There's a popular misconception that property boundaries are based on coordinates that surveyors can simply "walk to" with our instruments. The reality is that, while physical coordination of monuments is easier than it's ever been, property boundaries often need to be determined based on evidence and plans that are old, decrepit, and done with different technology and expectations than we have today.

Land surveyors start as employees, and move up to partnership in a firm or to ownership of their own enterprise if they wish. Some wind up working for government, private corporations, or public enterprise.

A lot of people don't think much about what land surveyors do. In a nutshell, we are the interpreters and providers of landmarks and records that directly impact real property.

Some land surveyors delve into land development advocacy, working with local government on behalf of clients in order to facilitate progress on a project. Others stick to strictly surveying. The approach depends on the individual firm and the needs of the local area.

Some surveyors live for the work, putting in weeks or months at a time in remote locations. With a young family and hobbies that I'm passionate about, that isn't the path I've chosen. Like in many careers, you need to make your own decisions and follow your own path.

In general, salary for land surveyors is often similar to that of a professional engineer or lawyer - surveyors are often "comfortable" but not "wealthy."

I was attracted to the direct connection with history that land surveyors experience in the form of plans, field notes, and from surveying monuments from decades or even centuries in the past.