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Licensing and continuing education play a large part of
the professionalism found in surveying. Getting a license is
important to achieving advancement in a surveying career. Because most
surveys become
legal documents, all states require licensed surveyors to review
and verify the data and resulting maps.
States set their own laws, requirements, and procedures for surveyors
to obtain their license. In general, to become licensed surveyors
have to take two exams. The first is the Fundamental exam, often
taken as soon as surveyors
finish their education. Then surveyors obtain work experience
for at least four years under the supervision of a licensed surveyor.
After attaining
the required experience, surveyors take a national Principles
and Practice exam and, if required, a state-specific exam to
obtain a license for the state in which they
will work. Many surveyors obtain a license in multiple states,
especially when they work for large firms.
Licensed surveyors receive some of the highest salaries and can take
on the responsibility to verify a finished survey. Each state
has slightly different requirements for licensing, but they all
agree that surveys
must be verified by a licensed professional surveyor. Learn more
about surveyor licensing at the website by National
Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES). NCEES
is the organization that develops and administers the licensing
exams for surveyors.
Several states currently allow surveyors to become licensed without a
college degree. In these instances, surveyors need to spend
significant time in the field as survey technicians— usually more
than 10 years—before
they can pursue a license.
Surveying technicians can also pursue four levels of certification through National
Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) (www.nspsmo.org). These levels
of certification are available as the technician achieves increased
experience. The certifications often lead to increased responsibility
and salary advancement.
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