The Future of Land Surveying

People like Chris Nelson have made a living out of doing a land survey for construction projects. However, as technology and the workforce changes, it may be important to ask what the future holds for this profession.

Types of Surveying

Land surveying occurs for many reasons, but one of the most common ones is to establish the boundaries between properties. Unfortunately, today's surveyors currently don't have as much training or supervision as they should. In many cases, they place the legal description on the ground only to find it no longer fits existing corners. The result is often simply to set new corners. Part of the problem may stem from the fact that surveying property boundaries is a profession that still hasn't fully recovered from the crash in 2007. Many people accept jobs at very low prices just to get work, which will naturally cause them not to put in their best effort.

Another common type of surveying involves surveying related to engineering. Requested by architects, engineers and designers, these surveys are often the backbone of many surveying companies. Because they are often related to the government, work can be steady once you prove yourself. However, some surveys have problems proving themselves. Why? The government just isn't as interested as it should be in making improvements to our current infrastructure. This means there are fewer jobs to go around.

Education Requirements

While it is believed that many surveyors aren't educated enough, it isn't because of a lack of programs. Most states do require a surveyor to have a college degree and take the national test. However, there aren't enough people entering the field to cover all the people who are of retirement age and wish to stop working. It should be noted that the lack of students isn't because of a lack of interest. Students simply can't afford to finish college, or if they can, they opt to go into similar professions that pay more money.

While a land survey is still an important part of the construction process, the job is becoming harder for the human eye to do alone. An increasing number of companies are using software, drones and even mobile mapping services to complete the work. As technology changes, surveyors can expect an increase in technology over the next 25 years. It is up to them how they react to them.