r/landsurveying Apr 28 '18

We have mods now. There are going to be rules now.

25 Upvotes

Edit: Because it seems like people can't get the hint I will state it clearly. If your post is just shameless self promotion, you will be permabanned right off the bat. Read the fucking rules. No self promotion. Asking if anyone in certain area is looking for work because you are looking to hire is not self promotion. Linking your company's website, instagram, I don't give a fuck promotion is a permaban. Self promotion posts are instant permaban. I cannot be more clear on this.

First off, this is a subreddit for land surveyors to discuss their profession with each other and NOT a place to advertise your company looking for work. Nobody that is going to hire a land surveyor is going to be in this subreddit.

The exception to that rule:

If you are actively looking to hire and you don't abuse it, feel free to let people know that there are positions open at your company. Surveying is a small world and we should help each other out. Please keep the name of your company / company website / resumes restricted to PMs. We don't want accidental doxxing.

No politics, no hate speech, be decent to each other.

Post your sweet pictures you take in the field. Everybody loves that stuff.

Post your technical questions.

Post stuff that helps other surveyors survive in the world.

Post new developments in surveying technology.

Don't post your fucking advertisement for your firm trying to get work. That's like trying to walk into a steakhouse and attempting to sell the head chef your steak. Wrong place, wrong time, and I will assume that you are a bot account and instantly permaban you.

If anyone has any issues with these guidelines, feel free to convince me.

Edit 3 years later, new rule: This is not /r/homework help so don't flood the sub with basic questions that you should be able to ask your instructor or your boss.


r/landsurveying Dec 11 '18

So you want to be a surveyor sticky

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31 Upvotes

r/landsurveying 6d ago

Switching from GIS to Land Surveying?

7 Upvotes

I've been studying Geography and GIS for a year and a half now. However I've heard some things about how all land surveyors are getting old and retiring. The field is also alluring because it probably won't be replaced by AI anytime soon and is healthier than a desk job. It seems to pay about the same on average as a GIS analyst.

Thoughts? Can anyone offer any insights on a Land Surveying career?


r/landsurveying 7d ago

Just started Land Surveying

6 Upvotes

Just started land surveying last week at 25. Any tips or advice?

I worked for my dad for about 6 months a few years ago. He had a small local business, mostly working on local private properties out in the country areas of Missouri. Got to the point that I could go out on my own to find corners. So I have some general newbie knowledge coming back to me now.

Now I am working at a much larger company out of their Saint Louis office. Loving it so far.

Currently, I am the only surveyor at this office as the other two are out for medical reasons. The office is mostly desk and water guys, so I feel a little bit of pressure to learn as much as I can. I got my own truck and go meet other surveyors at the current job site and join up with one of them.


r/landsurveying 8d ago

GIS vs Survey parcel lines

3 Upvotes

Is it common for a property survey to show around a 300' difference from GIS parcel lines? This is a rural area with no residents or businesses.


r/landsurveying 17d ago

Australian Surveyors - What are you paid?

5 Upvotes

I'm an SA based surveyor. A touch under 10 years experience, Uni degree, stalled on the pathway to licensing. Have been mainly doing construction for the past 5 years. A small amount of high rise experience, but mostly doing $1-20M dollar commercial stuff - warehouses, schools, commercial spaces, wind farms.

I get all the usual stuff - car, phone, laptop. Paid overtime - 38hr base, anything above is overtime at 1.5-2x depending on the day/hours/etc.

Typically I work M-F and would average 40-50hrs. Very rarely work weekends. Haven't done an away trip for 2+yrs, but have done short FIFO/DIDO stints on construction sites (longest was 1.5yrs of 1 week on, 2 weeks off - working at home) - prefer to sleep in my own bed each night.

My base has me earning a touch over $100k/yr ($51ish/hr), with overtime I'm on around $110-115k/ yr.

Just wondering how this compares to others who have similar experience/education levels.

