I’m a car guy. Was at a car meet and this guy was asking if ppl were looking for work. I was but didn’t say anything, no1 said anything so I went ahead and I said I was. Long story short I’m now working at a land surveying company getting on the job training. Didn’t know this job existed till I showed up the first day. Only couple days in and I’m getting it down alrdy. Basically just common sense. Very determined to make something out of this.
thank you so much sir! I'm from a neighboring state, and was considering surveying. There's a school for it, and I just had to be sure this is the path I want to go down. This answered MANY of my questions, great video!
Sigh please don’t say no one would risk their license. Yes they would if the pay off is high enough and if there’s a racial element they are willing to lie and cheat to maintain the status quo.
Or maybe the surveyor is incompetent. We had a surveyor do a survey so wrong our house was almost entirely on someone else’s land. We didn’t find out until the farm our land was next to was sold and the new owners had a survey done. We had our second survey done and they both said our house was 90% on their land. We were on 5 acres and able to give an acre at the back of our land to the new owner in exchange for the acre was house was on, but it could’ve went really bad. Thankfully, they were understanding that we had no idea. I found out later there was at least two other times he surveyed properties so badly that homes were built not totally on their lot. One was a double wide they actually had to take part and move.
Hi there, not sure you will see this as it's an older video. How difficult was the math for the exam? I just applied for a certificate program through a university that should help me meet the requirements and supposedly prepare me for the FS exam, but I have always struggled a bit with more advanced math
Hey Joe. I won't lie, the math is challenging, BUT since the math required for the exam is specific, you can study a narrower range of example problems and you can also you programmable calculators (check NCEES site) that help. I feel like anyone who wants to prepare can learn the math. It is high level, but it's only a small portion of high level math. You can do it.
You begin by working on payroll for a licensed surveyor. You will learn all of the necessary tasks and procedures and eventually hold roles of responsibility and charge. You will be doing the work but what I mean by 'surveyor' is a licensed surveyor. Hope this helps.
Ha Corrupt survers excist Neighbor hired one that put the property line a foot over City used that survey to issue a building permit Dad didn’t notice until a rv garage went up and he knew it was wrong By the time he could get the city out the building was up so the city gave it a waiver Neighbor knew what he was doing No one got in trouble
Sorry to hear that. I'm sure some surveyor's have ethical failures as does every profession, but I'm thankful that the guys in my area are trustworthy.
Actually, since FEMA started using risk rating 2.0, to rate their flood insurance policies, they no longer count the crawlspace or even a basement as a floor.The floor actually begins at the top of of the foundation, so crawlspaces no longer count as a floor in FEMA’s eyes That’s old legacy rules, and basements, is not something that really qualified.
Wait you said at the end that you dont need experience at all to begin a career at surveying vut then you said that you need 6 years of becoming a surveyor?.. so which is it i am comfused i am currently working on my associates and thinking of getting a bachelors in civil engineering ir surveying just thought yiu should kno
Some jobs require certain experience before you qualify to be hired. You do not need any prior surveying experience to begin a career in surveying, BUT you will be required to have several years of experience before you can apply to get your own license. There is a difference between working on a survey crew and being a licensed surveyor. Hope this clears it up.
Good question. That will depend on which state you want to be licensed in. You can contact that state's board and ask. Most will require an associates minimum, but it will depend.
I work for the department of transportation for Oklahoma and I noticed they have a position for land surveyor and I looked into and it peaked my interest and being from rural Oklahoma being outside is something that’s always been in my blood so that’s not a problem. What would be the best way to get started without a college degree to become a surveyor?
Great to hear. Go tell your boss or their boss that you want to move and train in the surveying department. I think ODOT has resources through OSU to help you do school at night online and work during the day. I hope it works out. Also talk to some of your local surveyors.
Im currently in the army, I will get out of the military (my mos 13F) with 9 years of service and the bread and butter of my job is working with maps and a whole lot of land navigation. im really interested in surveying would you say the time in the military be considered as experience given I graduate from college with a surveying degree? im currently working towards getting my basics out of the way with an online college.
I would check in with the state board for where you want to live and work. They are friendly to answer questions. Each state may vary on the experience requirements and what qualifies. I think you might enjoy it! Good luck and thank you for your service to our great country!
I was taking CAD classes during college and my instructor asked me if I wanted a part time job at a local surveying business. I asked him 'what's that?'... haha. I started out as a CAD guy, but soon found myself in the field as a rodman along with my CAD duties. When you start surveying, you will end up crossing paths with other surveyors and will work together. They are the ones who help give referrals. Good questions.
That's great! Ask questions and ask for opportunities. Watch your party chief and always try to stay ahead of him after you learn the routines. Ask if there is anything you can do while he has some down time. Good luck!
