Field to office transition
I am at the point in my career where I am transitioning to the office. I have mixed feelings about this because on the one hand, it signifies growth and success in my career, on the other hand staring at a computer for 8-10 hours a day is not what drew me to surveying in the first place.
Obviously I can ask to get out in the field more or seek a new job with more of a field role but I am curious to hear your opinions and experiences regarding this transition.
Hello surveylife.
Was this transition imposed on you? Or did you sort of get the ball rolling to get to this point?
Depending on your age (and attitude), you may embrace the new scenery or regret it. I have known surveyors that transitioned rather smoothly. Personally, I prefer not to be inside. However, my age sort of forced the issue.
I would think that your current employer may go for the option of splitting field and office time. Assuming they don't want to lose you to a competitor. I will leave it at that for now.
I transitioned to the office when I got licensed back in 1993 and never regretted it. I've always been more interested in working with the data that I was in collecting it.
Working in the field has its rewards but so does working in the office solving complex puzzles.
Not everybody is built for the office. I was a Survey PM for a large engineering firm and we ran 8 crews out of our corporate office alone. Four of the Crew Chiefs were licensed and had absolutely no desire to move into the office as they enjoyed the freedom of working in the field. As far as I know, all of them have retired by now.
I should add that add do enjoy aspects of working in the office, particularly drafting my own fieldwork and boundary research. It is definitely fulfilling to take a project from fieldwork to finished deliverable. I also advocate for our field staff to get office time because I think it is critical to be a well rounded field surveyor. But I have to admit, by my third straight office day I am about ready to lose my mind. Maybe with time that will change.
I'm sure that you will acclimate to the changing environment. I don't take my drawings to the finished product; I know just enough about CAD to be dangerous. LOL!
I do my linework on the color scheme that I choose and name the layers accordingly and the drafting staff cleans it up and applies the drafting standards.
I've went from field to office back to field and back to office and I'm still not 100% happy doing one of them 100% of the time. No place I've worked has been willing to pay me PLS money if I did any tech work which is kind of annoying, so I think the only real solution for someone like me is to be self employed.
Anyway, I'd say tough it out for 6 months or a year and see if it grows on you and if not then maybe make a change.
I've had stretches of years with all field or all office. Most of these were not by choice. If this is your career find peace with both. Life will put you in one or the other at different times so find a way to make it fun. It works out best if you also make money.
I am primarily in the office (for now). I break up my time reading and researching questions relevant to the jobs I'm doing. Some days it's case law, others it's relearning math that has leaked out. It breaks the monotony and increases my productivity. That's easier to sell when you're the old guy in the room, but a smart boss will support you.
I was fortunate enough to have been hire by a visionary when I first got out of university. He hired two freshly graduated LSITs with the idea to train us in both field and office operations. The plan was that we rotate from field to office on a 6-month schedule. It worked out well until my counterpart got pregnant and I ended up in the field for an extended period. During my time in the field, I worked with the most experienced, all be it most crotchety, PC in the company. For some reason Norm liked me and was a great mentor. I think the cross training made me a better surveyor. Even as I moved back into the office and up the chain of command I still managed to get out in the field whenever possible. Flash forward to when I started out on my own and brought on employees. I found that I got the most bang for my buck by having project surveyors work on all aspects of a given project.
The office work is a necessary phase for becoming a fully rounded surveyor. That said, I know plenty of PLS's that end up back in the field full time.
Unless you are managing people a great party chief is worth every penny as a project surveyor. The transition of worth is when you are managing/developing business/etc.
But, IMHO, time in the office is critical to the education of a PLS.
Warnings:
Transitioning to the office can be difficult. I found that the lack of being under the sky 8 hours a day made a difference in my mood. Sunlight is a big time anti-depressant, even if it is coming though rain clouds.
Exercise. Being in the field keeps the weight off. Sitting in a desk brings the pounds on.