Cheers!


r/landsurveying 23d ago

A new survey in Arizona

12 Upvotes

Purchased former model home, about 20 years old, 5 previous owners, in AZ. 13 years ago. New neighbor insisted part of our fence on his property. He hired a surveyor and that survey differs from GIF. 3" of the tip of our fence where the side fence joins the front fence is on his property, the rest is not. He is demanding that we move the fence. Fence company complies with GIF when fence installed, approved by County, approved by HOA. We closed with a Title Company and realtors, not uncommon in AZ. I do realize that we have a claim to that 3" because we have maintained it for 12 years. Anyone have any experience with anything like this? (It throws off the surveys of the homes running alongside us, also by 3". HOA, of course, doesn't know.)


r/landsurveying 25d ago

Survey Findings

1 Upvotes

While under contract, we had a survey done which mentions,

"DWELLING

ENCROACHES ON 25' FRONT BUILDING

SETBACK LINE PER F.M..

POSSIBLE EASEMENT BASED ON FIELD

OBSERVATION BASED ON DRAIN."

We've reached out to find out exactly what that means (so we'll probably get an answer on Monday) but curious if anyone has ever had this mentioned in a survey and what it means...


r/landsurveying Jun 22 '26

Azimuth Prep: where things stand + the web version is here

8 Upvotes

First off, wow. I can't believe the support y'all have shown. I genuinely appreciate it, and I enjoy the conversations we have, whether it's here, in DMs, on Discord, or anywhere else. Thank you.

Quick state of things.

Where we're at. Azimuth Prep now has students at 26 institutions across 14 states, with professors picking up free classroom access for the coming school year. The response has been the best part of this whole thing.

The web version is live. A lot of you asked for it, and it's here. Head to azimuthprep.com, sign in with the same account you already use, and the full study experience runs right in your browser. It's still early, so if you hit anything off, tell me. I've already built in a calculator and a units converter on the web version, and I want to hear what else would actually help you study, so send me your wishlist.

App updates. I'm constantly fixing things as bugs and question issues get reported, so keep them coming, reach me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). A real thank-you to everyone who's already flagged a bad question; you've made the banks meaningfully better. A larger update is in the pipeline pending Apple and Google approval, mainly to resolve the Android audio issue. I also added automatic background updates to the question bank: when you open the app, it quietly pulls the latest questions, so you always have the most recent fixes without doing anything. (I was getting repeat reports on questions I'd already corrected, this fixes that.)

New states getting close. North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Georgia are all moving through content review at different stages, getting close on each. A few more states are in the early research stage behind those, so the list keeps growing.

Something I'm exploring: a version for companies. A few people have asked about using Azimuth Prep as a training tool for their firm or crew, with an admin panel to manage their own people. It's not built yet and I'm not putting a date on it, but the interest is real enough that I want to look into it seriously. So two questions: if your company or firm would actually use something like this, let me know, it genuinely helps me decide whether to build it. And if you have thoughts on what an admin panel would need to be useful, send them my way. Things like tracking your team's progress, assigning specific exams or states, seeing where people are struggling, managing seats, whatever would make it worth it for you. I'd rather build the right thing than guess.

On data and privacy, since someone asked. I take this seriously, it was a core priority from day one: collect as little as possible while still doing the job well. What we store is basically your name and email. That's it. We use two background tools, one that only tells me how often a feature gets used (so I know what to prioritize) and a crash reporter that tells me when something breaks so I can fix it faster. Neither involves selling or sharing your data. On the recent Texas age-verification law: Azimuth Prep is in compliance, and we don't ask for or have access to your age. Apple and Google handle all of that at the account level when you sign up with them, so it never touches us. Full details are in the privacy policy on the website.

Azimuth Prep is free for students. Verified students and classrooms get full access at no cost, and the optional subscriptions are what make that possible. So if you're supporting the project that way, thank you, you're directly helping bring more people into surveying. And thank you all for being part of this, however you use it. Keep the feedback coming.

