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A good surveyor doesn't make assumptions, asks the RIGHT questions and follows the evidence. It is kind of common sense. Good luck!

@@lloydlandsurveying8124 understood. Thank you!

Not common, but it can happen. I know of some who have had their licensed revoked for negligence.

Hey Joe. I won't lie, the math is challenging, BUT since the math required for the exam is specific, you can study a narrower range of example problems and you can also you programmable calculators (check NCEES site) that help. I feel like anyone who wants to prepare can learn the math. It is high level, but it's only a small portion of high level math. You can do it.

You begin by working on payroll for a licensed surveyor. You will learn all of the necessary tasks and procedures and eventually hold roles of responsibility and charge. You will be doing the work but what I mean by 'surveyor' is a licensed surveyor. Hope this helps.

Sorry to hear that. I'm sure some surveyor's have ethical failures as does every profession, but I'm thankful that the guys in my area are trustworthy.

Some jobs require certain experience before you qualify to be hired. You do not need any prior surveying experience to begin a career in surveying, BUT you will be required to have several years of experience before you can apply to get your own license. There is a difference between working on a survey crew and being a licensed surveyor. Hope this clears it up.

The survey is a professional opinion and you should be able to report the work to your state board. Go online and find their website.

Good question. That will depend on which state you want to be licensed in. You can contact that state's board and ask. Most will require an associates minimum, but it will depend.

Great to hear. Go tell your boss or their boss that you want to move and train in the surveying department. I think ODOT has resources through OSU to help you do school at night online and work during the day. I hope it works out. Also talk to some of your local surveyors.

I would check in with the state board for where you want to live and work. They are friendly to answer questions. Each state may vary on the experience requirements and what qualifies. I think you might enjoy it! Good luck and thank you for your service to our great country!

I was taking CAD classes during college and my instructor asked me if I wanted a part time job at a local surveying business. I asked him 'what's that?'... haha. I started out as a CAD guy, but soon found myself in the field as a rodman along with my CAD duties. When you start surveying, you will end up crossing paths with other surveyors and will work together. They are the ones who help give referrals. Good questions.

That's great! Ask questions and ask for opportunities. Watch your party chief and always try to stay ahead of him after you learn the routines. Ask if there is anything you can do while he has some down time. Good luck!

Most of the licensed surveyors in my area are over 55, so I would say you could jump right in. I was 41 when I got my license, so you could be there by then. I would reach out to some surveyors in the area you want to live and visit with them about it. Good luck!

@@lloydlandsurveying8124 Thanks so much man

Very interesting! I would hope that the knowledge of this would make neighbors more empathetic and also the surveyors more willing to help relocate them if they set it originally.

@@lloydlandsurveying8124 We did relocate that slid & flipped "found corner", to match all the stationary ones that we found on the ridge and in the saddle. That's a lot easier than trying to educate the flatlanders at the county surveyors office.

I appreciate the feedback.

And advice

Watch carefully, ask good questions and take notes. Video or take photos if you need help remembering things. Show up early and don't sit around. Try to anticipate your party chiefs next move and help save him time. Good luck!

I appreciate the feedback.

I appreciate the feedback. The elevation certificate would help determine the elevations. It will also give you peace of mind. Good luck.

You bet. Glad to help.

Hey Dane. Thanks for the comment and I'm glad the video was encouraging. My son is currently in his third year of civil engineering. He has done quite a bit of surveying also. They both have their strengths and integrate well. My advice would be to get both licenses and get some experience in both fields. One day, before you know it, you'll be able to have your own business and hire folks to do the engineering office work under your supervision while you enjoy the surveying side of things that the engineering will require. You will also have the freedom to do some engineering from the field, on a fun trip or pretty much anywhere... not just in a cubicle. Good luck!

Thank for the comment. The contractors should not be replacing corners, rather should try to protect them. Sometimes they cannot protect them. You should get a licensed surveyor to remark the line. More than likely, they will be able to measure from your other undisturbed corners and mark the line. Good luck!

