A person must be licensed by the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors to practice surveying in North Carolina. A person who applies to the Board to be licensed must submit five references (two of which must be from Professional Land Surveyors) to show he or she is of good character and reputation.

A person who has graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree with 45 semester hours in surveying subjects can take the licensing exams after two years of progressive practical land surveying experience. This means that you have to be more and more responsible for making the professional surveying decisions in your work. One year of the two years of experience must be under the supervision of a Professional Land Surveyor.

A person who has graduated with a two-year degree in surveying can take the exams with four years of progressive experience. A person who just has a high school degree can take the licensing exam after seven years of progressive experience.

You can read more information about licensure as a surveyor at the Board's website here.

Many surveyors have taken prepared to take their licensing exams with just work experience. The profession has become more and more demanding, and taking this course has become a tougher way to go.

The pass rate for the Fundamentals of Land Surveying exam, the first exam required to become a Surveying Intern, is only 36%. This same exam is given nationwide. In states that require a four-year college degree to take the exam, the pass rate is more like 90%.

Graduates of the four-year surveying program at East Tennessee State University usually have about five attractive job offers each to choose from. In contrast, people who enter the field by taking an entry-level job usually earn the same wages as unskilled workers in whatever county they work in.

Clearly getting a well rounded surveying education pays off.

The Foundation distributes the 11 minute video Surveying - A Career Without Boundaries in CD and in VHS formats. The video explains the various types of surveys, shows clips of surveyors in typical situations, and recommends surveying to students with various characteristics. Your career development coordinator or math teacher can show you the video. If your school does not have a copy, please email us, and we will send them one.

To see the video online with a high speed Internet connection, click here. If you have a dial-up connection, you can right click here, and then click on "Save Target As . . ." on the box that pops up. You can play the file after it has downloaded to your computer.

The National Society of Professional Surveyors has a brochure about the surveying profession. Your career development coordinator or math teacher may have copies of this brochure for you. You can also view the brochure by clicking here.

The need for educated surveying professionals in City, County, State and Federal government agencies, as well as in corporate and private practices, is growing at a fast pace. This need is creating opportunities for students with the desire to pursue the various surveying disciplines.

Surveyors who practice in the area of land development can usually expect to make salaries comparable to civil engineers. Graduates of a four-year Surveying program usually start at about $42,000. Well-educated surveyors have a bright financial future ahead of them.

The Trig Star Contest is an annual high school mathematics competition. Prizes and scholarships are awarded for state and national winners. Click here for more information.