O I almost forgot, the Launch promo will be ending soon. So if you are interested in it then go ahead and take advantage of it. Sign up on the website for $20 for your first month.


r/landsurveying Jun 18 '26

Property line vs builder restriction line

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9 Upvotes

Moved into a new home and am questioning what was marked as our property line may indeed be the builder restriction line. The many days I spent helping my land surveyor dad apparently taught me nothing. The first picture is the plot plan from our closing and the second one is the survey. Any guidance is appreciated.


r/landsurveying Jun 17 '26

Have a surveyor at the house now. Anything I should request/find out beyond the 4 corners of the property?

4 Upvotes

Title says it all really, I have a surveyor at the house now. Should I have him doing/ask any questions beyond the 4 corners of the property?


r/landsurveying Jun 11 '26

Surveying Help

3 Upvotes

Let me start by saying I'm not a surveyor but like every non-surveyor in this world there will be a time where I need one. (I'm actually in civil engineering so I need a surveyor about 3 times a week)

Im working on a job in South Korea (around Busan) where we need someone to come and take a few shots on a dock so we can get accurate elevations and don't end up grounding out a barge. Does anyone here have any recommendations of someone in that part of the country?

If this was the US or Canada I could call any number of firms that I've worked with before but here I have 0 contacts.


r/landsurveying Jun 11 '26

Do you like cutting line? here is a line I cut last year.

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87 Upvotes

r/landsurveying Jun 11 '26

First Day on the Job!

11 Upvotes

Today was my very first day as a junior land surveyor. I'm coming in with zero experience. I'm a 24-year-old woman, I'm married, and I'm very excited to learn all the ins and outs of this job. Anyone have any advice for me? What should my first steps be in gaining licenses and getting registered? Thanks!


r/landsurveying Jun 11 '26

Surveying Help

3 Upvotes

Let me start by saying I'm not a surveyor but like every non-surveyor in this world there will be a time where I need one. (I'm actually in civil engineering so I need a surveyor about 3 times a week)

Im working on a job in South Korea (around Busan) where we need someone to come and take a few shots on a dock so we can get accurate elevations and don't end up grounding out a barge. Does anyone here have any recommendations of someone in that part of the country?

If this was the US or Canada I could call any number of firms that I've worked with before but here I have 0 contacts.


r/landsurveying Jun 11 '26

Seeking part time Land Survey Work

3 Upvotes

Hello everyone,

I am currently seeking part-time weekend work in the surveying field within the Los Angeles area.

I am an LSIT and EIT with 3 years of experience in land surveying. My experience includes processing topographic survey data, creating DTM surfaces, and developing alignments and profiles. I am also open to field work if needed.

If anyone is aware of any surveying opportunities or needs assistance on projects, please feel free to DM me. Thank you!


r/landsurveying Jun 07 '26

SIT to TXDOT?

1 Upvotes

I’m an SIT on the verge of getting my RPLS as soon as pass the TSSE. I’ve been doing large scale residential projects for a good part of my survey career but I’m looking for a different set of challenges (also I hate my long commute). I have been thinking about going to work for TXDOT. I know there’s alot of reasons that I probably shouldn’t but for those of you that do or work in similar areas, what do you enjoy about?


r/landsurveying Jun 03 '26

Neighbor’s survey shows we owe 12 feet.

73 Upvotes

As the title says, our neighbor has gotten a new survey showing our property line comes 12 feet inward to our lot. We bought the house last July, and were under the impression that we owned that stretch of land because there were survey stakes and that was what the builder told us while we were under contract. After speaking with the builder today, he is claiming that he didn’t know the property line ended short and that the graders moved the stakes before we bought the house. Unfortunately, the plat map is also not in our favor. Our neighbor is claiming to own half of our driveway. Is there anything that we can do?


r/landsurveying Jun 02 '26

Texas, California, and Florida now available.