Thanks for the comment. If you have any questions, please ask.

Thanks for the comment. Sometimes you can. Ask if there is a recent survey and determine if you can locate the corners. Also, you can also just be satisfied even if the fences turn out to not be on the deed lines. To some folks, a couple feet here or there does not matter. The value of a survey is really peace of mind in knowing how the physical evidence of the boundaries (fences, roads, tree lines, etc.) relate to what your deed says you are entitled to. Good question.

This happened to me except there weren't two separate property lines. And it was a "connection box" instead of a post. It was the "opinion" of the cable company that they were on the easement and I was simply wrong about my property lines. So I hired a surveyor and it turned out their box was right on top of where my corner stob had been. We went back and forth for 10 months before I finally hired a lawyer And he had it settled in less than a week. They were not happy but came out and removed their box as well as over 250' of underground cable that was also under my property, plus they paid for my survey and my lawyer. Then the surveyor came back out and re-set my corner for no charge. By the way, my surveyor had originally marked my corner on top of their box with a Magic Marker (small dot). And then set 2 "witness markers" on both propety lines, each approximately 3' from the corner. Then came back to reset the corner once the dispute was settled and the box was removed. Sometimes being a property owner can be a royal pain in the butt.

I appreciate that, Mr. Schroeder. Do you have any topics/issues you think would help the public? I can add them to my list. Hope you are well.

Thanks for your comment. This is a common cause of disagreement and dispute. Often times, legal descriptions are written commencing from opposing corners and the description assumes a perfect mile section (or portion thereof) and in reality, that "mile" may not measure out and result in gaps and overlaps. Most states (like Oklahoma) resolve the discrepancy and avoid lawsuits by a simple law that allows that the description that is created and filed first supersedes any others. The principle is "you cannot sell what you do not own". A good boundary survey will often bring these issues to light.

@lastmanlost - or more exactly; it's now up to 'gastronomic jurisprudence'. ie: what the judge had for breakfast.

That is not the case. I have no relation to any other surveyors. You just have to be willing to do the time to get your experience and complete the education requirements at the same time.

It's still not fair. The only way for it to be fair is if licensed surveyors were FORCED to accept every apprentice. If it was a straightforward guaranteed process then it wouldn't be a big deal, get a 2 year degree, 4 years of experience, test, then license. But we all know that's not the case, I bet a lot of these dudes get a degree then never get hired on, or if they do get hired on I bet you fire them after a certain point. Even if you don't fire them I bet you profit massively from their work. This is not fair or American. It's nepotism. There are too many points where someone could get scammed never get a license and waste many years on this.

Thanks. We hope to be able to get him some variety of experience and open his own business some day like I did. There is nothing like working for yourself if you have the drive.

For sure. That is one reason I'm looking into LS. My field of Civil Engineering in Roadway Design, it is tough to open a business. my goal is to be my own boss one day. @@lloydlandsurveying8124

Thanks for the comment. My son just started his third year as a civil engineering student. He has worked a lot with me and one week when he was in high school we had a really tough job in a mosquito infested swamp and he asked me how I got the job... I said "the civil engineer told me to go do it". His reply... "I wanna be THAT guy!". I have another civil engineering acquaintance in a neighboring state who also has a surveying license and he told me that in 2021 he made more with his LS stamp than the civil. I dunno. I advised my son to get a dual license also. Do you have any advice for him in the civil field??? Thanks.

Thanks for the comment. "More or less" refers to the acreage. In the hierarchy of priorities, acreage is pretty low. What is most important is original boundary markers. If they are found and measured, the acreage is what it is. That statement is needed on deeds to prevent lawsuits over acreage. Oklahoma and many places in the Public Lands Survey System started out by attempting to survey 1 mile squares (mostly). The acreage was intended to be 640 acres per section. Well, when you go measure it again, the original markers do not measure exactly 5280 feet. So, until a survey is done, any pieces that are aliquot in that section have a "more or less" acreage. Hope this helps.

