Education:
Surveying or Mapping Technician
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Job Outlook:
As fast as average
Education:
High school diploma or equivalent
Salary
High:
$77,310.00
Average:
$51,570.00
Hourly
Average:
$24.79
What they do:
Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes. May calculate mapmaking information and create maps from source data, such as surveying notes, aerial photography, satellite data, or other maps to show topographical features, political boundaries, and other features. May verify accuracy and completeness of maps.
On the job, you would:
- Position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that theodolite operators use for sighting to measure angles, distances, and elevations.
- Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections.
- Design or develop information databases that include geographic or topographic data.
Important Qualities
Decision-making skills. Surveying technicians must be able to exercise some independent judgment in the field because they may not always be able to communicate with team members.
Detail oriented. Surveying and mapping technicians must be precise and accurate in their work. Their results are often entered into legal records.
Listening skills. Surveying technicians work outdoors and must communicate with party chiefs and other team members across distances. Following spoken instructions from the party chief is crucial for saving time and preventing errors.
Physical stamina. Surveying technicians usually work outdoors, often in rugged terrain. Physical fitness is necessary to carry equipment and to stand most of the day.
Problem-solving skills. Surveying and mapping technicians must be able to identify and fix problems with their equipment. They must also note potential problems with the day’s work plan.
Personality
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Characteristics of this Career |
|---|---|---|---|
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91% | Attention to Detail - Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. | |
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81% | Dependability - Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. | |
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76% | Cooperation - Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. | |
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75% | Analytical Thinking - Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems. | |
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75% | Integrity - Job requires being honest and ethical. | |
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72% | Independence - Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. | |
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68% | Achievement/Effort - Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. | |
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65% | Persistence - Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Strengths |
|---|---|---|---|
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86% | Conventional - Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources. | |
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67% | Realistic - Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services. |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Values of the Work Environment |
|---|---|---|---|
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61% | Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
Aptitude
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Abilities | Cognitive, Physical, Personality |
|---|---|---|---|
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72% | Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). | |
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67% | Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
Job Details
Responsibilities
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
Evaluate designs or specifications to ensure quality.
Develop software or computer applications.
Monitor processes for compliance with standards.
Create maps.
Create maps.
Gather physical survey data.
Gather physical survey data.
Operate computer systems.
Verify mathematical calculations.
Gather physical survey data.
Gather physical survey data.
Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
Create maps.
Assist engineers or scientists with research.
Prepare maps.
Explain project details to the general public.
Document technical design details.
Survey land or properties.
Gather physical survey data.
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
Create graphical representations of structures or landscapes.
Enter codes or other information into computers.
Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
Estimate costs for projects or productions.
Create maps.
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
Determine geographic coordinates.
Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Attributes & Percentage of Time Spent |
|---|---|---|---|
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94% | Electronic Mail - How often do you use electronic mail in this job? | |
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90% | Importance of Being Exact or Accurate - How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? | |
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89% | Face-to-Face Discussions - How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? | |
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83% | Telephone - How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? | |
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83% | Freedom to Make Decisions - How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? | |
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75% | Contact With Others - How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? | |
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72% | Structured versus Unstructured Work - To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? | |
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71% | Indoors, Environmentally Controlled - How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? | |
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71% | Importance of Repeating Same Tasks - How important is repeating the same physical activities (e.g., key entry) or mental activities (e.g., checking entries in a ledger) over and over, without stopping, to performing this job? | |
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71% | Work With Work Group or Team - How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? | |
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69% | Frequency of Decision Making - How frequently is the worker required to make decisions that affect other people, the financial resources, and/or the image and reputation of the organization? | |
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68% | Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls - How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? | |
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68% | Time Pressure - How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? | |
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67% | Spend Time Making Repetitive Motions - How much does this job require making repetitive motions? | |
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65% | Impact of Decisions on Co-workers or Company Results - What results do your decisions usually have on other people or the image or reputation or financial resources of your employer? |
| A3 | Your Strengths | Importance |
Tasks & Values |
|---|---|---|---|
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88% | Working with Computers - Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. | |
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79% | Documenting/Recording Information - Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form. | |
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78% | Getting Information - Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. | |
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70% | Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates - Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. | |
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68% | Analyzing Data or Information - Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts. | |
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68% | Processing Information - Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data. | |
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67% | Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge - Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. | |
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66% | Making Decisions and Solving Problems - Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
What Surveying and Mapping Technicians Do
Surveying technicians operate surveying instruments, such as electronic distance-measuring equipment.
Surveying and mapping technicians collect data and make maps of the Earth’s surface. Surveying technicians visit sites to take measurements of the land. Mapping technicians use geographic data to create maps. They both assist surveyors, and cartographers and photogrammetrists.
Duties
Surveying technicians typically do the following:
- Visit sites to record survey measurements and other descriptive data
- Operate surveying instruments, such as electronic distance-measuring equipment (robotic total stations), to collect data on a location
- Set out stakes and marks to conduct a survey
- Search for previous survey points, such as old stone markers
- Enter the data from surveying instruments into computers, either in the field or in an office
Surveying technicians help surveyors in the field on teams known as survey parties. A typical survey party has a party chief and one or more surveying technicians. The party chief, either a surveyor or a senior surveying technician, leads day-to-day work activities. After data is collected by the survey party, surveying technicians help process the data by entering the data into computers.
