Surveyors: Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz

Stan T.Career, Overview

Surveyors

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.

Salary
$70260
Becoming One
Hard
Education
Bachelor's degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality
Interest Match



Job description

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.

  • 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.
Read more about what does a Surveyor really do at work and what is it like being and working as one.



Salary

Average salary
$66440 per year

Average hourly wage
$32 per hour


Surveyors with little to no experience tend to make between $35160 and $46590 while the more experienced ones can earn over $82140 per year.

Top 5 paying states Hourly Annual
CA $44 $91,010
WA $41 $85,860
NV $39 $80,520
AK $38 $79,940
NY $37 $77,660

One of the easiest ways to increase your salary as a Surveyor is to move to a higher paying state like CA. Right now, the highest paying states for Surveyors are CA, WA, NV, AK and NY.

However, a higher pay at CA doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the living expenses at CA might be twice as high than where you are currently at now.

Three other factors that can increase your salary as a Surveyor is the degree you hold, the industry you work in, and lastly the company you work for.


Requirements

Recommended degree level
Bachelor’s degree

We asked other Surveyors what degree they had when they got the job and most of them said they had a Bachelor’s Degree followed by an Associate’s Degree.

Other than that, we also asked them what did they major in and here are the most popular majors that came up.

Surveying Technology/Surveying
Read more about how to become a Surveyor and the degree, training and education you need.

Pros and Cons

Here are some of the pros and cons of being a Surveyor.

PROS
Suitable for people who likes practical and hands-on work
Suitable for people who values relationships between co-workers and customers and wants to work in a friendly non-competitive environment
This career is perfect for people who love to work outdoors.
Good salary (earns more than 50% of the careers out there)
Normal working hours (40 hours per week)
CONS
Not suitable for people who likes to help and teach others
It is hard to get into this career. A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for this career.

What is the job like

Job satisfaction
70%

Is this job meaningful
55%


70% of Surveyors said they were satisfied with their job and 55% said they feel like their job is making other people’s lives better.


Is this right for me

Best personality for this career
The Builders and The Thinkers

You can read more about these career personality types here.

People who are suitable for this job tends to like work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They like working with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery..

They also like working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. They like searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.



Learn more about Surveyors

Summary (You are here)
Job Description
Salary
Requirements
Quiz

Related career information

Surveyors job description, Surveyors salary, Surveyors information, what is the job of a Surveyor like, pros and cons about Surveyors, colleges and universities for Surveyors, is Surveyors the right career for me, careers in Architecture and Engineering

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