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7 Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Mentoring Past PLSO Chair, Lee Spurgeon, lobbied hard during his time as Chair to formalize a mentoring program for associate members. A strong mentoring program could be benecial for encouraging associate members to pursue professional licensure. As an educator, I have the unique opportunity to speak with many OIT alumni who passed their Funda mentals of Surveying exam and are now working. A common perception among many of them is a sense of being “on their own” until they become licensed. Many individuals working through this midway point would appreciate the opportunity to discuss professional development, training, and work- related problems outside of the work environment. Spurgeon has suggested that as a professional organization, we could ll this need. e PLSO could act as a liaison, connecting corporate members who are willing to act as mentors with associate members— helping to guide them through the years between the Fundamentals Exam and the Professional Exam. A mentoring program could also bolster skillsets for technicians who do not plan on becoming licensed. Mentors could also provide a source of encouragement for becoming licensed! It is highly likely that relationships built through a mentoring program would continue on through entire careers. Education A second way that the PLSO and its corporate membership can help encourage associate members is by providing educational opportunities. Many of our current training programs at both the chapter level and at the state conference target providing professional development hours for corporate members. While eort has been made to oer technician level courses during the last two conferences, many of our associate members are not aware of the opportunity. To better facilitate the education and advancement of our associate members, we need to make a concentrated effort to offer training opportunities and make sure that they know of their existence. Training at the associate level might focus on areas such as professional exam preparation, eld calculations, advanced computer aided draing and design, and basic business functions. Additional training in these areas would help those seeking professional licensure prepare for their exams and allow those wanting to remain on a technician track the opportunity to better develop their portfolio of job skills. Courses designed specically for associate members could also have the added benet of providing a gathering place for networking. Social Networking Social networking is another area we can use to encourage growth in associate membership. ere are two things that we can do right now to improve networking opportunities. First, at the chapter level, we can dedicate at least one meeting each year that is focused on associate members. Corporate members should be encouraged to bring associate members from their oce. e program for the meeting should include a presentation of interest to associate members. Topics might include preparing for the professional exam, latest technologies in surveying, tips and tricks for preparing plats in CAD, etc. Meetings that encourage attendance by associate members and provide them with information that is useful to them will encourage greater participation. Second, the PLSO can help encourage associate member networking by supporting the emerging Young Surveyor’s Network here in our state. e Young Surveyor’s network is an eort by the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) to provide support for young professionals starting their career in surveying and to, according to FIG, “create connections between “older” and “younger” surveyors.” e hope is that this organization will be less formal than professional societies and provide an entry point for many potential associate members that might be less intimidating than the local chapter meeting. Chris Glantz has taken the lead in helping to promote the Young Surveyor’s Network here in the Pacic Northwest and visited the Oregon Tech campus last month to encourage students to join the organization. While starting an initial recruiting eort at a school is a good beginning, it is important to remember that this program is primarily designed for young professionals. Individuals that are working in the eld and meet the de- nition of a PLSO associate member may be overlooked in this eort unless PLSO strongly supports this program and develops mechanisms to build networks and foster connections that we need to make with the younger generation of surveyors, we’ll continue the sense of isolation young professionals and associate members share. e PLSO membership committee is asking for your help in promoting our organization to potential associate members. Right now we have a total of 55 associate members which make up only about 10% of our organization. Associate members are potentially our greatest reservoir of recruits for conversion to corporate membership. ink about how you can help increase our associate membership! Purpose of the Young Surveyors Network: • To improve the number of young professionals participating within the FIG. • To help young professionals in the beginning of their careers with contacts. • To increase co-operation between the commissions and the students and young professionals network. www.fig.net


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