The Certified Federal Surveyor certification or CFedS program taken from the internet page of cfeds.org states, "To enhance the level of knowledge and expertise in the professional land surveying community for work performed on or near federal interest lands.".
To obtain the CFedS endorsement; you must hold a professional Registration in Land Surveying, have prior passage of the NCEES fundamentals of Surveying examination and a clean bill of disciplinary health for the past 5 years* in all states that you may hold licensed with. With approval, the program is estimated to contain 20 weeks of study materials (self paced), passage of the section quizzes and within 2 years and or 3 attempts successfully complete the final exam totaling 6.5 hours in 3 sessions. Fees and exams $1,200.
The effort of the study expected to be required for the successfully passing the CFedS exam is valued at that of a 4 credit upper level College course. As a 5th year Surveyor in a PLSS state, this endorsement could be a obvious plus to the overall career of the Surveyor. In what ways does the CFedS endorsement work for a Land Survey Business or the established Surveyor?
öª Basic question, does the CFedS make you a better overall surveyor or is the endorsement specific to just the PLSS and its manifestations?
öª Do you as a surveyor or your company see a viable investment rate of return with the CFedS endorsement?
öª Is the CFedS certification appearing more or less in contract specifications?
öª Are the continuing education requirements reasonable?
öª Does the BLM or other Federal Land Owners treat holders of the CFedS differently when surveying adjoining private lands?
öª other
* It is unclear rather you have to have had your Survey License 5 years or be of just "good standing" prior to application for a CFedS program if less than 5 year licensure.
Source: cfeds.org
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In my area, CFedS certification is worth approximately $0. I'm sure in other areas it's worth much more.
Jim Frame, post: 387463, member: 10 wrote: In my area, CFedS certification is worth approximately $0. I'm sure in other areas it's worth much more.
Or roughly $-1,200
Everyone around here says it's worthless (despite having nearly 70% government land in our State). We are doing very well with 1 on staff. It's my next challenge after Oregon.
Worth it for the knowledge.
Wish I had done the CFEDs course before my exams. It would have helped tremendously.
Am told the work that comes from it is mostly office work piecing together jigsaw puzzles out of old records and not so much the glamorous reservation fieldwork.
It's my next goal although it's gonna cost 24000 cans picked up along the highway.
Is it going to automatically bring in paying work? No.
Is it going to give you an advantage over a competitor who doesn't have it? Yes.
Is it going to yield PDHs which have to be acquired anyway? Yes. About as many as 3 or 4 years worth of annual conventions.
In what ways does the CFedS endorsement work for a Land Survey Business or the established Surveyor?
- I like to believe that it's another bit of evidence to clients/potential clients that you are well qualified - they don't know exactly what it means but they know that you are pursuing something that most others don't.
öª Basic question, does the CFedS make you a better overall surveyor or is the endorsement specific to just the PLSS and its manifestations?
- With the exception of colonial states, I believe it makes you a better overall surveyor - in the PLSS states nearly 100% of lands in private ownership were originally owned by the USA
öª Do you as a surveyor or your company see a viable investment rate of return with the CFedS endorsement?
- That's hard to say - I believe we do but there are very few projects that require a CFedS. Then there's the intangible return we get by the increased knowledge we have in the shop - I believe we do a better job because of the knowledge the CFedS program exposes a person too.
öª Is the CFedS certification appearing more or less in contract specifications?
- I've only seen them mandatory for a contract to survey the USA border.
öª Are the continuing education requirements reasonable?
- I think so - the material is generally very good. And they meet our state continuing eduction requirements.
öª Does the BLM or other Federal Land Owners treat holders of the CFedS differently when surveying adjoining private lands?
- Good question, I don't really know but when I see that a CFedS has done a survey, I know that that individual has been exposed to, and tested on, the Federal portion of the survey - I think it's unlikely that the CFedS would have scrimped on research or performed an inadequate search for evidence or declared a corner lost when it wasn't. Knowing the education and continuing education that the CFedS went through, I'm inclined to trust their work over a non-CFedS (granted there are many excellent non-CFedS surveyors - the CFedS designation shows that they've made additional effort and been exposed to more detailed information than mos non-CFedS).
öª other
- I think it's a great program - If you work in a PLSS state and do anything with boundaries, the material WILL make you more knowledgable - that's in your best interest and your clients. If your area of focus doesn't involve boundaries - skip it.
In Oklahoma there are MANY (fifty somethin', I think) Native Nations with millions of acres held in trust. We work with 2 or 3 of them regularly and the term CFedS rarely comes up. Anything to do with BIA or BLM interests is reviewed by the appropriate BILS. My guess this is probably because the tribal government is footing the bills for the surveys. If the US Gov't. was paying for anything it might be a different story.
half bubble, post: 387469, member: 175 wrote: Worth it for the knowledge.
Wish I had done the CFEDs course before my exams. It would have helped tremendously.
This is why I took it. A few years ago they started offering the program to LSIT's. The company I work for was generous enough to pay for the program, so it was a no-brainer to go through the course. I passed last summer and this April passed the LS exams. It was very informative and I'm glad I took it. That said, I don't know that it will translate in a great deal of work. What I've learned will make me a better surveyor, and that was good enough reason for me.
