Many industries are facing a shortage of qualified professionals, finding it difficult to attract new talent to the industry or retain the existing workforce. Among the more frequently thought of industries facing these challenges are healthcare, skilled trades, and engineering. Not as often considered is that of land surveying. The fact is that the land surveying industry is facing a significant shortage of professionals, and is expected to only grow by 2% by 2030.
Why is there a shortage of land surveyors?
We take a look at some of the barriers to entry for the profession of land surveying and what may be causing a shortage in the profession. More importantly, we look at some things that we are doing within the industry and at McSteen Land Surveyors to reverse this trend and attract talent to the surveying profession.
First of all, what is land surveying?
Land surveying allows a property owner to understand land boundaries. A survey is performed in order to locate, describe, monument, and map the boundaries and corners of a parcel of land. It might also include the topography of the parcel, and the location of buildings, as well as other improvements made to the parcel.
Land surveyors work with engineers, architects, and builders to produce precise surveys and maps of the land’s surface features. They are trained to use an intricate combination of law, math, engineering, and science to perform a variety of vital tasks such as mortgage location, ALTA, and boundary surveys, topographic mapping, lot splits and consolidations, and flood certification.
Why are so few people pursuing a career in land surveying?
There are actually a variety of forces impacting the growth of the profession.
Increased educational requirements and licensure – There are now extensive educational expectations (and their associated costs) with becoming a professional land surveyor with many state boards requiring a four-year degree before beginning work in the surveying field.
Lower salary rates than the national average – The salary to education and experience requirements are misaligned, and particularly in Ohio where the average salary for surveyors for 2021 was $43,852, well below the national average.
One-person crews – Where there used to be three to four surveyors working in the field, there is now typically only one. The increase of technology has increased worker productivity but also reduced the opportunities for training the next generation of land surveyors and limited employment growth.
Increasing retirement rate among surveyors – Only 14% of currently licensed land surveyors are under the age of 34. This is caused by retiring ‘baby boomer’ land surveyors, as well as the perceived lack of opportunity in the surveying profession by younger generations.
So how do we grow the land surveying profession?
Promote the profession of land surveying – There is no better way for surveyors and professional societies to promote the profession than to become involved in the community, schools, and local organizations by volunteering time and expertise to assist, inform and educate about the role of land surveyors. Among the organizations helping to do this are:
- Professional Land Surveyors of Ohio – The nonprofit professional membership association for professional surveyors and those engaged in the surveying profession.
- National Society of Professional Surveyors – The voice of the professional surveying community in the US and its territories, the NSPS efforts include the Future of Surveying Initiative and Workforce Development.
- TrigStar – Sponsored by the NSPS, Trig-Star is a competition that recognizes and rewards high school students who excel in mathematics, particularly Trigonometry, and their teachers. The goal of the program is to demonstrate practical uses for mathematics and bring greater awareness of the surveying profession.
Increase Training Efficiency – At McSteen, we are creating a more defined training path by developing in-house training programs, with set metrics for progress that teach surveying both in the office and with hands-on field experience.
Provide Improved Technology – We have always looked at technology as a way to become more efficient at McSteen. We invest in technology to give our team the tools they need to learn and work more efficiently, including handheld EDMs (electronic distance measurers), iPads for real-time data transfer from the field to the office, and GPS units.
Additionally, we are working to develop in-house systems and job tracking to keep our projects moving through every phase while simultaneously being communicative with our clients. Technology isn’t just about getting the fieldwork done faster. It’s about office processing, drafting improvements, communication, invoicing, and more. Investing in the right tools is instrumental to overall business success
Surveying is here to stay, but the profession must adapt to remain relevant and to grow. Contact us if you are interested in learning more about how McSteen is adapting and innovating to meet the current and future needs of the land surveying industry.
