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The Oregon Surveyor
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Vol. 40, No. 2
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A Young Surveyor’s Testimonial,
continued
control over or not. I spent a lot of energy needlessly
swimming upstream instead of turning around and
going with the flow.
Since I was originally not going to be a consultant
until retirement and now here I am, I want to reflect
on what it is like being a young surveyor. I imagine if
I had waited until I retired to start a business, I would
approach it as more of a hobby than career, but I
am not sure I would have the practical knowledge
necessary based on the narrow tasks involved with
my previous positions. It was common for me to be
pigeon-holed into doing just one or two tasks (editing
raw LiDAR data, for example), micromanaged, and
treated as if I am just a machine on the assembly line
with no freedom to learn new things because it would
eat into my billable hours. What this means is that
the surveyors of today and tomorrow are going to be
vastly unprepared for the needs of the community.
There are going to be a slew of surveyors who don’t
know how to provide a survey from start to finish. It is
very important for individuals to speak up about what
knowledge and experience they want to gain to meet
a desired goal, and it might not make a difference. This
is the dark side of how I envision my older, retired self
with not enough practical experience, diversity, and
responsibility to start a land surveying business. When
you are younger, you know enough to go out on your
own, but not enough to be too intimidated to try it.
Being put on a fencepost is an opportunity, but we
should view any such situation from a perspective of
humble gratitude- after all, we’re not the ones who
put ourselves there. This is true of the professional
land surveyor. Becoming a competent land surveyor
requires help. You need others to give you feedback
and advice so you can improve. There are plenty of
types of surveys where I have little to no experience.
I am okay with that. I am a great student because I
can focus and I am not afraid to ask lots of questions.
Therefore, finding mentors is crucial. This is true no
matter your age. You don’t know everything, and just
because you may be an excellent surveyor doesn’t
mean you will be an excellent business owner. Before
I took my PLS exam, I was asked by the former owner
of the company I was working for why I didn’t want
to get my professional license. I told him there are
already quite a few licensed surveyors here and they
are licensed in multiple states. I don’t think there is
a need for the company to have more. His response
was that every surveyor will have different strengths
and weakness. There’s a lot of “old surveyors” to help
mentor you on different types of surveying to business
questions. I would not be where I am if it wasn’t for
all these surveyors who have taken the time to hear
me out, offer advice and encouragement, and talk
me through any issues that came up that had me
stumped. Each of these mentors had their experiences
to draw from, and it’s to my benefit to reach out to
them. It is my hope that they take some pride and
encouragement from the opportunity to share their
knowledge with someone who genuinely wants to
learn. The world needs the best surveyors possible.
There’s a lot of uncertainty in your 20’s and 30’s,
especially nowadays. The two companies I worked for
in the last decade used to be companies who wouldn’t
fire you if you tried. There are people who have
worked there for decades. In recent years, however,
I’ve seen established employees of 5, 10, and 20 years
walk out the door. There are a variety of reasons such
as seasonality, economics, poor business decisions,
absorbing other companies, and how employees
are treated leading to layoffs, firings, and voluntary
separation, but both companies are now better
described as revolving doors. Surveying is already
a fairly seasonal career. You never know where the
work will be, what it will be, or who you’ll be working
with. We’ve had to wing it regularly throughout our
careers; this is not too different from that. Flexibility
and resiliency are critical to success. And in the end,
if it doesn’t work out you know you’re better for the
experience and likely will have an easier time finding
employment.
“Adventure comes with no guarantees or promises.
Risk and reward are conjoined twins- and that’s why
one of my favorite pieces of advice needs translation,
but no disclaimers: Forte fortuna juvat. Fortune favors
the brave. In other words, there are a lot of good
reasons not to toss your life up in the air and see how
it lands. Just don’t let fear be one of them.”
1
Never let
fear decide your fate.
Part III:
The Collective Pool of Wisdom
My advice to anyone thinking about going out on your
own has come from personal experience and countless
talks with colleagues.
1. It’s going to cost money.
Unfortunately, the adage about spending money to
make money is true. You absolutely must prioritize
your spending. Be diligent in budgeting and tracking
expenses. What I found to be most important was:
•
A reliable, powerful computer: You need to invest
in something that will have enough speed, graphics,
and space to handle the software you’re going to
need and all the data you’re going to collect.
•
Software: I started out with free trials of Civil 3D,
Quickbooks, etc. Don’t buy them until you need
them.