Most of the licensed surveyors in my area are over 55, so I would say you could jump right in. I was 41 when I got my license, so you could be there by then. I would reach out to some surveyors in the area you want to live and visit with them about it. Good luck!
Around where I live, it's hilly and our bedrock is monolithic but weak sandstone. The rock wears underground in dome(ish) shapes, covered with sand, then soil on top. The sand and soil slowly moves downhill, with the topsoil sliding down faster than the stuff down closer to the rock. A pin at the crest of a hill will usually be where you expect if shooting up from the valley or a pass, but corners on the sides will have moved radially downhill. I found one once that was four feet directly below where it should have been and the LS tag was on the DOWNHILL end. Over the decades, it had flipped. Life is a mystery.
Very interesting! I would hope that the knowledge of this would make neighbors more empathetic and also the surveyors more willing to help relocate them if they set it originally.
@@lloydlandsurveying8124 We did relocate that slid & flipped "found corner", to match all the stationary ones that we found on the ridge and in the saddle. That's a lot easier than trying to educate the flatlanders at the county surveyors office.
Watch carefully, ask good questions and take notes. Video or take photos if you need help remembering things. Show up early and don't sit around. Try to anticipate your party chiefs next move and help save him time. Good luck!
This helped tremendously. I'm looking to buy a home in a Zone AE in Arizona, but after reviewing FEMA maps I am pretty sure the house sits about 2 feet above the baseline flood elevation. Sounds like I need to get an elevation certification done! Really appreciate the explanation including the bit about the crawlspace, very informative! 👍
I'm thinking of doing land surveying instead of civil engineering. I'm 20 years old and a civil engineering student, and I still plan on finishing my degree as I only have a year and a half left. I had an internship last summer and I hated being in the office all day, I absolutely couldn't stand sitting down for that long. I did some surveying during that internship though, and I loved it. I'll probably have to do another semester or two of schooling to get my PLS license, but that's fine with me. I just love being active and going outside. Even in harsh conditions it's gotta be better than being in the office all day. Most people think I should just pursue engineering as it pays more, but I do not want to sacrifice my mental health for some more money. I still do plan on taking the FE exam this summer as I feel it could be useful later in life. Maybe I'll start my own business later, and having a PE and PLS could be very useful. Maybe I'll just do half surveying, half engineering, and both could still be useful. I don't know yet, but I will learn a lot about what I want to do at the next internship I accepted; My job title for it is "Surveying technician." You made me feel a lot better about my decision. When you said the person you think should be a surveyor is the one who wants to go out in those harsh conditions, that really hit home and I feel that's exactly who I am. Most people think I'm crazy for wanting to do anything outside when there's a huge snowstorm or a lot of rain, but that's something I don't mind. Thank you for this video.
Hey Dane. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad the video was encouraging. My son is currently in his third year of civil engineering. He has done quite a bit of surveying also. They both have their strengths and integrate well. My advice would be to get both licenses and get some experience in both fields. One day, before you know it, you'll be able to have your own business and hire folks to do the engineering office work under your supervision while you enjoy the surveying side of things that the engineering will require. You will also have the freedom to do some engineering from the field, on a fun trip or pretty much anywhere... not just in a cubicle. Good luck!
We had a dike system put in through our property. At that time the boundary pins were lost. Now we don't know where the corners are on the property. Shouldn't the contractors have placed them back again? There's also a big difference in the city web site of our boundary lines compared to when we bought the property and the surveys for this dike. Now it appears small buildings are over the boundary lines on a few of us in the neighborhood. How do we proceed and see where our boundary lines are according to the legal description when we purchased this property? It shouldn't have changed at any time.
Thank for the comment. The contractors should not be replacing corners, rather should try to protect them. Sometimes they cannot protect them. You should get a licensed surveyor to remark the line. More than likely, they will be able to measure from your other undisturbed corners and mark the line. Good luck!
HLO,WANNA LEARN SURVEYING COURSE FROM WHOM SHOULD I LEARN FROM AN SURVEYOR/ TRAINING INSTITUTE I'M LITTLE BIT CONFUSED SOLVE THIS BIT!!! WHERE R U FROM ? IS SURVEYING WORTH OF????
Thanks for the comment. Sometimes you can. Ask if there is a recent survey and determine if you can locate the corners. Also, you can also just be satisfied even if the fences turn out to not be on the deed lines. To some folks, a couple feet here or there does not matter. The value of a survey is really peace of mind in knowing how the physical evidence of the boundaries (fences, roads, tree lines, etc.) relate to what your deed says you are entitled to. Good question.
I see jobs pop up for party chief and instrument tech and land surveyor. I’m not sure what the difference is between all of them is. Can someone explain? Thanks
Ooh surveyors hate this. They don’t have time to go to court for is this. My neighbor across the street had this issue. They paid for a good survey. They found there are two different property lines both registered with the county. The property remains empty and the city has to mow it. At my current home we found the cable tv guys removed a property corner. There now is a telephone post (gray metal thing about 3 ft high) where the marker should be.
