Roles of a Surveyor

Surveying graduates are in high demand in Australia both in the city and country areas, working for private practice in small, medium or larger organizations, or for government bodies such as Land Victoria.

Starting salaries for Surveying graduates are excellent and are expected to continue to grow given the increasing demand for new people to enter the industry.

A survey conducted by Graduate Careers Australia in 2007 found the average salary of Surveying graduates in full time employment was $48k, compared with $50k for Civil Engineering graduates, and $36.2k for Architects.

Land Surveyors can undertake further studies to become Licensed Surveyors which provides greater opportunity for career advancement or ability to establish and run their own business.

A career in Surveying offers exciting projects, career opportunities and the prospect of travelling to interesting locations.

Licensed Surveyor

A Licensed Surveyor is the only person who is legally authorised to perform Land or Cadastral Surveying.

They perform the following tasks:

Apply the laws & procedures relating to land ownership, boundaries and titles when undertaking Surveying work
Accurately map out positions of boundaries where land is subdivided, bought or sold
Studying the natural and urban environment
Plan, develop & redevelop urban planning, land and buildings
Manage and execute projects from, design through to approval and construction for development in urban, rural and regional areas
Utilise cutting-edge technology such as GPS and laser technology to measure angles and distances on the land

Surveyor

Surveyors perform the following tasks:

Measure the size & shape of an area of land
Work out the position of boundaries of public or private land
Study the natural and natural environment
Plan, develop & redevelop urban planning, land and buildings

Surveyors work in many related fields such as cartography, geographic information systems (GIS) or remote sensing Surveying or as project managers.

Surveying Technologist / GIS officers

Surveying technologists develop and customise geographic information systems (GIS). They can do the following:

Measure the size & shape of an area of land
Work out the position of boundaries of public or private land
Study the natural and urban environment
Plan, develop & redevelop urban planning, land and buildings

Surveyors work in many related fields such as cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing Surveying or as project managers.

Surveying Associate / Surveying Technician:

Surveying technicians collect, analyse data and develop plans for land Surveyors to provide the basic information required for a Surveying project. Surveying technicians do the following:

Collect & analyse survey data
Take measurements & make observations from aerial photographs
Draft plans, making calculations & plotting data using computer software
Survey and locate areas to undertake construction activities
Store data in geographic information systems (GIS)

Surveying technicians are involved in various projects such as survey drafting, photogrammetry, remote sensing, mining, land development or engineering and construction Surveying.

Survey Assistant

Survey assistants help Surveyors undertake Surveying projects. They may do the following tasks:

Transport, assemble, dismantle Surveying equipment
Peg out boundaries
Collect and label samples
Assist Surveyors in taking measurements
Record measurements manually or electronically

Content on this site has been reproduced from The Job Guide, researched and authored by Hobsons and Miles Morgan Australia, on behalf of the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). © Commonwealth of Australia, reproduced by permission.