California Surveyors Forums

I am polling folks across the state.

How do you interpret the Land Surveyors Act? Does this section permit us to state we are engineers. if not, what purpose does this section serve?

8751. Representing self as licensed

No person shall represent himself or herself as, or use the title of, or any abbreviation or combination of the words in the title of, professional land surveyor, licensed land surveyor, land surveyor, land survey engineer, survey engineer, geodetic engineer, geomatics engineer, or geometronic engineer unless he or she is the holder of a valid, unsuspended, and unrevoked license.


See also:
https://www.fresnostate.edu/engineering ... techniques.

Thanks!

I jes like to be kalled a servayer cuz thets wat i yam.

I like the term “cadastral engineer”. Everyone knows that engineers are professionals. Land surveyors are the guys dressed in khaki standing in the middle of the street interfering with traffic.

Someone who wasn't smart enough to be a real surveyor.

In parts of Europe where I went to school we are called Geodetic Engineers. My graduating paperwork says that too.

As a Geodetic engineers you have to be competent in:
Plane surveying (relating to boundary and construction)
Geodetic surveying " " "
Cadastral and subdivision operations (over there it is a part of cadaster)
Aerial and terrestrial photogrammetry, some remote sensing
Cartography (including GIS)
Site grading, surface drainage and road design.

See attached.

mpallamary wrote: Mon Jul 18, 2022 10:07 am See attached.

I agree with the letter. He does fall under the engineer definition, and he does have conflict of interest.

I always correct people when they call me an engineer.....

I guess I should stop doing that

If I was laying out track alignment, then I might call myself an Engineer Surveyor ...

I'd call myself Geodetic Engineer, just be a thorn in the side to PE's :p

I've seen a defense witness get shredded on the stand over this sort of scenario. .............. Oh, so your firm just got $5 million in contracts from the City and now here you are as an expert witness defending them. Ok, are your opinions jaded by the fact that your firm just got these huge contracts? Imagine sitting through that for an hour or so.....

Better to stay clear of that sort of thing.....

On the other side of the coin, it seems those so called geospatial professionals might want to be carefull about how they represent themselves....

In the City of San Diego, and most other agencies, the ONLY title one can assume and is required to fill out is that of ENGINEER, on all submittal forms for preparation and processing of maps and other land surveying documents. There is nothing wrong with that as we are engineers. I do not recall ever seeing a form where the term LAND SURVEYOR is used.

We are Engineers - just a specific type.

Onward and Upward!

I personally don't think that the term engineer applies to us. Engineers design new entities. The only aspects of surveying where I think this applies would be in designing new subdivisions or control networks. Boundary, construction, and topographic surveying don't seem to be "engineering" to me.

The issue here does not appear to be about what we actually do, but rather what the law allows us to call ourselves. Half a century ago, the law was changed to rename us “professional land surveyors”. The intent was to identify land surveyors as “professionals”. Unfortunately, calling ourselves professionals, does not make us professionals. At the time, I lobbied to have land surveyors identified as MD’s (measurement determinators). How we present ourselves (earlier in this thread, I mentioned the surveyor in the street dressed in khakis) and how we interact with our clients defines how the public perceives us. We all hate neckties, but maybe the time has come to purchase one.

Once again, this is what the law says.

It has been around for a very long time.

8751. Representing self as licensed

No person shall represent himself or herself as, or use the title of, or any abbreviation or combination of the words in the title of, professional land surveyor, licensed land surveyor, land surveyor, land survey engineer, survey engineer, geodetic engineer, geomatics engineer, or geometronic engineer unless he or she is the holder of a valid, unsuspended, and unrevoked license.

This is from Fresno State:

Welcome to the Geomatics Engineering program at Fresno State
Geomatics Engineering is the management of global infrastructure through the collection, measuring, monitoring and archiving of geospatial data. Geomatics engineers contribute to the welfare and safety of the public through administering appropriate research and advanced mapping techniques. The Geomatics Engineering program in the Lyles College of Engineering at Fresno State is the first, four-year nationally-accredited comprehensive program in the nation and is the only one of its kind in California.

Common Geomatics Engineering occupations include:
Boundary Mapping
Land Surveying
Urban planning
Space exploration
Agriculture
Transportation
Navigation and location-based services
Geomarketing
Emergency mapping
Oceanography
Graduates of the Geomatics Engineering (GME) program should demonstrate competency in one or more of the following GME competency areas:

Boundary/land surveying, photogrammetry, geodesy, GIS, and digital mapping.
A continued capacity for employment in one or more GME specialty area.
A capacity for graduate education.
Continued membership in professional organizations.
A continuing commitment to lifelong learning.
A continuing commitment to serving and protecting the health and welfare of the public.
An ability to pass professional licensing or certification examinations after achieving requisite professional experience.

If there is no such thing as geomatics and geomatic engineers, what are they doing at Fresno?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHr1uDXlQtM

What are they teaching at Purdue?

The enabling legislation was adopted in 1959.

As I mentioned, this has been the law since 1959.