Yeah I have a neighbor still crying about acres, at least that's what it seems. There's some vagueness and ambiguity in both legal descriptions, but the intent is clear IMHO. I have 2 acres more or less, and lucky me it's more. I don't know if he's going to push the issue but he keeps saying things so I guess time will tell. It's a waste of his time and money if he pursues it, every single important item is in my favor except the number of acres, so good luck on that I say.

Thanks for the comment. I'm not sure what you mean by "this situation", but the video is about a common issue to states that are surveyed with the Public Lands Survey System (PLSS). This created rectangular sections. This is all of Oklahoma including metro areas. Once the metes and bounds descriptions are created by subdividing the parent sections, then following those descriptions can be less work as I explained, but aliquot tracts of land are everywhere and not limited to the most rural of places. In my limited experience (21+ years) the deeds around here rarely specify the physical corner monument. As you mentioned things have been improving and we have been describing monument in our descriptions more often and you are correct, GPS does make most survey processes easier!

That, my friend, would be out of my competency. I'm sorry. Haha.

Well done.

That varies by state. You would need to visit a real estate attorney

Thanks for the comment. I'd like to offer some thoughts. What the deed says is not always what you own. Legal boundaries are dependent on multiple things in addition to the written deed description; physical monuments, adjoining boundaries, chain of title, judges decisions, statutory occupation, etc. I do think there needs to be a distinction made between the legal boundary on paper and the legal boundary on the ground. Deeds can have poorly written descriptions or even clearly written descriptions that may in fact not accurately reflect what can be conveyed. In Oklahoma anyone can write a legal description and this is problematic and we see title problems every week with folk's deed descriptions. Legal boundaries as recorded on paper are also often dependent upon a professional opinion... BUT where that legal boundary is on the surface of the earth is is definitely dependent on a professional opinion. That legal description's location on the ground is usually dependent upon physical monuments (even when they do not match the deed distances exactly) and the professional opinion of the surveyor in the case of boundary corners not yet monumented. And even then, as often happens, if the deed line (according to any opinion) does not match the old existing fences, a judge may just overwrite the deed description and grant the neighbor the ground over to the fence. This is common and called adverse possession. I love my GPS unit. When I started, my job was machete and chainsaw cutting line! GPS is one of the BEST tools out there, but it is still a tool. In the hands of an inexperienced or incompetent person, it will not help. Even with the best surveyors, it is a tool that is still used to help them determine their opinion about the ground measurements. GPS will not tell you that this corner monument is the correct one or that the original owner sold more land before you got yours and he couldn't deed you the entire 40 acres like your deed calls for. Even your boss who told you to start at this monument may have messed up. We all have. See? Experienced GPS crews can make exact measurements, but locating exact property lines on the ground is not only reading a deed description... a professional opinion is required. Thanks!

I would disagree with you with regard to a judge using adverse possession law to rewrite a legal description of a property. Im not saying that some judge wouldnt do that, but it wouldnt hold up if it were challenged. If the fence had been there for the required amount of time for the adverse possession law to apply, then that would be a different matter of coarse. But no judge can just unilaterally use that law to settle boundary issues.

@@ernieforrest7218 Of course I am not an attorney, but I do listen carefully to my attorney friends. I didn't mean to imply the judge can "rewrite a legal description". That is not how it works. I meant that a judge can award a land owner a portion of an existing description (that they do not own on paper) over to a aversely possessed boundary, such as a fence, road, creek, etc. The judge (or court) can unilaterally end a debate between neighbors by transferring legal ownership and define a legal boundary between them such as an old existing fence IF (like you said) the specific criteria are met in the situation. Thanks for the comment.

If honest Be years if ever if a line was moved to be found out Government response give it a wavier and no one gets in trouble