Surveying Articles

We’re Not Just Writing About Surveying—We’re Writing Toward It

There’s no shortage of noise in the surveying world these days—automation this, AI that, another software company promising the end of fieldwork as we know it. At the same time, public understanding of what surveyors actually do seems to be fading fast. Ask ten people on the street, and half will tell you it’s something to do with construction. The other half won’t be sure at all.

For many surveyors, this disconnect isn’t just frustrating—it’s personal. We see corners being cut. Field time shrinking. Boundaries being redrawn by people who’ve never even set foot on the land. Meanwhile, fewer and fewer professionals are being asked what they think, or what they know.

That’s where this article series comes in. Not as a solution to all of that—but as a response. A steady one.

We’re not here to shout into the void. We’re here to document what’s happening, connect the dots, and preserve what matters while we still have time. Each article is meant to mark a specific shift—something that’s already changing the profession or is about to.

But more than that, each one is designed to plant a seed.

At the end of every article, we don’t just wrap up the conversation—we offer a next step: a potential course title or learning path. Something that could be built from the insights within. Something that could be taught. Something that should be taught.

Because most of the problems surveyors face today? They aren’t just technical—they’re educational. There are gaps. Not just in the next generation’s training, but in the profession’s ability to organize what it knows and pass it on.

We’re writing these articles because we believe surveyors have more to say—and more to teach—than the industry currently makes room for.

This project is about changing that.

The Real Point of These Articles: What If This Was a Course?

Every article we publish in this series ends with a simple but deliberate question:
“What if this was a course?”

Not because we’re pushing anyone to turn fieldwork into PowerPoint slides. But because if something is affecting the profession—really affecting it—then chances are it’s something we should be teaching.

Let’s say we write about AI-generated maps being labeled “survey-grade.” That article will break down how those claims are made, where the liability lands, and what surveyors need to watch for. But it won’t stop there. It’ll close with a course idea: maybe “Survey-Grade Isn’t a Style—It’s a Standard: Defining Professional Accuracy in the Age of AI.”

Same with the erosion of field time. That article might end with a concept like “From Dirt to Data: How to Train Judgment in a Software-First Profession.”

Why do we do this? Because most of what surveyors really need right now doesn’t exist in a textbook. It’s in the heads of the people who’ve been through it—the ones who’ve walked a site where something didn’t add up, or sat in a room full of decision-makers relying on a model that ignored half the story.

And if those people—you—don’t teach it, that knowledge disappears.

So we’re using each article as a way to surface problems and pair them with educational blueprints. It’s not about turning every reader into an instructor. It’s about reminding this profession that knowledge doesn’t just belong in a boundary survey—it belongs in a curriculum.

Every problem we raise is a prompt. A reason to pause and say, “Someone should be explaining this.”

And more often than not, that someone is already out there—boots on, data collector in hand, full of stories that the profession can’t afford to lose.

This series is how we start turning those stories into structure.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Let’s step back for a second and look at the bigger picture.

Surveying has always been a profession built on transmission—knowledge passed down from one generation to the next. Sometimes that came from a mentor on a crew. Sometimes from a grizzled LS who had seen a hundred property disputes play out. Sometimes from working a thousand corners until your instinct got as sharp as your instrument.

But lately, that chain feels like it’s been stretched thin.

Field time is shrinking. Software is replacing hands-on learning. And in a lot of firms, the opportunity to really teach—the way people used to learn in this field—is getting lost in the pace of production. Add to that the rise of AI, the pressure to automate, and the slow erosion of licensure protections, and we’re left with a profession that’s starting to drift away from its foundations.

And here’s the kicker: we’re not just losing knowledge—we’re losing the habit of organizing and sharing it.

That’s what makes this series different.

We’re not writing articles just to explain what’s wrong. We’re writing them to point toward what’s teachable. We’re mapping out the problems—but also drawing the outlines for the courses that could help fix them.

Because whether it’s boundary law falling behind tech, or surveyors being scapegoated when AI gets it wrong, the solution is always going to come back to the same thing: making knowledge visible, accessible, and defensible.

And the only people who can do that are the ones who’ve lived it.

That’s why we don’t just want readers. We want contributors. People who can look at a problem and say, “Yeah, I’ve seen that happen. Here’s what they need to know.”

The world isn’t slowing down. But we can still make time to build what lasts.

And the way we do that?
We teach it.

Here’s the Flow: Article → Course → Canon

There’s a rhythm to what we’re building here—and it’s intentional.

Every article in this series follows the same basic arc:
We take a real-world issue surveyors are facing, break it down, and then ask, “What would it look like to teach this?”

That question isn’t rhetorical. It’s the start of something practical.

At the end of each article, we propose a course title—a working idea for how the topic could become part of the profession’s evolving body of knowledge. That course doesn’t exist yet. But the article lays the foundation. And the next step is simple: we invite surveyors who’ve experienced the issue firsthand to help build it out.

Maybe you’ve been in court when bad drone data was used in place of a certified boundary. Maybe you’ve had to explain to a developer why “AI accuracy” isn’t a substitute for legal responsibility. Or maybe you’ve trained a crew that had never set rebar before being handed a data collector.

If you’ve lived the issue, you probably already know how to teach it—you just haven’t been asked to.

