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Surveyors
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. 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.
Other titles employers use
City Surveyor · County Surveyor · Land Surveyor · Licensed Land Surveyor · Mine Surveyor · Professional Land Surveyor · Registered Land Surveyor · Staff Land Surveyor
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
- 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.
- Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
- Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
- Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to organizing, practical and analytical work.
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Practical
- Building, repairing, using tools, or working outdoors
- Analytical
- Investigating questions, testing ideas, and solving problems
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Mathematics
- Reading Comprehension
- Writing
- Critical Thinking
- Speaking
- Active Listening
Subjects to know
- Mathematics
- Engineering and Technology
- Geography
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
Useful strengths
- Written Comprehension
- Deductive Reasoning
- Mathematical Reasoning
- Written Expression
- Inductive Reasoning
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.4 | Shared rooms, but not shoulder to shoulder |
| On your feet | 3.3 | Up and down through the day |
| Talking face to face | 4.5 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 4.0 | Some of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a bachelor's degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A four-year degree 47%
- A certificate or some college 26%
- High school or less 16%
- A two-year degree 11%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Computer aided design CAD software
- Geographic information system
- Office suite software
- Spreadsheet software
- Word processing software
- Analytical or scientific software
- Map creation software
- Project management software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 6,420
- Job openings each year
- 460
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 15.9%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 6,420 | 460 | 15.9% |
| California | 5,400 | 380 | 14.9% |
| Florida | 4,160 | 310 | 18.9% |
| Colorado | 2,020 | 150 | 21.0% |
| Georgia | 1,970 | 140 | 12.6% |
| Maryland | 1,810 | 120 | 9.0% |
| New York | 1,720 | 10 | 5.5% |
| Pennsylvania | 1,690 | 110 | 4.3% |
| Virginia | 1,560 | 100 | 1.3% |
| North Carolina | 1,530 | 110 | 16.8% |
| Illinois | 1,470 | 100 | 3.5% |
| Michigan | 1,430 | 90 | 2.9% |
| Missouri | 1,420 | 100 | 8.4% |
| Louisiana | 1,180 | 80 | 6.3% |
| Oklahoma | 1,110 | 70 | 6.7% |
| Washington | 1,110 | 90 | 12.1% |
| Arizona | 1,090 | 80 | 11.2% |
| Oregon | 1,090 | 80 | 21.1% |
| New Jersey | 1,040 | 70 | 4.0% |
| Minnesota | 1,000 | 70 | 7.5% |
| Ohio | 990 | 60 | 2.1% |
| South Carolina | 990 | 70 | 10.0% |
| Tennessee | 960 | 70 | 9.1% |
| Wisconsin | 960 | 70 | 21.5% |
| Utah | 910 | 70 | 35.8% |
| Indiana | 850 | 60 | 7.6% |
| Alabama | 810 | 50 | 2.5% |
| Montana | 810 | 60 | 17.4% |
| Kentucky | 750 | 50 | 4.2% |
| West Virginia | 650 | 40 | 3.2% |
| Massachusetts | 610 | 40 | 5.2% |
| Connecticut | 600 | 40 | 11.1% |
| Kansas | 520 | 30 | 4.0% |
| Nevada | 490 | 30 | 11.4% |
| Idaho | 470 | 30 | 14.6% |
| Alaska | 420 | 30 | 23.5% |
| Arkansas | 420 | 30 | 7.7% |
| Mississippi | 410 | 30 | 7.9% |
| Maine | 370 | 20 | 2.8% |
| North Dakota | 370 | 30 | 15.6% |
| New Mexico | 340 | 20 | 13.3% |
| Iowa | 320 | 20 | 10.3% |
| Puerto Rico | 300 | 20 | 11.1% |
| Nebraska | 270 | 20 | 8.0% |
| Wyoming | 250 | 20 | 13.6% |
| New Hampshire | 190 | 10 | 11.8% |
| South Dakota | 150 | 10 | 7.1% |
| Vermont | 150 | 10 | 7.1% |
| Delaware | 140 | 10 | — |
| Rhode Island | 110 | 10 | 10.0% |
| Virgin Islands | 20 | 0 | — |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
East Tennessee State University
- Degrees each year
- 20
- Admit rate
- 87%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
Saint Cloud State University
- Degrees each year
- 15
- Admit rate
- 95%
- Annual cost after aid
- $12,000
University of Maine
- Degrees each year
- 14
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $15,000
Florida Atlantic University
- Degrees each year
- 13
- Admit rate
- 73%
- Annual cost after aid
- $8,000
Troy University
- Degrees each year
- 12
- Admit rate
- 93%
- Annual cost after aid
- $14,000
New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Degrees each year
- 12
- Admit rate
- 67%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
University of Akron Main Campus
- Degrees each year
- 11
- Admit rate
- 71%
- Annual cost after aid
- $14,000
Oregon Institute of Technology
- Degrees each year
- 10
- Admit rate
- 92%
- Annual cost after aid
- $14,000