Duties

• Surveying technicians work with surveyors on collecting geographical data on an area and making calculations to present to those interested in the land. This data may be used in legal documents such as deeds and leases. Technicians are also expected to be comfortable using computer drafting programs, and typically use satellite signal receivers and the Global Positioning System to help map reference points.
  
  

Rank

• A surveying project usually requires a survey party to gather the information needed by the surveyor. The head of the party is known as the party chief, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the rest of the party is made up of surveying technicians and helpers. During the duration of the project, technicians assist the party chief with operating instruments, taking notes, sketching the area and entering the data they find into computers.
  
  

Work Environment

• Most surveying technicians work five days a week and often spend much of their day outdoors. Technicians also often work longer hours in the summer to take advantage of better lighting conditions. Work can be active and sometimes strenuous, with a lot of standing, walking and climbing with heavy equipment. They may also travel long distances and can be away from home overnight, and for bigger projects they may have to temporarily relocate.
  
  

Requirements

• Hopeful surveying technicians can usually find an apprenticeship with no formal training, so long as they possess high school diplomas. Those who receive some postsecondary training in surveying can often find entry-level work as a technician. Advancement to senior survey technician and party chief is common. To become a surveyor, technicians will usually have to obtain a bachelor’s degree and state license.
  
  

Wages

• The bureau states that surveying technicians earned an average salary of $40,370 in the United States as of May 2010. Most worked in the industry of architectural, engineering and related services for the average of $37,740 a year, while others worked for local governments for an average of $44,400. The industry of natural gas distribution was the highest paying for surveying technicians with a salary average of $57,200 a year.