The American Surveyor

It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way

By the time you read this, the “most important election in the history of our country” will have occurred, and no matter which side of the political aisle you are on, I hope we can all agree the “most important country in the history of the world” is worth preserving. Unfortunately, I suspect the emotional rhetoric will not cease, but my sincere hope is that at least we surveyors can co-exist as we always have.

This issue contains two articles that appeared last year. Several people told me I should run them. The first article, by Louisiana surveyor Blake Collins, provides four reasons why John Q needs surveyors, and more important, why there’s not a reliable app for surveying. The second article pertains to the fact that geodesy underpins the $1 trillion geospatial economy, and the US is not producing enough people with geodesy expertise.

Because GPS opened the door to the possibility of incorrect answers, the need for knowledge of geodesy is what made me, a proud non-degreed surveyor, change my opinion on the importance of advanced education. In my opinion, a blend between education and experience should be required for licensure. We hear that mentoring, which is how all we older surveyors came up, is waning. The solution to this dilemma will require more education, but education alone cannot be the only path. Perhaps the architect approach of apprenticeship will work. Which brings us to Carl De Baca’s article about the degree requirement. Carl sums it up nicely and I agree with his points.

Speaking of older surveyors, over the years I have received a bit of pushback from my cohort for running GIS articles or other articles that portend less traditional surveying work. But we all know about the march of technology—and now AI—and as I have been saying for decades, ignore it at our peril. In this issue we have an Esri article about how GIS is being used to help blind people. In another GIS article, a Florida firm describes how it is being used to help people evaluate school districts. It goes without saying that both applications are wonderful examples of technology.

Also in this issue, Wendy Lathrop brings us up to speed with the latest from FEMA. As for making money dealing with flood issues, I’m reminded of Bart Crattie, who has retired from surveying but is still making money as a flood consultant. West Virginia surveyor Kevin Brockett reviews a book about a New Zealand surveyor with a lofty title. And rounding out the issue is a letter to the editor responding to Wendy’s recent article about AI, or, as the writer refers to it, the Absence of Intelligence.

Circling back to the election, when people ask me which candidate I support, I always say I support the candidate whom—because, for the most part, surveyors depend on stuff being built—I believe will deliver the best construction economy, period. 30 years ago, I moved my family halfway across the country to continue working in surveying. I’m glad I did because otherwise I wouldn’t have ended up in the magazine business. I hope you have plenty of work wherever you are, and that the next four years will be beneficial for surveyors.

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