Field Notes Archives
Who Is a Professional Land Surveyor?
A few months ago I wrote a piece titled, “What is a Professional Land Surveyor?” Now I will take a crack at “Who is a professional land surveyor?” I started in this business when I was 17, not even graduated high school yet. I was a hot shot architectural draftsman in high school, or so […]
GIS Technology: Get It Surveyed
As I approach my 30th anniversary of being a licensed professional land surveyor in California, I can’t help but think about how things have changed over those years. One word: Technology. It has changed everything. For me, it started with EDMs, then total stations. Handheld calculators were emerging. When the HP 41-CX came out, that […]
Surveying States: Different, Yet the Same
With the President’s Day holiday recently behind us, a day I refer to as Surveyor’s Day (think Mt. Rushmore) and National Surveyors Week starting on March 18, 2017, I can’t help but think about surveyors across the United States as a whole. Although my entire professional practice has been in California, over those years I have […]
Your Local Knowledge Is King
Although the adage, “Your local knowledge is king,” could apply to other professions or even trades, I think it is especially true in our profession. When a surveyor practices in a given area or region, or possibly an entire state, knowledge is gained and lessons learned about many things that determine one’s ability to remain competitive, […]
The Young Surveyors on the Young Surveyors Network
Note from Editor Scott P. Martin: As I read and absorbed the Young Surveyors Network response (below) to last month’s Field Notes, I realized that I have been ignorant of the perception and perspective young surveyors have of our profession and the old guard. We have contributed greatly to our own demise (I touched on […]
The Modernized NSRS (A Summary)
Editor’s Note (from Scott Martin): When I learned that NGS and Dru Smith (the NSRS modernization manager for the NGS) had requested to respond to my August Field Notes, I was quite intimidated. However, my fears were quickly quelled. Thank you, Dr. Smith! As mentioned below, a more extensive and informative response on the monumental […]