This happened to me except there weren't two separate property lines. And it was a "connection box" instead of a post. It was the "opinion" of the cable company that they were on the easement and I was simply wrong about my property lines. So I hired a surveyor and it turned out their box was right on top of where my corner stob had been. We went back and forth for 10 months before I finally hired a lawyer And he had it settled in less than a week. They were not happy but came out and removed their box as well as over 250' of underground cable that was also under my property, plus they paid for my survey and my lawyer. Then the surveyor came back out and re-set my corner for no charge. By the way, my surveyor had originally marked my corner on top of their box with a Magic Marker (small dot). And then set 2 "witness markers" on both propety lines, each approximately 3' from the corner. Then came back to reset the corner once the dispute was settled and the box was removed. Sometimes being a property owner can be a royal pain in the butt.
Hello sir, I am a topographer, I have 10 years of experience in topography and construction (training in Arabic and French). I am looking for a job in the field. (I'm new to the US and I don't speak English Hello sir, I am a topographer, I have 10 years of experience in topography and construction (training in Arabic and French). I am looking for a job in the field. (I'm new to the US (NYC)and I don't speak English well)
There is a dispute going on in the east in one area due to two different starting points, seems someone did something wrong way back when so now it is up to a judge to decide.
Thanks for your comment. This is a common cause of disagreement and dispute. Often times, legal descriptions are written commencing from opposing corners and the description assumes a perfect mile section (or portion thereof) and in reality, that "mile" may not measure out and result in gaps and overlaps. Most states (like Oklahoma) resolve the discrepancy and avoid lawsuits by a simple law that allows that the description that is created and filed first supersedes any others. The principle is "you cannot sell what you do not own". A good boundary survey will often bring these issues to light.
That is not the case. I have no relation to any other surveyors. You just have to be willing to do the time to get your experience and complete the education requirements at the same time.
It's still not fair. The only way for it to be fair is if licensed surveyors were FORCED to accept every apprentice. If it was a straightforward guaranteed process then it wouldn't be a big deal, get a 2 year degree, 4 years of experience, test, then license. But we all know that's not the case, I bet a lot of these dudes get a degree then never get hired on, or if they do get hired on I bet you fire them after a certain point. Even if you don't fire them I bet you profit massively from their work. This is not fair or American. It's nepotism. There are too many points where someone could get scammed never get a license and waste many years on this.
My advice would be to really research the type of civil engineer he wants to be and do as many internships a he can in as many different civil engineering fields as he can. Some engineering jobs can be pretty boring sitting in a cubical staring at a screen all day.
Thanks. We hope to be able to get him some variety of experience and open his own business some day like I did. There is nothing like working for yourself if you have the drive.
For sure. That is one reason I'm looking into LS. My field of Civil Engineering in Roadway Design, it is tough to open a business. my goal is to be my own boss one day. @@lloydlandsurveying8124
Great video. I'm a Civil Engineer and am really considering taking the few classes I need in college to be able to get my surveyors license. Civil engineering has basically turned into a cad tech job until you get to upper management. I'd love a job where I get to go outdoors and see different places and figure things out. I just need to look t finances to see if I could handle the pay cut for the time it took to start my own business. Anyway, thanks for the video. Great information.
Thanks for the comment. My son just started his third year as a civil engineering student. He has worked a lot with me and one week when he was in high school we had a really tough job in a mosquito infested swamp and he asked me how I got the job... I said "the civil engineer told me to go do it". His reply... "I wanna be THAT guy!". I have another civil engineering acquaintance in a neighboring state who also has a surveying license and he told me that in 2021 he made more with his LS stamp than the civil. I dunno. I advised my son to get a dual license also. Do you have any advice for him in the civil field??? Thanks.
Thanks for the comment. "More or less" refers to the acreage. In the hierarchy of priorities, acreage is pretty low. What is most important is original boundary markers. If they are found and measured, the acreage is what it is. That statement is needed on deeds to prevent lawsuits over acreage. Oklahoma and many places in the Public Lands Survey System started out by attempting to survey 1 mile squares (mostly). The acreage was intended to be 640 acres per section. Well, when you go measure it again, the original markers do not measure exactly 5280 feet. So, until a survey is done, any pieces that are aliquot in that section have a "more or less" acreage. Hope this helps.
Yeah I have a neighbor still crying about acres, at least that's what it seems. There's some vagueness and ambiguity in both legal descriptions, but the intent is clear IMHO. I have 2 acres more or less, and lucky me it's more. I don't know if he's going to push the issue but he keeps saying things so I guess time will tell. It's a waste of his time and money if he pursues it, every single important item is in my favor except the number of acres, so good luck on that I say.
