These Personal Attributes Can Help You Succeed As A Land Surveyor
When you've had enough of your current job and are evaluating careers that you believe would be more in alignment with your strengths, you might come across the job of land surveyor. While this career choice involves extensive training, you might be enticed by the substantial salary—on average, land surveyors earn about $59,000 per year, but if you're able to eventually work your way up to the position of senior land surveyor, you can expect to earn more than $80,000. Before you begin daydreaming about how these salaries could benefit your family, it's important to be sure that you have the necessary strengths to flourish in this career. Here are some such strengths that you should carry.
Math Skills
Ideally, you'll have earned high grades in your high school and college math courses. Land surveying involves plenty of mathematical formulas that you'll need to be able to master on the fly. While modern-day surveying equipment certainly makes the math side of this job easier than in the past, you'll give yourself the best chance of succeeding in your land surveyor training and in the field after school if you're highly adept at math.
Physical Fitness
Land surveying isn't a career in which you'll spend the bulk of your day sitting at a desk. Rather, you'll frequently find yourself out in the field and, depending on the specific details of your job, getting to the survey site might be physically demanding. The average surveyor should have a high degree of physical fitness. You shouldn't be daunted by the idea of spending the bulk of your workday standing, nor should you be intimidated by long walks through terrain that can be challenging.
Comfortable With Changing Conditions
For many land surveyors, there's no typical day. While you'll begin to see habits emerge the longer you work in this career, it's beneficial for those who are comfortable with ever-changing working environments and who enjoy variety in the day. For example, on one day, you might simply be surveying a straight line for a street addition. On another day, you could be climbing through a park to complete a surveying job in this location. On another day, you could be attending a community meeting to discuss your findings and answer questions with local residents. If the idea of different challenges each day instead of a monotonous schedule makes you feel energized, it's a good sign as you begin to embark on your new career as a land surveyor.