California Surveyors Forums

Just curious how you would respond to "What do you do for a living"
I always seem to struggle at this. Like this weekend:

People: What do you do for a living?
Me: I'm a Land Surveyor
People: Oh so you appraise lots?
Me: Not quite, I measure lots and....(I start explaining for the next 5 minutes)

I guess I could have done a better job at responding to the original question from the start. So I'm trying to get some creative ideas on how you would respond to that. Maybe even rename Land Surveyor back to something similar to Field Engineer?

At this point if they look blank when I say "land surveyor" I truncate my explanation to "the guy with the tripod looking through that thing" because they are not going to get it and not be that interested in an extended explanation.

It is like when meeting someone and they say something that sounds totally nonspecific like "marketing analyst". I never can follow up with anything remotely intelligent and I want someone to rescue me from the conversation.

I tell my kids that I make maps. They are 5 and 6 and they act like they understand that statement. I will expand (to adults) upon request. I like to tell some people that I get paid to wander around in the woods with a machete on other people's land. I feel like that sounds a bit more glamorous than "the guy on the side of the road with the camera"...

I put my life on the line by standing in intersections looking thru telescopes.

I'm asked this question often, and it amazes me how many bright people - when I tell them I'm a licensed surveyor - have little idea or an erroneous view of what that means.

We should be proud of the work we do and thrilled when an opportunity arises to tell someone about our work. If I told someone I was a doctor or a lawyer, they may not know what I specialize in, but they would have an idea of my background and general expertise. This is not necessarily so when I say, "land surveyor". So I love it when people ask me what I do. It's an opportunity to educate someone about our role in society and, depending on the amount of time I have and circumstances, the survey geek in me may come out. Who's better qualified to tell someone what a surveyor does than a surveyor?

I generally tell people that I personally work on a lot of subdivisions, so I get to retrace and create new land boundaries, write land descriptions, and provide design-level topographic data for engineers, and when it comes to construction, we place stakes in the ground that show contractors where new improvements will be located. It's fairly simply stated, and gives people a sense of the 'behind the scenes' work that goes into new construction projects. If they're interested to know more, they can ask - if not, we can talk about something else. But in a couple sentences, I might educate them a little beyond the concept that I'm some guy who stands around in the street all day taking pictures.

Michael Chiara
PLS 9058

I suggested to CLSA a few years ago that a Public Awareness/Outreach campaign was needed to let the public know who we are and what we do.

My inspiration for this idea was the long running series CSI. If you look at the recruitment success the CSI television show has had on crime scene investigators with so many kids growing up watching the show and then wanting to become a CSI, it is the perfect example of what we need in the Survey profession.

One of the local survey firms here had a idea floated for a reality show on their 3D printing business. That would have been a start.

We need an avocate for more roles in movies and TV which the proponents are Surveyors. Someone who can do outreach to TV and movie writers to include characters whose profession is Surveying.

We need to get beyond "You are one of those guys who stand in the middle of the street looking thru that thing"

Ya, like the TV show Dirty Jobs, have a crew cutting line through horrible brush in 100 deg heat, the crew has used up all the water because they have to carry saw gas and as each set up becomes more precarious and backsites harder to see we can show the drama of walking on line with all those sharp sticks sticking up so if you fall you are done. High Drama
Then back at the office we can show the disappointment of finding out the bad angle and the poor closure of the field work.
I say this with a smile.

A better answer,

We make possible the written word, or senior rights, to be established or retraced on the ground, we can adjust your property lines to better fit your needs, in a small way we make it possible for you to enjoy many smartphone applications that help navigate. Above all we can help keep the peace because good fences make good neighbors (Frost).

Brian