Land Surveyor Forum

Replies

• Retired Surveyor

  Peter Heath October 23, 2017 at 12:59pm

  They have always had low salaries. My salary after 30 years in the business was below national average wage (UK) even though I was in a senior position in a large private organisation.
• Land Surveyor

  EKE STANLEY NWAUDO October 16, 2017 at 10:51am

  Surveyors get small payment due to lack of clear scale of fee for survey content in the Built Industry.

  A surveyors job cut across so many divides and hence cannot be quantified as such his scope of work cannot be costed giving room for low pricing.

  A surveyor can earn more if he itemize his scope of work and cost accordingly.
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  Scott Goebel October 16, 2017 at 10:51am

  I refuse to lower my fees (and the value of my work) to the level that 'wins the bid'.  I do not submit bids if asked for one. The quality of my work is paramount and has always been that way. That quality has to suffer if the amount of money received is reduced to basement level values.  The ones that bid low do not care about providing professional quality services. They look at the bottom line by getting the job done as fast as possible. A true professional can not find the solution to a problem, let alone look for it, if they are focused on completing the work ASAP.

  I have never been able to pay my employees what they are worth. My wife and I had to take less pay that our highest paying employee to keep the company running. After saying all this, I would never go back and change anything. I enjoy what I do for this community. Being a Surveyor and owning my own company was a goal back in high school. I pray that other 'professionals' would look at it this way and not just as a job.
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  Francois van Rooyen October 16, 2017 at 5:34am

  I am from South Africa... I used to work for survey companies for many years before I decided to start my own company. Working for the survey companies I realized that they employed more and more unqualified surveyors (non-graduate surveyors, and not registered with SA's professional survey association). They would pay these guys small salaries. This enabled them to quote less than other survey companies. Their strategy was as follows: On a new site (i.e. construction site) they would use a qualified, registered and experienced surveyor to start the survey i.e. confirm the system, establish control and assess the site. They would then send a 'survey operator' (button pusher) to the site to do the bulk of the work i.e. measure the DTM, digital leveling of benchmarks etc. The survey operator would then relay the data to the qualified surveyor who would then check it and give it to the drawing office... Its a good plan, but over time it lowers the perceived value of survey work.

  Since staring my own company I realized that it is possible to make the same money in a week than what I earned in a month working for a survey company. So having your own company is critical. In addition I also realized that most of my clients don't mind paying a bit more for survey work that addresses all their requirements, are 100% correct and on time. Some of them have tried cheaper quotes, but returned to me very quickly... some even to 'fix' the mess they got from the guy who gave them the cheaper quote... One clients even tried buying their own gps and have one of their employees use it... they came back within a month after their employee made a huge mistake costing them in excess of 100k to fix. 

  There will always be a market for good experienced surveyors who applies all the checks and balances contained in survey theory (and not take short-cuts). In my own business the challenge is to recruit enough clients to ensure a steady influx of work, because to do that I have to consistently market the business. They only way to effectively market the business is to potential clients directly (i.e. estate agents, civil engineers, architects etc.)... AND SURVEYORS (MYSELF INCLUDED) HATE MARKETING...lol
• Land Surveyor

  SEAN AINSWORTH October 16, 2017 at 4:29am

  In Australia you seem to be able to get reasonable rates in some mining ops, though if you are on a contract as a an engaged "professional" then the high wages that seem to with the mining are often less for the surveyors. That said, for everyone else, the Industrial Award that covers the area hasnt been updated since 2010. That only covers the organisations that follow the award. there are a lot that dont. Wages especially for the assistants and technicians dont go up under any circumstances.
• Land Surveyor

  Gregory W Jeffries October 15, 2017 at 6:18pm

  Surveyors Undersell Themselves

  

  Why Do Surveyors Undervalue and Undersell Their Services?

  For years I have been witness to surveyors undervaluing and underselling their services and I don’t understand why. (To be fair, the simple answer is…
• Land Surveyor

  J. Anthony Cavell October 15, 2017 at 4:53pm

  Those reading this discussion should check out the recent POB article by Jeffrey Turner.

  Here is a link: What are Your Services Worth?
  JAC

  

  Surveyor's Footsteps: What are Your Services Worth?

  Surveyors have in-house fees for their services. Some work will be charged using hourly rates while others may be charged according to task.
• Land Surveyor

  Aurelio Cortes October 15, 2017 at 11:26am

  Here in Texas, the realtors are getting away with paying around $400. The problem is not the realtor community but the surveyors. There is always someone willing to put their stamp on a job which they know they did not fully met the Board requirements. Walmart Supercenter - Kiosk A
  6626 Fm 1960 Rd E
  Humble, TX 77346
  • Land Surveyor

    Eric Washburn > Aurelio Cortes October 15, 2017 at 3:14pm

    Same here, I'm just west of Fort Worth, and no matter what we estimate to charge, there is always someone that will do the work for half the price. The majority of the time, nobody except us and the Board cares about quality, it's all about the money out of pocket to the end user, regardless of results.
  • Land Surveyor

    Philo Beddoe > Aurelio Cortes October 15, 2017 at 2:05pm

    I'm very new to surveying, so not sure how much value this will be. In my region (Northern California,) surveying is a union job. Our wages are $40 per hour plus benefits for a party chief. In the Bay Area, where  most of the work is, it is easy to make more than that. 

    It is not uncommon for apprentices to get promoted to party chief after working two years in the field. I suppose this is due to two reasons: 

    i. There are not enough party chiefs to carry the workload coming in.

    ii. It doesn't take long to become decent at pushing buttons as someone above mentioned.

    I know "apprentices" that still are taking the weekly apprenticeship class that have been "chiefing" for years. 

    It seems crazy to base your business off finding property corners if the pay is so low. I think I would branch out and try to get construction surveying work, but there being many regional differences, what do I know. I do know dealing with real estate agents is not fun. Just ask the appraisers...their pay has been stagnant for years.