Mapping technicians typically do the following:
- Select needed information from databases to create maps
- Edit and process images that have been collected in the field
- Produce maps showing boundaries, water locations, elevation, and other features of the terrain
- Update maps to ensure accuracy
- Assist photogrammetrists by laying out aerial photographs in sequence to identify areas not captured by aerial photography
Mapping technicians help cartographers and photogrammetrists produce and update maps. They do this work on computers, combining data from different sources. Mapping technicians may use drones to take photos and collect other information required to complete maps or surveys.
Geographic Information System (GIS) technicians use GIS technology to assemble, integrate, and display data about a particular location in a digital format. GIS technicians also maintain and update databases for GIS devices.
Work Environment
Surveying and mapping technicians held about 64,200 jobs in 2022. The largest employers of surveying and mapping technicians were as follows:
| Architectural, engineering, and related services | 57% |
| Self-employed workers | 10 |
| Local government, excluding education and hospitals | 9 |
| Utilities | 4 |
| Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction | 1 |
Most surveying and mapping technicians work for firms that provide engineering, surveying, and mapping services on a contractual basis. Local governments also employ these workers in highway and planning departments.
Surveying technicians work outside extensively and can be exposed to all types of weather. They often stand for long periods, walk considerable distances, and may have to climb hills with heavy packs of surveying instruments. Traveling is sometimes part of the job, and surveying technicians may commute long distances, stay away from home overnight, or temporarily relocate near a survey site.
Mapping technicians work primarily on computers in office environments. However, mapping technicians must sometimes conduct research by using resources such as survey maps and legal documents to verify property lines and to obtain information needed for mapping. This task may require traveling to storage sites, such as county courthouses or lawyers’ offices, that house these legal documents.
Work Schedules
Surveying and mapping technicians typically work full time but may work additional hours during the summer, when weather and light conditions are most suitable for fieldwork. Construction-related work may be limited during times of harsh weather.
Mapping technicians who develop and maintain Geographic Information System (GIS) databases generally work normal business hours.
Getting Started
How to Become a Surveying or Mapping Technician
Learning to master the equipment is a big part of the training for surveying and mapping technicians.
Surveying technicians usually need a high school diploma. However, mapping technicians often need formal education after high school to study technology applications, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
Education
Surveying technicians generally need a high school diploma, but some have postsecondary training in survey technology. Postsecondary training is more common among mapping technicians where an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as geomatics, is beneficial.
High school students interested in working as a surveying or mapping technician should take courses in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, drafting, mechanical drawing, and computer science. Knowledge of these subjects may help in finding a job and in advancing.
Training
Surveying technicians learn their job duties under the supervision of a surveyor or a surveying party chief. Initially, surveying technicians handle simple tasks, such as placing markers on land and entering data into computers. With experience, they help decide where and how to measure the land.
Mapping technicians receive on-the-job training under the supervision of a lead mapper. During training, technicians learn how maps are created and stored in databases.
Licenses, Certifications, and Registrations
The growing need to make sure that data are useful to other professionals has caused certification to become more common. The American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) offers certification for photogrammetry, remote-sensing, and Geographic Information/Land Information Systems (GIS/LIS). The National Society of Professional Surveyors offers the Certified Survey Technician credential, and the GIS Certification Institute offers a GIS Professional certification.
Advancement
Depending on state licensing requirements, surveying technicians with many years of experience and formal training in surveying may be able to become licensed surveyors.
Job Outlook
Employment of surveying and mapping technicians is projected to grow 3 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
About 7,800 openings for surveying and mapping technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Employment
Increased demand for map information is expected to require surveying and mapping technicians to gather and prepare related data, even as drones and other advancements make workers more efficient and limit projected employment growth.
Contacts for More Information
For more information on certification in GIS, visit
For more information about career opportunities and the surveying technician certification program, visit
National Society of Professional Surveyors
For more information about photogrammetric technicians and Geographic Information System specialists, visit
Similar Occupations
This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of surveying and mapping technicians.
| Occupation | Job Duties | Entry-Level Education | Median Annual Pay, May 2022 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Architects |
Architects plan and design houses, factories, office buildings, and other structures. |
Bachelor's degree | $82,840 |
|
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists |
Cartographers and photogrammetrists collect, measure, and interpret geographic information in order to create and update maps and charts for regional planning, education, and other purposes. |
Bachelor's degree | $71,890 |
|
Drafters |
Drafters use software to convert the designs of engineers and architects into technical drawings. |
Associate's degree | $60,400 |
|
Landscape Architects |
Landscape architects design parks and other outdoor spaces. |
Bachelor's degree | $73,210 |
|
Surveyors |
Surveyors make precise measurements to determine property boundaries. |
Bachelor's degree | $63,080 |
|
Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians |
Civil engineering technologists and technicians help civil engineers plan, design, and build infrastructure and development projects. |
Associate's degree | $59,630 |
|
Construction and Building Inspectors |
Construction and building inspectors ensure that construction meets building codes and ordinances, zoning regulations, and contract specifications. |
High school diploma or equivalent | $64,480 |
|
Geological and Hydrologic Technicians |
Geological and hydrologic technicians support scientists and engineers in exploring, extracting, and monitoring natural resources. |
Associate's degree | $49,590 |
|
Geographers |
Geographers study the Earth and the distribution of its land, features, and inhabitants. |
Bachelor's degree | $88,900 |