Introduction to Surveying

Surveying is the oldest profession in the world having its roots in Biblical times. It can be traced to the great civilisations of the ancient world, the Babylonians, Greeks, Egyptians, and the Chaldeans where surveyors were noblemen, respected and the underpinning of their societies.There have been many famous surveyors in more modern times including many early explorers and leaders including, James Cook, George Washington and William Farrer to name but a few.

Today surveyors play a vital role in developing societies in both first and third world countries. Their role is to determine the position of natural and man made objects on the earth's surface and record it for future planning purposes, to set and reset boundaries both inter and intra country.Surveying is the general term, which covers a series of sub disciplines including: -

• Cadastral Surveying.
• Engineering Surveying.
• Geodetic Surveying.
• Geographic Information Systems.
• Hydrographic Surveying.
• Mining Surveying.
• Photogrammetry.
• Remote Sensing.

Students of surveying have the unique ability to adapt their career to specialise in one or more of the sub disciplines at any time in their career. More than this, survey skills are highly transportable allowing surveyors from Australia to gain work and respect in almost any other country on earth.

Surveyors may have a University degree where they have studied subjects like, Mathematics, Physics, Land Law, Engineering Design, Photogrammetry, Geodesy, Town Planning, Statistics, GPS and Surveying. A degree is a prerequisite to registration as a cadastral surveyor in Australia.

Engineering surveyors may have a Diploma qualification where subjects similar to that of the degree course will have been studied, although perhaps not as rigorously.Surveyors assistants may have a certificate qualification and on the job training in order to understand the instruments the surveyor uses and the basic principles of surveying.