Architects, Surveyors, and Cartographers

How to become a Surveyor

Official title: Surveyors

Also called: City Surveyor, County Surveyor, Land Surveyor, Licensed Land Surveyor, Mine Surveyor, Professional Land Surveyor, Registered Land Surveyor, Staff Land Surveyor, State Surveyor, Surveyor

Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.

Main tasks

Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.

How to become one

Surveyors typically need a bachelor's degree to enter the occupation. They must be licensed before they can certify legal documents and provide surveying services to the public.

Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

College: Architecture & Built Environment degrees, Offered by 15 universities in the US
Licence: A licence is required in 48 states.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $75,440 a year The middle half earn $58,170 to $98,130.
About 52,000 people work in this job now, and about 55,000 are projected by 2035. (+5.8%)
People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Surveyor?

Surveyors typically need a bachelor's degree to enter the occupation. They must be licensed before they can certify legal documents and provide surveying services to the public.

How much does a Surveyor earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $75,440 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $58,170 to $98,130.

Is a Surveyor a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 6% by 2035, from about 52,000 to about 55,000 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Surveyor?

Usually. 84% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Surveyor?

People use generative AI for relatively little of this work so far. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as low.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.