Land Surveyor
Job overview
Land surveying is the science of recording and setting out the exact measurements of sections of the earth's surface, including both man-made and natural features.
Surveying is basic to all planning, development and construction and involves making maps and determining boundaries.
What do people do in this job?
Surveying means viewing, examining and inspecting in detail.
Land surveyors divide their time between field work? (measuring the terrain?)?, office work? (processing the information and its development?) ?and then further field work? (setting out on the ground what has been designed on paper?)?.
Land surveyors can specialise in any one of five categories:-?
Geodetic surveying?
Geodetic surveying ascertains the size and shape of our earth.
The main function of this is to provide a grid of beacons according to degrees of latitude and longitude to which any other surveys and maps can be connected.
Cartography?
Map making is done by means of photogrammetry and the maps are processed by cartography for reproduction and distribution.
Cartographers provide the map user with information in a comprehensible and useful form.
Cadastral surveying
Cadastral surveying involves the measuring of property, e.g. ?in towns, cities, farms and sectional title properties and their subdivision.
By law it is the exclusive function of land surveyors to do cadastral surveying.
Engineering surveying
Land surveyors are involved in taking measurements for the design of roads, freeways, railways, bridges, tunnels and large structures.
What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Much of land surveyors' work is outdoors in a variety of locations.
They often work on their own and must be able to trust their own judgment and make their own decisions.
They also work with the public and should therefore be able to maintain good human relations.
They must have an interest in computers.
What qualifications are needed?
Normally, a BSc degree with emphasis on mathematics, plus tertiary training in surveying.