Well this situation would only take place in the most rural of places. Yes, some of the old deed descriptions are very vague. They might even refer to some type of tree as being a corner of the property and years later the tree no longer exists. But slowly these things have been being improved upon. And with modern day GPS survey equipment the process is much easier. Assuming of coarse there is a base point to start from.
Thanks for the comment. I'm not sure what you mean by "this situation", but the video is about a common issue to states that are surveyed with the Public Lands Survey System (PLSS). This created rectangular sections. This is all of Oklahoma including metro areas. Once the metes and bounds descriptions are created by subdividing the parent sections, then following those descriptions can be less work as I explained, but aliquot tracts of land are everywhere and not limited to the most rural of places. In my limited experience (21+ years) the deeds around here rarely specify the physical corner monument. As you mentioned things have been improving and we have been describing monument in our descriptions more often and you are correct, GPS does make most survey processes easier!
Regardless as to the licensing ,honesty, and knowledge of professional surveyors, the legal boundaries of ones property arent dependent on any of that. Every property has a deed, which is recorded in the county offices. And every deed contains a legal description of that particular property. Even if you lose your deed for any reason, an exact copy can be obtained from the county offices. This is how surveyors obtain the information they need for surveying property. The legal description describes by measurement, as well as direction, in latitude and longitude terms all sides of the property. What the deed says is what you own, regardless as to what others might say, and regardless as to who they are. In some cases, where a lot is located within a large subdivision of homes, the deed description might refer to a ( Subdivision plan of record ) for exact information of the lots within that subdivision. That plan will also be recorded in the county offices and be available for viewing by the public. But non the less, nothing would change as for the exact boundary line locations of your property. Today with GPS surveying methods, locating exact property lines has never been easier. With the proper equipment, it requires an experienced one man crew.
Thanks for the comment. I'd like to offer some thoughts. What the deed says is not always what you own. Legal boundaries are dependent on multiple things in addition to the written deed description; physical monuments, adjoining boundaries, chain of title, judges decisions, statutory occupation, etc. I do think there needs to be a distinction made between the legal boundary on paper and the legal boundary on the ground. Deeds can have poorly written descriptions or even clearly written descriptions that may in fact not accurately reflect what can be conveyed. In Oklahoma anyone can write a legal description and this is problematic and we see title problems every week with folk's deed descriptions. Legal boundaries as recorded on paper are also often dependent upon a professional opinion... BUT where that legal boundary is on the surface of the earth is is definitely dependent on a professional opinion. That legal description's location on the ground is usually dependent upon physical monuments (even when they do not match the deed distances exactly) and the professional opinion of the surveyor in the case of boundary corners not yet monumented. And even then, as often happens, if the deed line (according to any opinion) does not match the old existing fences, a judge may just overwrite the deed description and grant the neighbor the ground over to the fence. This is common and called adverse possession. I love my GPS unit. When I started, my job was machete and chainsaw cutting line! GPS is one of the BEST tools out there, but it is still a tool. In the hands of an inexperienced or incompetent person, it will not help. Even with the best surveyors, it is a tool that is still used to help them determine their opinion about the ground measurements. GPS will not tell you that this corner monument is the correct one or that the original owner sold more land before you got yours and he couldn't deed you the entire 40 acres like your deed calls for. Even your boss who told you to start at this monument may have messed up. We all have. See? Experienced GPS crews can make exact measurements, but locating exact property lines on the ground is not only reading a deed description... a professional opinion is required. Thanks!
I would disagree with you with regard to a judge using adverse possession law to rewrite a legal description of a property. Im not saying that some judge wouldnt do that, but it wouldnt hold up if it were challenged. If the fence had been there for the required amount of time for the adverse possession law to apply, then that would be a different matter of coarse. But no judge can just unilaterally use that law to settle boundary issues.
@@ernieforrest7218 Of course I am not an attorney, but I do listen carefully to my attorney friends. I didn't mean to imply the judge can "rewrite a legal description". That is not how it works. I meant that a judge can award a land owner a portion of an existing description (that they do not own on paper) over to a aversely possessed boundary, such as a fence, road, creek, etc. The judge (or court) can unilaterally end a debate between neighbors by transferring legal ownership and define a legal boundary between them such as an old existing fence IF (like you said) the specific criteria are met in the situation. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for the comment. Most people will agree to the surveyor's professional opinion, even when it does not benefit them. Surveyor's are educated and specifically trained to survey boundaries, determine boundary evidence and research boundary deeds. Even after years and years of experience, it is still a 'professional opinion' that most people in the legal world recognize.
Buddy I’m currently dealing with some dipstick ignoring the original state marker and trying to claim 4ft of my father’s property on our side of the fence even though the fence is already on our side
