolve boundary issues or be the basis of some digital cadastre? Who's going to set the control and show the engineers which buttons to push?

The work of the retirees will be filled by technology.

What the technology won't fill is a void in mentors.

I see a strong push toward Corporate Surveying. By that I mean the Surveyor will be sitting in his leather chair directing the work and drinking coffee, playing golf in the afternoons. He will never see the field, lot, corner marker or boundary problem unless he gets called to testify. Then he will get his Party Chief to show him the corners so he can honestly say on the stand "Yes Sir, I looked at each and every corner on that survey".

The Corporate Surveyor will have several RPLS's working in the office under him. Each having a time and money budget to work with. If a survey doesn't get done within the timeframe or is over budget, he will have to answer to the man in the leather chair.

Personally I don't like the way things are heading if that is true. I hope I am wrong.

James