30 pdh's each every two years, it sucks!
I'll never recoup the time, effert and cost of either license. Not even sure why I did it, maybe just because I could. Passed every test first try.
As is true with any profession, it depends upon the individual. But I do think that in most cases the path one takes to dual licensure makes a very big difference. Those who are surveyors for some time before becoming engineers usually have a better understanding and respect for the surveying profession, whereas engineers who go after their surveying license often seem to regard it as a necessary evil.
I've only dealt with one dual licensee and that was a number of years ago- he was an excellent surveyor who wanted things done RIGHT.
On an aside, back in 1996 or so I was the low man on the survey crew with a PC who didn't know the difference between a bearing and an azimuth. We had to reset a 1/16th corner which the PC neglected to properly tie out although I had some measurements myself on it. I notified the PLS/PE in person and I didn't want to really state how close I thought I could reset it but he kept pressuring me until he finally exploded, "HOW CLOSE DO YOU THINK YOU CAN SET IT???" To which I replied, "I think I can get it within one or two hundredths." He suddenly calmed down and said, "That's probably close enough." ("Original position" means original position IMO- you begin with zero tolerance and work from there when you reset a mon)...
The only superior evidence is that which you haven't yet found.
I've known several in NY over the years, they were primarily surveyors.
Most of the older dual license holders that received a license because they were already a licensed engineer usually look down their nose at us. They are also usually the ones that are on the license board in the surveyors spot.
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Sabre970, post: 322990, member: 7481 wrote:
Is someone with a dual license good or bad for career/company/everyone?
From a career perspective, I guess it makes sense for the registrant, provided he knows his limitations, as Dirty Harry might say. Unfortunately, my experience has been that most dual registrants probably don’t, and are more likely than not to engineer the boundaries when making a survey.
It's difficult to generalize, but as a loose generalization, most are fairly good to excellent at one and only a bit more than minimally competent at the other. I've known or known of several who weren't particularly good at either (but typically thought they were outstanding at both), and I've known or known of a few who were very good or excellent at both.
It can be a career advantage to anyone who works in the construction side of things. It can be a professional advantage and an advantage to the client's of one who understands his or her limitations in each and who also strives to become better at each throughout one's career.
Let me preface this by saying that my comments are regarding boundary surveys. To me, boundaries are why we are licensed.
I worked with one Pre-'82 Engineer/Surveyor down in California who was also a good boundary surveyor. He also knew when to pass it along to someone else when it got hairy, so he could keep working on the engineering, but was capable in his own right. The rest were less than adequate, leaving me with the idea that the pre '82 thing was in general, a failed experiment by the CA board.
The actual dual licenses I've known have by and large been engineers that got their PLSs as an afterthought, because they were good test takers, and wanted to do it all. Most stay away from surveying, and use their license to beat the surveyors down on fees, etc. Of course, one of them then had to put his money where his mouth was when the economy tanked and the only job he could get was as a land surveyor. It was painful to watch from afar, but I think he figured it out eventually (at least some of it). I've been reluctant to look at any of his current boundary surveys, since I always thought he was a nice enough guy, and don't want to think bad thoughts of him. Besides, I know that he eventually asked for help from a really good surveyor, so I'm sure he turned it around.
The one PLS I know who got his PE is still surveying. He was a surveyor for 20 years before his PE. I believe he got his PE (and he earned it) because his dad had one. He did the engineer thing for awhile, then he did the dual thing, now he mostly surveys. If he had his preference, he'd work half time in the field and the rest of the time in the office (surveying). As far as boundaries go, I don't think you'll find many better.
As most have said, it really depends on the person and the situation. In general, I'm all for dual licenses, but it really depends on the person, and why/how they got their license. It is really hard to divide yourself the amount required to do both well. I wouldn't do it, but I've seen two instances (granted out of many) where it worked, so would like to keep the door open for those rare individuals who can do it. I sure wouldn't.
not worth a crap.
If a modern-day Diogenes the Cynic were to walk the streets looking for a good surveyor, I would be curious as to his odds of finding one amongst the singularily licensed, let alone the dually licensed.
Let's just say the 2 of the 3 surveyors I'm retracing now were dual licensees.....who single proportioned fearlessly, and did some other stuff that I'm still blinking about..... more later.....