Caleb Hall interviewed Robby Christopher, Vice President of Engineering Surveying at Hugo Reed, to learn more about a career in land surveying. He learned that surveyors determine property boundaries by taking measurements in the field and researching documents. Their work involves both office and field activities and relies increasingly on technology like GPS. Surveyors include technicians who gather field data, drafters who prepare maps, and licensed surveyors who finalize documents. Mr. Christopher noted that many surveyors are aging and close to retirement, resulting in great job prospects for newcomers to the profession. Hall believes he is a good fit for surveying based on the required skills and his interest in both technology and field work.

1. Caleb Hall
October 14, 2015
Informational Interview
INTS 3301-001
For this assignment, I looked into a career as a land surveyor. Before my interview, I did
some background research on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and found out several
things. First of all, I found out that a surveyor’s primary job is to determine a property’s correct
boundaries. They do this by traveling to locations and taking measurements of a parcel of
property, researching official government documents such as titles and previous survey records,
then putting it all on paper and submitting to either their clients or government officials. As a
result, their work involves both office and field work. I also found out that their craft is very
technologically driven and that more and more they are relying on such things as GPS and GIS
(Geographic Information System) technology in order to help them prepare their maps. The
average pay, according to the BLS, was a little over $56,000 per year and the job growth was “as
fast as average.” Finally, according to O-Net, a surveyor’s personality type is practical and hands
on and thrives in jobs that require such things as attention to detail, initiative and analytical
thinking. So it is right up my alley.
For my interview, I was able to meet with Robby Christopher, Vice President of
Engineering Surveying at Hugo Reed, a surveying and civil engineering firm here in Lubbock. I
was able to learn a lot of additional information from him. Much of it, even though I had
questions down on paper to ask him about it, he addressed straight up front without my needing
to ask. He told me that surveying is the overarching umbrella under which many professionals
work but that there are a lot of different job types. The first is the technician. This is the one that

2. on any given day is the one that can be found out in the field taking measurements, inspecting
property, and other job-related tasks that cannot be performed at the office. The next job type is
the drafter. This is the one who takes all of the field notes and sketches that technicians compile
about a piece of land and then uses them to prepare legal, official maps of that piece of property.
The top dog is the actual surveyor. His job is to sign off on the documents concerning surveyed
lands and is the one who presents the documents to government officials, who then establish
what the surveyor finds as the official land records.
I also learned that surveyors are an aging group. According to Mr. Christopher, a lot of
surveys are somewhere in their 40s to 60s and many of them are within a few years of retiring.
The reason for this is that not many young qualified candidates are entering the profession. Since
surveying is heavily interwoven with various engineering disciplines, those who have graduated
college with those degrees are opting instead to go that route so they can have a more glamorous
career instead of one that is more behind the scenes and which involves leg work. Thus, the door
is about to open extremely wide for a lot of people who might want to be surveyors and the job
outlook, according to Mr. Christopher, is extremely bright.
There were a couple of things that surprised me about surveyors. The first is that there are
actually more jobs than “surveyors” that make up the surveying profession. Before I interviewed
and did research, I thought that the guys the public sees are the surveyors. Some are, but most are
the technicians that simply gather the information. This surprised me.
Another thing that surprised me is what I learned during my interview about surveyors
being an aged group and close to retirement. This really surprised me as it’s not every day you
hear about a group of professionals aging out of the work place. It’s also not every job that this is
the reason for great job prospects. That, and coupled with the fact that not a lot of people are

3. entering the profession, makes surveying seem like a lost profession in some instances, a remark
I made with which Mr. Christopher agreed.
There was much that I liked about this job. The first is that it is not your normal office job
and has the flexibility to where one could get out of the office if they needed to or so desired to.
This is a big plus; I do not want an office job. The second thing that it offers to my tastes is that it
requires a lot of self-discipline and initiative since much of it seems to be based on one’s ability
to work without supervision. This is something that I enjoy every chance I get. I also enjoy the
technological aspect and the fact that surveyors get to see things (private lands, old buildings,
etc.) that the general public does not have access to.
I think the biggest drawback for me would be that, as I advance, my role would be
increasingly in an office setting as surveyors spend a lot of time looking over old government
records. While this is something that I would enjoy doing, I don’t want to spend all of my time
indoors; I’d still want to get out and work in the field. Also, one thing that I’d have to get used
to, I think, is the technology. That’s because technology in general is changing so rapidly, and
modern surveyors do much of their work with it. So, while I’d probably have no problem
handling it, it would probably take some getting used to.
According to O-Net, some things that surveyors have in common are attention to detail,
integrity, analytical thinking, dependability, initiative, and persistence. The personality traits, for
the most part, describe me very well. It also lists as applicable skills and knowledge such things
as math, verbal communication, problem solving, and engineering/technology. These are all
skills and experience that I have and which interest me, so surveying would be a very good
career for me to be in.

4. This occupation, ever since I met with Mr. Christopher, is very fascinating to me for all
of the reasons listed above and is probably what I will end up going into. To be adequately
prepared, though, I need to get my degree (which I am working on) and get some experience as a
surveying technician so that I can understand it all. I, in fact, want to. While I was interviewing,
Mr. Christopher said that if I applied my chances of getting at least part time work were very
good. So after I set my spring schedule, I am going to contact Mr. Christopher and, if the
opportunity is still open, apply to work there and begin chipping away at licensing.