What Does a Surveyor Do?
Before a fence goes up or a foundation is poured, someone has to find where the property line really runs, and that is a surveyor's job. Surveyors measure land with total stations and GPS receivers out on sites, then draw up maps and signed plats in the office for builders, lenders and planners. Most work for surveying and engineering firms or government agencies.
Surveyor Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a surveyor include:
- Measure distances, angles and elevations with total stations, GPS receivers and digital levels.
- Research deeds, plats and title records before heading out to a site.
- Locate and set property corners, boundary monuments and survey control points.
- Stake out building corners, grades and utility lines for construction crews.
- Process field data in CAD and GIS software to produce maps and surface models.
- Prepare signed plats, legal descriptions and survey reports for clients and county records.
- Resolve conflicts between recorded descriptions and the evidence found on the ground.
- Supervise field crews of survey technicians and instrument operators.
- Maintain base maps and as-built records of buildings, roads and buried utilities.
- Testify in boundary disputes and explain findings to attorneys, owners and neighbors.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a surveyor, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) license, required to certify surveys
- Total stations, GPS receivers and field data collectors
- AutoCAD Civil 3D and GIS software
- Geometry, trigonometry and coordinate systems
- Reading deeds, plats and legal descriptions
- Stamina for long days on your feet in heat, cold and rough terrain
- Neat, complete field notes
- Plain explanations for owners, lawyers and contractors
Education and Training
States require surveyors who certify boundaries to be licensed. To become licensed, in many states you will need a degree, supervised experience and passing scores on national and state exams to qualify to sign surveys. Most future surveyors study surveying, geomatics or civil engineering, but some start out by working on a survey crew and taking courses as they go.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $58,170 - $98,130 per year, with a median of $75,440.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Surveyors.
Employment of surveyors should grow about 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, according to BLS projections. That adds up to roughly 3,100 openings a year in a fairly small profession. Hiring tends to follow construction and land development, so a graduate who keeps moving toward a license should have steady prospects.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Surveyors.