8 Upvotes

Super quick update.

Three states can now be found in the app. Statutes binders are on the website.

Will be working on Oklahoma, and Nevada next and have started on North Carolina.


r/landsurveying May 31 '26

Asking for a raise soon, advice welcome

3 Upvotes

I make 25$ per hour, I've worked as a survey technician for 8 months and my crew chief is retiring. I came to the job knowing nothing except plan reading, GIS and intro to CAD .

I recently completed my first planimetric and topo of an industrial facility alone whilst training the new guy, I'm decent at deed/easement research, learning Civil 3D and soon to be able to make my own basemaps. I have a bachelors degree in geography. I am 3/4 the way thru a 33 hour survey certificate from a community college AND I am studying for section 107 after taking a UAV course at community college. How should I go about asking for a raise and what should my target wage be?


r/landsurveying May 31 '26

Diploma ukur tanah (geomatics) ni kejuruteraan ke?

2 Upvotes

Nak tanya diploma ni dalam bidang kejuruteraan atau biasa-biasa saja?


r/landsurveying May 30 '26

Who owns this fence?

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14 Upvotes

This fence borders our neighbors yard and is a little worse for wear. They’re cool people and I’m going to fix it anyway but I’m curious if I own the fence or if it’s theirs? (In Texas btw)


r/landsurveying May 28 '26

Built a surveying exam prep app because I was tired of paying $100+/month and never having time to actually study

21 Upvotes

Some of you might recognize me from around here. I'm a working surveyor, and like a lot of you I was grinding toward licensure while working full time. The thing that broke me wasn't the material - it was the format. I was paying north of $100 a month for prep that was mostly long videos. To actually use it I had to sit down at a desk at home and watch lectures. By the time I got home, I wanted to be with my kids, not glued to a screen for another two hours.

So I'd either skip studying or skip family time. Neither felt good.

What I actually wanted was something I could pull out during the day - between jobs, eating lunch, waiting on something in the field - and chip away at the material in the gaps. Get my study reps in while I'm already out, so my evenings stayed mine.

Nothing out there really did that, so I built it. It's called Azimuth Prep.

What's in it right now:

  • 1,390 practice questions across the NCEES FS, PS, and the Texas state-specific exam
  • 774 flashcards with spaced repetition, plus an audio mode so you can listen to terms and definitions hands-free (driving between sites, etc.)
  • Timed practice exams that match the actual weighting of each exam, not a generic split
  • Progress tracking so you can see where you're weak

It's on iOS and Android. First 30 questions are free, no account or card needed, so you can see if it's useful before paying anything.

I've also started putting together state statute bundles - annotated guides covering the statutes, board rules, and licensing law for a given state, with analytical questions to go with them. Texas is up first. These are a one-time purchase, not a subscription, and you get free updates as laws change. More states are in the works.

On price: I kept it deliberately lower than what I was paying. $29.99/month if you sign up on the website, and right now there's a launch discount on top of that - $20 for your first month. (Subscribing through the App Store or Google Play is a bit higher since those platforms take a cut, so the website is the cheaper route.) Students get it free the entire time they're in school - sign up with a .edu email and just renew each year.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/azimuth-prep/id6770758153

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.azimutheducation.azimuthprep

Website: azimuthprep.com

A web version of the study app is in the works too, for anyone who'd rather study on a desktop.

I'd genuinely rather get honest feedback than make a sale. If you're prepping for FS/PS/TSSE and you try it, tell me what's missing or what's wrong - I'm building this for people in exactly my situation and I'll actually act on it. More states and more content coming.


r/landsurveying May 28 '26

How does your company describe trees?

1 Upvotes

More specifically when cataloging trunk and dripline sizes.

Trunk diameter and dripline diameter?

Or

Trunk diameter and dripline radius?

Or some other method?


r/landsurveying May 21 '26

Can anyone explain the dotted lines?

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25 Upvotes