Surveying Manager
What the work is
Plans, manages and coordinates land, mine or engineering surveying operations to ensure accurate data collection for mapping, design and construction.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Plans, develops and manages surveying operations, including determining project scope, scheduling, budget and resources
- Develops, improves and directs the preparation of surveying plans, reports, maps and data visualisations
- Directs and supervises the work of surveying teams, and provides surveying support and guidance
- Implements quality assurance processes to ensure surveying data collection is accurate and meets regulatory and client requirements
- Ensures surveying teams and other site personnel adhere to safety protocols and guidelines during fieldwork
- May collaborate with engineers, construction workers and other Professionals and technicians to integrate surveying data into the construction process
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the survey division of a fictional engineering company that maps land for roads and housing estates. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A map you checked three times lines up with the finished road to the centimetre
- A young surveyor spots a data error you missed and you thank them in front of the team
- A field crew finishes a hard site early and safely, and heads home before the storm
Hard days
- A boundary question where the old records and the new measurements do not agree
- Crews working in heat and dust, while you are deciding whether to push on or stop
- A client who wants a map sooner and cheaper than good data allows
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 131931, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.