Land Surveying is a great profession. Why don't young people know about it?
If you talk to any Land Surveyor, they will share with you what it is like to be part of a great profession. A profession that provides vast variety, the opportunity to work outdoors and the chance to apply math and analytical skills in a real-world setting. When asked about my job, I always start with describing the satisfaction of solving a puzzle while being outdoors and using modern technology to retrace the steps of another surveyor who established a property corner possibly 100 years earlier. There is just nothing quite like it. So why aren’t more young people lining up to become surveyors?
I did a quick online review of what careers are being recommended to high school and middle school students, and surveying didn’t make any of the lists. That is unfortunate. According to the Princeton Review, “. . . surveying job opportunities are expected to increase by more than 20 percent in the next ten years.” Furthermore, surveying offers stable work hours, decent pay and the opportunity to use cutting-edge technology.
Recently the National Society of Land Surveyors (NSPS) teamed up with “get kids into survey.com” to engage kids at the grade school level, or even younger, as well as their parents, on the different activities and types of surveying they can be involved in. They use posters (like this one) with hidden objects, coloring sheets, and some pretty cool cartoon characters to help kids and parents understand surveying and its limitless boundaries (pun intended). Hopefully, providing a better presence will encourage students to consider land surveying as a career.
Today, more than ever, people need a fulfilling and reliable career — a profession they can count on in good times and bad. The pandemic, which has nearly erased whole business sectors, has had minimal impact on land surveying. We have been able to continue working in the field, socially distant, of course, making sure surveys are completed, construction continues, and infrastructure projects move forward.
Do the student in your life a favor and suggest that they look at these resources to learn more about a future as a Land Surveying professional.
