13 Header Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org Member Spotlight people who want to work outside, and especially that it was a good career option for people who may not know what they wanted to do.” And after being cooped up inside doing retail for so long, Jonathan said he remembered those words of his instructor and thought that a job working outside sounded pretty good. He was researching programs at Oregon Tech and remembering the experience he had with surveying years ago. After talking with some instructors, he decided to enroll in the program. Does he enjoy it as much as he thought he would? “I definitely do,” Jonathan says. “I am doing a lot of different things that I had no clue I would ever be doing in my life, especially as a surveyor. But they make the job a lot more interesting because I’m not just doing one thing. I’m learning a lot of different things.” Some of his favorite aspects of the job are being out in the field and finding monuments, especially ones that haven’t been located for who knows how long. Given his position in government work, right of way surveys are a common part of the job. “When I show people where their corners are they’re always really surprised,” he says. “Overall it’s an interesting job.” Once enrolled in the surveying program, the instructors encouraged students to join the PLSO. “We were always encouraged to become student members,” says Jonathan. “We went to the conferences in January each year through the school. So I just kept that membership going after I graduated.” Networking has been one of the biggest benefits of PLSO membership for Jonathan. “I think it’s extremely important to be a member,” he says. “The biggest thing for me is the networking you can do, talking and figuring out that you have connections with other surveyors. You can bounce different ideas around, and they can do the same thing with me.” Without PLSO, he says he wouldn’t know other surveyors as well. Jonathan worked part time for the county while going to school and full time over the summers and was able to get his five years of experience that way. He became licensed last year, and was asked to help restart a local PLSO chapter that had fallen away due to Covid challenges. As president-elect of the South Central Jonathan and his family getting their annual Christmas tree. Hiking the PCT, Jonathan found a great water source. This dam was at the Little Hyatt Lake, about 20 miles up the trail from Ashland. Jonathan’s R/W search tools. chapter, he’s focused on reestablishing connections, especially with the public schools. “I recognize the importance of those connections and I’m trying to reestablish those communications,” he says. For those considering surveying as a career, Jonathan highly recommends it. “It’s a pretty amazing career path and I want to guide some more people into it,” he said. After a retail career doing a totally different kind of work every day, going back to school opened up an entirely new path for Jonathan. He’s passionate about helping guide the next generation into this rewarding field. As Jonathan put it, “I think it is about as good a career as somebody can get.”
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