Career profile Surveyor

Table of Contents

• What does a Surveyor do?
• What is a typical salary for a Surveyor?
• What personality traits are common among Surveyors?
  • Career Interests
  • Values
  • Psychological Demands
• What education and training do Surveyors need?
  • Typical educational degrees
  • Required knowledge and expertise
  • Important abilities
  • Critical skills

What does a Surveyor do?

Surveyors make exact measurements and determine property boundaries.

In addition, Surveyors provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.

What kind of tasks does a Surveyor perform regularly?

Surveyors are often responsible for overseeing or executing some or all of the following tasks:

• Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
• Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
• Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
• Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
• Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
• Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
• Coordinate findings with the work of engineering and architectural personnel, clients, and others concerned with projects.
• Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments.
• Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.
• Adjust surveying instruments to maintain their accuracy.
• Train assistants and helpers, and direct their work in such activities as performing surveys or drafting maps.
• Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
• Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS).
• Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.
• Analyze survey objectives and specifications to prepare survey proposals or to direct others in survey proposal preparation.
• Testify as an expert witness in court cases on land survey issues, such as property boundaries.
• Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.
• Develop criteria for survey methods and procedures.
• Survey bodies of water to determine navigable channels and to secure data for construction of breakwaters, piers, and other marine structures.
• Direct aerial surveys of specified geographical areas.
• Conduct research in surveying and mapping methods, using knowledge of photogrammetric map compilation and electronic data processing.

The above responsibilities are specific to Surveyors. More generally, Surveyors are involved in several broader types of activities:

What is a Surveyor salary?

What personality traits are common among Surveyors?

Interests

Career interests describe a person's preferences for different types of working environments and activities. When a person's interest match the demands of an occupation, people are usually more engaged and satisfied in that role.

Compared to most occupations, those who work as a Surveyor are usually higher in their Realistic, Investigative, and Conventional interests.

Surveyors typically have very strong Realistic interests. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Also, Surveyors typically have strong Investigative interests. Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Lastly, Surveyors typically have strong Conventional interests. Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Values

People differ in their values, or what is most important to them for building job satisfaction and fulfillment.

Compared to most people, those working as a Surveyor tend to value Relationships, Independence, and Achievement.

Most importantly, Surveyors strongly value Relationships. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Second, Surveyors strongly value Independence. Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions.

Lastly, Surveyors moderately value Achievement. Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

Psychological Demands

Each occupation brings its own set of psychological demands, which describe the characteristics necessary to perform the job well.

In order to perform their job successfully, people who work as Surveyors must consistently demonstrate qualities such as integrity, attention to detail, and dependability.

Below, you'll find a list of qualities typically required of Surveyors, ranked by importance:

What education and training do Surveyors need?

Many Surveyors will have a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

Surveyors usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

Educational degrees among Surveyors

• 0.1% did not complete high school or secondary school
• 3.4% completed high school or secondary school
• 11.0% completed some college coursework
• 12.4% earned a Associate's degree
• 60.0% earned a Bachelor's degree
• 9.9% earned a Master's degree
• 3.2% earned a doctorate or professional degree

Knowledge and expertise required by Surveyors

Important Abilities needed by Surveyors

Surveyors must develop a particular set of abilities to perform their job well. Abilities are individual capacities that influence a person's information processing, sensory perception, motor coordination, and physical strength or endurance. Individuals may naturally have certain abilities without explicit training, but most abilities can be sharpened somewhat through practice.

For example, Surveyors need abilities such as written comprehension, deductive reasoning, and mathematical reasoning in order to perform their job at a high level. The list below shows several important abilities for Surveyors, ranked by their relative importance.

Critical Skills needed by Surveyors

Skills are developed capacities that enable people to function effectively in real-world settings. Unlike abilities, skills are typically easier to build through practice and experience. Skills influence effectiveness in areas such as learning, working with others, design, troubleshooting, and more.

Surveyors frequently use skills like mathematics, reading comprehension, and speaking to perform their job effectively. The list below shows several critical skills for Surveyors, ranked by their relative importance.

What is the source of this information?

The information provided on this page is adapted from data and descriptions published by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under the CC BY 4.0 license. TraitLab has modified some information for ease of use and reading, and the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

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