That’s where the LEARN Program comes in. It gives structure to the process. You bring the experience, and we help turn it into a course: something others can learn from, reference, and build on.

This approach isn’t about creating endless content. It’s about creating a canon—a growing collection of knowledge that reflects what surveyors are actually facing today, not just what was true twenty years ago.

The idea is simple:

• Every article reveals a knowledge gap.
  
  
• Every gap points to something that should be taught.
  
  
• And every course we build together closes that gap for the next generation.
  
  

That’s how we turn today’s uncertainty into tomorrow’s standard.

We’re not waiting for someone else to define what matters in this profession.
We’re doing it ourselves—one issue, one course, one article at a time.

What These Articles Will Cover (And Why They’re Built This Way)

We’re not picking topics at random. Every article in this series is written with purpose—and with a course in mind. The issues we’re choosing to highlight are the ones that are already reshaping the profession, often quietly and without much warning.

They’re the topics that come up in field trucks, licensing board meetings, courtrooms, and client calls. The ones that don’t always get talked about publicly, but sit just beneath the surface of everyday practice.

Here’s a taste of what we’re writing about:

• The Death of Field Time – What happens when surveyors are trained in software but never get a feel for the dirt?
  
  
• AI-Generated Titles – When land ownership is built on code instead of corner evidence, who’s responsible when things go wrong?
  
  
• Boundary Law Falling Behind Technology – How outdated legal frameworks are clashing with new methods of measurement and automation.
  
  
• Erasure of Cultural Sites – Why machine-made maps are ignoring sacred places, and what role surveyors play in protecting them.
  
  
• The Liability Gap – What surveyors need to know before signing off on AI-generated deliverables they didn’t create.
  
  

These articles aren’t just meant to inform—they’re structured to highlight the teachable moment. Each piece identifies what’s happening, why it matters, and what’s missing from the current conversation or curriculum.

Then, we close with a course concept. Something like:

“Defending Licensure: Advocacy Strategies for Surveying Professionals”
“Cultural Stewardship in the Field: Protecting What the Dataset Can’t See”
“Liability and Linework: What Surveyors Must Know in the Age of Automation”

Each title could be the start of a course. A workshop. A conversation. A framework.

That’s the point. We’re not just writing to raise awareness—we’re writing to build structure. These articles are designed to move. To lead somewhere. To become something.

And most importantly, they’re built for the people who’ve been living this work all along.

Who We’re Writing For (And With)

We’re not aiming these articles at the usual audience. This isn’t for marketing departments, or startup founders trying to “disrupt” surveying from outside the profession. It’s not for people who see the land only as a spreadsheet, or who think boundaries can be drawn from behind a desk.

We’re writing for working surveyors.
The ones who’ve stood at a corner and known—by instinct and experience—that something in the deed just didn’t add up.
The ones who’ve trained new crew members and seen how much field knowledge is getting lost between generations.
The ones who’ve shown up to a planning meeting and realized no one in the room had actually read the survey before making a decision.

If that sounds like you, then these articles are being written with you in mind—and, ideally, with you involved.

Because this isn’t just about writing to the profession. It’s about writing with it.

Each piece is designed to open the door to collaboration. You don’t need to be a published author. You don’t need to be an educator by trade. You just need to care enough about this profession to say, “Yeah, that’s something I’ve seen. And here’s what people need to know.”

Whether it’s a story from the field, a framework you’ve built, or a lesson you wish someone had taught you earlier in your career—it’s all valid, and it’s all needed.

And if you’re not sure where to start? That’s what the article structure is for. It gives you a foundation. It shows how a problem becomes a teachable moment. It offers a next step.

You don’t have to write it alone. You don’t even have to write it all. You just have to bring what you’ve got.

Because the future of surveying won’t be written by people outside the profession.
It will be written—and taught—by the people still walking the line.

Where It All Leads: LEARN and the Futurist Membership

These articles aren’t just stand-alone reads. They’re part of something bigger.

Every time we publish a piece, we’re adding to a growing collection of real-world insight that’s meant to go somewhere—to become something. That “something” is the LEARN Program and the Futurist Membership behind it.

LEARN is where we take the course ideas from each article and turn them into actual, useful content for the surveying community. It’s a platform where surveyors—not outside consultants—can build, share, and teach what they know. From short how-to lessons to full CE-accredited courses, it’s designed to help preserve and pass on knowledge that too often stays in someone’s notebook or never leaves the jobsite.

And it doesn’t stop at the courses themselves.

The Futurist Membership is the engine that drives this entire project. It’s a network of surveyors who care about the direction the profession is heading—and want to be a part of shaping it. Futurists get access to early course-building tools, project collaborations, and a community space where these article conversations can continue long after publishing.

It’s not about titles or tenure. It’s about mindset. If you see what’s changing in the industry and feel the need to respond—not just with concern, but with ideas and action—you’re already in the right place.

This is how we start building a canon for modern surveying.
Not by waiting for someone else to organize it, but by starting with what we already know—and putting it to use.

So, whether you’re just reading along, offering your insight, or ready to turn your experience into something others can learn from, there’s a role for you in this.

The profession needs stronger tools. Clearer boundaries. Better public understanding.

But more than anything, it needs a community of professionals willing to write—and teach—what comes next.

Let’s build it.