A survey technician is the person who helps a licensed land surveyor measure and map the land — running the rod, prism and instrument in the field, then turning the day's measurements into calculations, maps and drawings in the office.
Federal statistics put the job in one occupation, surveying and mapping technician (SOC 17-3031), covering both field and mapping work.
BLS puts the typical entry-level education at a high school diploma or equivalent, with moderate-term on-the-job training.
What is a survey technician (surveying and mapping technician)?
A survey technician works on a survey crew and in the survey office, doing the measuring, data and drafting work that supports a licensed land surveyor.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) defines the occupation as surveying and mapping technicians: workers who collect data and make maps of the Earth's surface, assisting surveyors and cartographers and photogrammetrists.
Federal statistics keep the whole field under one occupation code, 17-3031.00 Surveying and Mapping Technicians.
O*NET, the federal occupational database, retired its separate surveying-technician and mapping-technician codes, so field crew work and mapping work share one profile.
The title on a job posting varies.
O*NET lists reported titles including Survey Technician, Surveying Technician, Land Survey Technician, Field Surveyor, Rodman, Mapping Technician, Photogrammetric Technician and Stereoplotter Operator — survey tech, land survey technician and surveying technician are all names for this one occupation.
One distinction matters from day one: a survey technician is not a licensed land surveyor.
BLS states that licensing is not required for surveying and mapping technicians, while all 50 states and DC require surveyors to be licensed before providing services to the public.
The technician's work supports the licensed surveyor, who carries the final surveying decisions.
What does a survey technician do in the field and in the office?
BLS's duty list runs from the field to the keyboard: visiting sites to record survey measurements, searching for previous survey markers or setting out new ones, operating surveying instruments such as electronic distance-measuring (EDM) equipment, and entering instrument data into computers.
In the field, technicians help the surveyor directly.
BLS gives clearing brush from the survey line and using drones to take photos as examples.
O*NET's task list adds setting out and recovering stakes, marks and other monumentation, searching for section corners, property irons and survey points, and adjusting and operating instruments such as prisms, theodolites, EDMs and data collectors.
Holding the rod is part of that field list: O*NET describes positioning and holding the vertical rods or targets that instrument operators sight on to measure angles, distances and elevations.
The office half of the job is data work.
BLS says technicians may calculate measurements gathered during a survey, including angles and elevations, and may use Computer Aided Design (CAD) software.
O*NET's tasks include recording survey measurements in notes, drawings and sketches; calculating latitudes, longitudes, angles and areas from field notes; performing calculations for earth-curvature and atmospheric corrections, traverse closures or adjustments, azimuths and level runs; and preparing topographic or contour maps of the land surveyed.
O*NET's 2026 task list for the occupation includes using drone technology to capture aerial images or video for mapping, and writing boundary or easement legal descriptions.
The through-line is precision.
In O*NET's work-context survey, 92% of surveying and mapping technicians said being exact or accurate is extremely important.
BLS lists communication, decision-making, detail orientation, physical stamina and problem-solving — including identifying and fixing equipment problems — as the qualities that matter.
O*NET's essential skills are reading comprehension, critical thinking, mathematics, active listening, monitoring and speaking, with geography and mathematics as the top knowledge areas.
Which jobs sit on a survey crew: rod person, instrument operator, party chief?
On a working crew, the one federal occupation splits into named field roles: rod person, instrument operator and party chief.
O*NET gives party chief, instrument operator and survey CAD work no separate occupation code — the closest code for all field crew roles is 17-3031.00.
Rod person.
The classic rod person task on O*NET's list is positioning and holding the vertical rods or targets that instrument operators sight on to measure angles, distances and elevations.
BLS's duty list for the occupation adds searching for previous survey markers or setting out new ones, and clearing brush from the survey line.
Instrument operator.
This role runs the measuring side.
O*NET lists adjusting and operating instruments such as prisms, theodolites, EDMs and data collectors as a core task — the instrument operator's duty.
BLS notes surveyors use handheld GPS units as well as robotic total stations, instruments that automate positioning of the telescope.
Party chief.
The supervisory role: O*NET's occupation tasks include supervising or coordinating workers engaged in surveying, plotting data, drafting maps or producing blueprints, and compiling the information needed to stake construction projects from engineering plans.
Party chiefs run the crew day to day, but the license and the final surveying decisions stay with the licensed surveyor in responsible charge.
The NCEES Model Law describes the split: a licensee's employees and subordinates may do the work when it includes no final surveying designs or decisions and is done under the licensee's responsible charge.
What do you need to become a survey technician (no degree, no license)?
Among the surveying-related occupations BLS compares, this one has the lowest entry bar.
BLS's profile (2025 data) lists a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education, no related work experience required, and moderate-term on-the-job training.
For comparison, civil engineering technologists and technicians and drafters typically enter with an associate's degree, while surveyors and cartographers and photogrammetrists typically need a bachelor's degree.
High school coursework sets you up.
