Surveying & Mapping Technicians

Also Called:

Mapping Technician,

Photogrammetric Compilation Specialist,

Photogrammetric Technician,

Survey Technician

What they do: Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes. May calculate mapmaking information and create maps from source data, such as surveying notes, aerial photography, satellite data, or other maps to show topographical features, political boundaries, and other features. May verify accuracy and completeness of maps.

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Energy & Natural Resources

Career Cluster

What do they typically do on the job?

  • Position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that theodolite operators use for sighting to measure angles, distances, and elevations.
  • Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections.
  • Design or develop information databases that include geographic or topographic data.

Personality

People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.

Attention to Detail

Dependability

Cautiousness

Integrity

Interests

Career interests describe the perspectives and interests of people who enjoy the type of work involved in this career.

Discover what your interests are by taking the Interest Profiler Quiz

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Realistic

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Conventional

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Investigative

Abilities

Whether you have received formal training or not, these types of abilities are helpful in this career.

Verbal

  • Read and understand what is written

  • Communicate by speaking

Ideas and Logic

  • Make general rules or come up with answers from lots of detailed information

  • Notice when problems happen

Skills

People who want to pursue this career have skills in these areas.

Basic Skills

  • Reading work related information

  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem

Problem Solving

  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it

Does this sound like something you'd like to do?

1. Do some research

  • Identify how your interests, values, and strengths match this occupation
  • Talk to someone who works in this field or spend a day job shadowing
  • Use the colleges and training directory to explore programs related to this career

2. Plan your next move

  • Talk to your college and career counselor or school admissions staff
  • Visit Idaho Launch
  • Search for available Surveying & Mapping Technicians jobs on Idaho Works

Data for NSI career cards comes from the following: Idaho Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, O*NET, MyNextMove, and Career OneStop