Profession

The basic principles of surveying have changed little over the ages, but the tools used by surveyors have evolved. Engineering, especially civil engineering, often needs surveyors.

Surveyors help determine the placement of roads, railways, reservoirs, dams, pipelines, retaining walls, bridges, and buildings. They establish the boundaries of legal descriptions and political divisions. They also provide advice and data for geographical information systems (GIS) that record land features and boundaries.

Surveyors must have a thorough knowledge of algebra, basic calculus, geometry, and trigonometry. They must also know the laws that deal with surveys, real property, and contracts.

Most jurisdictions recognize three different levels of qualification:

• Survey assistants or chainmen are usually unskilled workers who help the surveyor. They place target reflectors, find old reference marks, and mark points on the ground. The term 'chainman' derives from past use of measuring chains. An assistant would move the far end of the chain under the surveyor's direction.
• Survey technicians often operate survey instruments, run surveys in the field, do survey calculations, or draft plans. A technician usually has no legal authority and cannot certify his work. Not all technicians are qualified, but qualifications at the certificate or diploma level are available.
• Licensed, registered, or chartered surveyors usually hold a degree or higher qualification. They are often required to pass further exams to join a professional association or to gain certifying status. Surveyors are responsible for planning and management of surveys. They have to ensure that their surveys, or surveys performed under their supervision, meet the legal standards. Many principals of surveying firms hold this status.

Licensingedit

Licensing requirements vary with jurisdiction, and are commonly consistent within national borders. Prospective surveyors usually have to receive a degree in surveying, followed by a detailed examination of their knowledge of surveying law and principles specific to the region they wish to practice in, and undergo a period of on-the-job training or portfolio building before they are awarded a license to practise. Licensed surveyors usually receive a post nominal, which varies depending on where they qualified. The system has replaced older apprenticeship systems.

A licensed land surveyor is generally required to sign and seal all plans. The state dictates the format, showing their name and registration number.

In many jurisdictions, surveyors must mark their registration number on survey monuments when setting boundary corners. Monuments take the form of capped iron rods, concrete monuments, or nails with washers.

Surveying institutionsedit

Most countries' governments regulate at least some forms of surveying. Their survey agencies establish regulations and standards. Standards control accuracy, surveying credentials, monumentation of boundaries and maintenance of geodetic networks. Many nations devolve this authority to regional entities or states/provinces. Cadastral surveys tend to be the most regulated because of the permanence of the work. Lot boundaries established by cadastral surveys may stand for hundreds of years without modification.

Most jurisdictions also have a form of professional institution representing local surveyors. These institutes often endorse or license potential surveyors, as well as set and enforce ethical standards. The largest institution is the International Federation of Surveyors (Abbreviated FIG, for French: Fédération Internationale des Géomètres). They represent the survey industry worldwide.

Building surveyingedit

Most English-speaking countries consider building surveying a distinct profession. They have their own professional associations and licensing requirements. Building surveyors focus on investigating the condition of buildings as well as legal compliance work.

Cadastral surveyingedit

One of the primary roles of the land surveyor is to determine the boundary of real property on the ground. The surveyor must determine where the adjoining landowners wish to put the boundary. The boundary is established in legal documents and plans prepared by attorneys, engineers, and land surveyors. The surveyor then puts monuments on the corners of the new boundary. They might also find or resurvey the corners of the property monumented by prior surveys.

Cadastral land surveyors are licensed by governments. The cadastral survey branch of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducts most cadastral surveys in the United States. They consult with Forest Service, National Park Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, and others. The BLM used to be known as the General Land Office (GLO).

In states organized per the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), surveyors must carry out BLM cadastral surveys under that system.

Cadastral surveyors often have to work around changes to the earth that obliterate or damage boundary monuments. When this happens, they must consider evidence that is not recorded on the title deed. This is known as extrinsic evidence.

Noteworthy surveyorsedit

Three of the four U.S. Presidents on Mount Rushmore were land surveyors. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln surveyed colonial or frontier territories prior to serving office.

David T. Abercrombie practiced land surveying before starting an outfitter store of excursion goods. The business would later turn into Abercrombie & Fitch lifestyle clothing store.

Percy Harrison Fawcett was a British surveyor that explored the jungles of South America attempting to find the Lost City of Z. His biography and expeditions were recounted in the book The Lost City of Z and were later adapted on film screen.

Inō Tadataka produced the first map of Japan using modern surveying techniques starting in 1800, at the age of 55.