All About Surveying Technicians
Job Description: Adjust and operate surveying instruments, such as the theodolite and electronic distance-measuring equipment, and compile notes, make sketches and enter data into computers.
Daily Life Of a Surveying Technician
- Compare survey computations with applicable standards to determine adequacy of data.
- Operate and manage land-information computer systems, performing tasks such as storing data, making inquiries, and producing plots and reports.
- Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites, and electronic distance-measuring equipment.
- Record survey measurements and descriptive data, using notes, drawings, sketches, and inked tracings.
- Run rods for benches and cross-section elevations.
- Compile information necessary to stake projects for construction, using engineering plans.
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What a Surveying Technician Should Know
When polled, Surveying Technicians say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Mathematics: Using mathematics to solve problems.
Writing: Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Related Job Titles
- Land Surveying Party Chief
- Survey Party Chief
- Transit Worker
- Levelman
- Transit Survey Worker
Surveying Technician Job Outlook
In 2016, there was an estimated number of 60,200 jobs in the United States for Surveying Technician. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 10.6% which is above the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 6,400 new jobs for Surveying Technician by 2026. The BLS estimates 7,200 yearly job openings in this field.
The states with the most job growth for Surveying Technician are North Dakota, Utah, and Texas. Watch out if you plan on working in Alaska, Maine, or Washington. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.
Salary for a Surveying Technician
Surveying Technicians make between $27,360 and $74,110 a year.
Surveying Technicians who work in California, Alaska, or Massachusetts, make the highest salaries.
Below is a list of the median annual salaries for Surveying Technicians in different U.S. states.
State | Annual Mean Salary |
---|---|
Alabama | $42,850 |
Alaska | $59,850 |
Arizona | $53,730 |
Arkansas | $43,000 |
California | $69,910 |
Colorado | $52,360 |
Connecticut | $58,360 |
Delaware | $42,010 |
Florida | $40,900 |
Georgia | $42,180 |
Hawaii | $48,300 |
Idaho | $45,090 |
Illinois | $55,410 |
Indiana | $41,030 |
Iowa | $48,590 |
Kansas | $43,350 |
Kentucky | $38,960 |
Louisiana | $44,540 |
Maine | $43,640 |
Maryland | $49,820 |
Massachusetts | $59,320 |
Michigan | $38,070 |
Minnesota | $55,170 |
Mississippi | $43,030 |
Missouri | $42,560 |
Montana | $49,120 |
Nebraska | $45,530 |
Nevada | $51,400 |
New Hampshire | $48,300 |
New Jersey | $49,800 |
New Mexico | $47,440 |
New York | $52,470 |
North Carolina | $43,800 |
North Dakota | $51,200 |
Ohio | $44,280 |
Oklahoma | $45,870 |
Oregon | $54,570 |
Pennsylvania | $47,600 |
Rhode Island | $53,980 |
South Carolina | $38,250 |
South Dakota | $39,180 |
Tennessee | $46,020 |
Texas | $42,740 |
Utah | $51,090 |
Vermont | $51,840 |
Virginia | $47,570 |
Washington | $51,100 |
West Virginia | $42,750 |
Wisconsin | $43,500 |
Wyoming | $47,870 |
What Tools & Technology do Surveying Technicians Use?
Below is a list of the types of tools and technologies that Surveying Technicians may use on a daily basis:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Office
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Web browser software
- Microsoft Access
- Email software
- Word processing software
- Autodesk AutoCAD
- Spreadsheet software
- Database software
- Geographic information system GIS software
- Computer aided design CAD software
- Bentley MicroStation
- ESRI ArcView
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D
- Computer aided design and drafting software CADD
- ESRI ArcInfo
- Geomechanical design analysis GDA software
- ESRI ArcGIS software
How to Become a Surveying Technician
Education needed to be a Surveying Technician:
What work experience do I need to become a Surveying Technician?
Where do Surveying Technicians Work?
Below are examples of industries where Surveying Technicians work:
Similar Careers
Are you already one of the many Surveying Technician in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:
- Mapping Technicians
- Log Graders and Scalers
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers
- Power Distributors and Dispatchers
- Civil Drafters
- Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Motion Picture
- Civil Engineering Technicians
References:
Image Credit: Mike1979 Russia via Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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