How to become a surveyor without a degree

You become a surveyor without a degree by taking the Fundamentals of Surveying exam. To be a surveyor, you must, at the very least, have a high school diploma or GED equivalent. Though some companies only require a high school diploma, many are looking for candidates with some additional training in survey technology or geography.

How To Become A Surveyor: What It Is and Career Path

What is a surveyor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Surveying is an ancient profession created in Egypt, around 3000 BC. The job of a surveyor is to measure land. They calculate and mark the boundaries of public, government, or private properties with levels, rods, measuring tape, and more specialized equipment like compasses, clinometers, theodolites, magnetic locators, and other mysterious stuff.

Being a surveyor is exciting and dynamic if you are into analytical thinking, math, counting, and the like. Surveyors check property records, read maps, and carry out research on location. They run around with distance measuring wheels and use geographic information systems to prepare reports for their clients.

Their work contributes to team efforts of construction crews, government agencies, or some other building, planning, or mapping project.

ScoreSurveyorUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $46,875

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.8

Growth Rate 1%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 4.86%

Black or African American 3.26%

Hispanic or Latino 10.58%

Unknown 4.81%

White 75.98%

Gender

female 27.55%

male 72.45%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.9

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.3

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a surveyor

Explore surveyor education requirements

Most common surveyor degrees

Bachelor's

45.1 %

Associate

22.3 %

High School Diploma

17.9 %

Start to develop specific surveyor skills

Skills	Percentages
GPS	16.41%
Survey Data	8.70%
Data Collection	6.24%
Survey Equipment	5.88%
Civil 3D	5.74%

Complete relevant surveyor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 2-4 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New surveyors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a surveyor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real surveyor resumes.

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming a licensed surveyor usually doesn't require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed surveyor in most of states. 44 states require surveyors to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License Url
Alabama	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Licensed Land Surveyor
Maryland	Degree required	State exam required	PROFESSIONAL LAND SURVEYOR
Alaska	-	-	Land Surveyor
Arkansas	-	State exam required	Professional Surveyor
California	Degree required	Both state and third-party exams required	Land Surveyor

Research surveyor duties and responsibilities

Utilize GPS technology to manage a two man robotic crew assign to residential/ commercial development projects.
Assist the PLS with ALTAs, B2, legals, exhibits, topo s and plats drawing and field work.
Set up and run instruments.
Work with Trimble GNSS surveying systems.

Prepare your surveyor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your surveyor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a surveyor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Surveyor Resume templates

Build a professional Surveyor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Surveyor resume.

Apply for surveyor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a surveyor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do surveyors rate their job?

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Surveyor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

The mathematical aspect and working outside most days.

Cons

Working outside some days and the ignorance of the general public with regards to what defines property boundaries.