Is working as a certified surveyor worth it in usa?
Greetings to you all.
I have a bachelor degree in surveying engineering from Egypt. I'm going to take a fs exam from Saudi Arabia which is allowed by ncees. I'm going to immigrate to USA. Does it worth? How hard to get a surveying job if I'm certified? How much do I expect? Should I get my family with me when i first come to USA or should be alone? Thanks in advance.
Whether it is worth it or not is up to you to decide. What I can say is that you first need to go through the legal immigration process, and, after getting approved, figure out what state that you want to settle in, then provide your transcripts to the state board of that state to see if they will accept your education.
We don't have certifications; we have licensure as professional land surveyors. You face many obstacles immigrating and wanting to make good money from the start. It seems to me that you don't speak English as well as you would need to and communicate with clients clearly and effectively. One of my senior crew chiefs has a degree in geomatics from Columbia but not all of his college credits are acceptable and he also has to take a test in communicating in the English language.
Immigrating to America is not going to assure your success, licensed or not, you have a lot to think about when it comes to location and investigating state requirements.
You don't need any sort of survey certification to work for a surveyor in the US and make a good living at it - if you have useful skills. And you could have all the certifications the world offers and you would probably have a very difficult time making a go of it after arriving here fresh from another country and culture. What you need to do is find a job working for a licensed surveyor in order that you may learn the ways of the business here in the west.
Were I you I would be communicating with surveyors in the US who are advertising for help. In todays world of international phones calls, emailing, and video conferencing it doesn't matter so much where you are at the introductions stage.
The most common issue with foreign education comes from our varying structures. A lot of applicants from Egypt don't show enough math on university transcripts, usually because they took it in high school. I see the same problem with general education credits.
Some States recognize this and accept high school credits. The policy on this is not consistent.
The family decision comes down to two things. First, do you have established family or strong connections here already? It doesn't sound like you do. Second, do you have significant resources to provide for everyone while exploring and establishing yourself? If both of those are a 'no', consider starting here by yourself.
Surveying can be a very rewarding career. Like most it takes time to learn and build relationships. I hope it works out for you.
Each of the fifty US states has it's own system for evaluating a candidate for professional licensure. In all states, any business that offers land surveying must have at least one professional land surveyor (PLS) who oversees numerous unlicensed surveyors. You can move to any of the fifty states and begin work immediately under the supervision of a PLS. I don't know your specific circumstance, but I generally encourage anyone to make licensure as a PLS their ultimate goal if they intend to spend a decade or more surveying. North Carolina, where I reside, has multiple paths to licensure including a non-college, experience only path. Most states require some college but not necessarily specific to land surveying, a few (Florida and New Jersey come to mind) require a four year college degree specific to land surveying.
You might want to research population trends in the USA taking note of the states people are moving to and from. Be careful not to place too much faith in news or opinions from popular USA media sites such as, but not limited to, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NY Times, Washington Post. Find and review data relating to the state you intend to move to yourself, and formulate your own assumptions. Look closely at urban areas in America's southeast and you may find steady growth in major market sectors such as energy, healthcare, utilities, and information technology.
Good luck
I worked with an immigrant 30 years ago from Romania that was a licensed surveyor in his home country. At the time, it was difficult getting his degree approved so he could sit for the tests. He still needed the surveying experience locally to be approved. It can be very different surveying from state to state in this country and I imagine a fairly wide difference from country to country. Math is math but that is fairly low level stuff to master. The fine points of being able to navigate the records research and knowing not only what the deed says but what it means is more in the professional category and a hundred other local details are essential to being responsible for properly placing property lines.
Construction staking is another aspect altogether and in many US states, that is not regulated by surveying licensure.