BLS recommends algebra, geometry and trigonometry, plus drafting, mechanical drawing and computer science, and notes some employers prefer added education or GIS experience.
O*NET's education survey puts numbers on the entry paths: 33% of respondents said a high school diploma is required and 24% said an associate's degree.
O*NET rates the occupation as Job Zone Three — medium preparation through vocational training, related on-the-job experience or an associate's degree.
The typical training route is on the job: BLS says survey technicians often learn under lead staff, starting with simple tasks such as placing markers and entering data and eventually helping decide where and how to measure the land.
Licensing is the big difference from the licensed side.
BLS states that licensing is not required for surveying and mapping technicians.
What employers may prefer, per BLS, is a candidate who has a valid driver's license.
Optional credentials exist if you want them.
BLS says certification may help demonstrate competency in a relevant specialty.
One national option for technicians is NSPS's Certified Survey Technician (CST) program — four levels in field and office tracks, certified by proctored exam.
There are also four DOL-approved Registered Apprenticeship titles tied to this occupation: Chief of Party, Geodetic Computator, Photogrammetric Technician and Surveyor Assistant Instrument.
Licensure is a different track
What tools and software does a survey tech use?
The field kit centers on the instruments from O*NET's task list: prisms, theodolites, EDMs and data collectors, plus the handheld GPS units and robotic total stations BLS says surveyors use.
BLS's duty list calls out electronic distance-measuring equipment by name — the EDM that measures the line between points.
Software is the office half.
O*NET's software list for the occupation includes COGO (coordinate geometry) software, Autodesk AutoCAD and AutoCAD Civil 3D, Bentley MicroStation, MicroSurvey Star*Net, Esri ArcGIS and Leica ERDAS IMAGINE.
Which of those you touch depends on the firm and the work.
One state DOT shows how the list plays out in a specific shop.
Arkansas DOT's District Surveys Technician class spec names MicroStation, Trimble Business Center, Trimble Access and InRoads.
Its duty list runs from staking and layout of highway construction and cross-section data collection to setting up safety equipment and flagging traffic, with hand tools such as sledgehammers, axes and kaiser blades to set markers and cut brush.
That is one state agency's class spec — one shop's software list.
Drones have joined the kit.
O*NET's 2026 task list includes using drone technology to capture aerial images or video for mapping, and BLS gives drone photography as an example of technician field work.
How much do survey technicians make?
In BLS's May 2025 wage survey (OEWS), surveying and mapping technicians earned a national median of $26.08 an hour, or $54,240 a year, across all industries.
The middle half earned between $45,430 and $66,700 a year.
That figure covers the whole occupation — field crew and mapping staff together — across all industries nationwide.
The spread around the median is wide: the 10th percentile earned $37,520 and the 90th percentile $81,630 a year.
For the full percentile table and the state figures BLS publishes, see the survey technician salary page.
Hours vary, too.
BLS says most surveying and mapping technicians work full time and some work more than 40 hours per week; in O*NET's work-context survey, 52% reported a typical work week of more than 40 hours.
Where can a survey technician go next: party chief, CAD, LSIT, PLS?
The crew route is learned on the job.
BLS describes the progression concretely: technicians often start with simple tasks such as placing markers and entering data, and eventually help decide where and how to measure the land.
Where the climb is formalized, it runs bottom-up: California's surveyor apprenticeship industry criteria, for example, put apprentices through Chainman/Rodman and Chief of Party levels on the way to at least 8,000 hours of on-the-job training.
The office branch runs through drafting and mapping.
O*NET counts preparing topographic and contour maps among the occupation's tasks.
BLS says mapping technicians with more education or experience may advance to cartography or photogrammetry jobs — an occupation BLS projects to grow 7 percent from 2025 to 2035, with about 900 openings a year.
The licensed branch is the long one.
BLS says technicians with many years of experience and formal training may be able to become licensed surveyors, and that some surveyors begin as surveying technicians and become licensed after many years of experience under a licensed surveyor.
The route — education, experience and exam requirements — is set state by state, and requirements vary.
Your state's licensing board publishes the current rules and routes.
Career information, not legal or licensing advice. Licensure rules are set by each state's board of licensure — confirm the current requirements with your state board before you plan around any route.
Find survey technician jobs
Technicians work across a handful of industries.
In 2025, BLS counted about 58,800 jobs in the occupation: 60% in architectural, engineering and related services, 11% in local government (excluding education and hospitals), 9% in other support services, 4% in utilities and 1% self-employed.
Many work for firms providing engineering, surveying and mapping services on contract; in local government, technicians may sit in highway or planning departments.
The hiring outlook is steady.
BLS projects the occupation to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3 percent average for all occupations, with about 6,900 openings a year — mostly to replace workers who change occupations or retire.
Drones and other advances make some survey work more efficient, and BLS still expects technicians to be needed to review and interpret that output for accuracy and completeness.
When you are ready to apply, browse survey technician jobs on the board — crew and office openings with survey and engineering firms.
If you hire for a survey firm, engineering firm or agency, you can post a surveying job on the same board.