Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Geological engineer to surveying technician

A geological engineer already meets 36% of what the surveying technician role asks for. The move turns on 16 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From geological engineer
36 % overlap
Distant match
To surveying technician
19 You already bring
16 Still to learn
46 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Substantial retraining

67.6/ 100

1 How much of what a surveying technician is expected to do is already part of a geological engineer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the surveying technician role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A surveying technician role treats 7 of its required skills as things a geological engineer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • conduct land surveys
  • ensure compliance with safety legislation
  • geographic information systems
  • interpret geophysical data
  • perform scientific research
  • technical drawings

What stands in the way is 16 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 19 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A surveying technician role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a geological engineer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held develop geological databases working with computers
  • already held prepare geological map sections communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held interpret geophysical data information skills
  • already held collect geological data information skills
  • already held apply digital mapping working with computers
  • already held conduct land surveys information skills

All 19 carried skills, including the 7 the surveying technician role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 27 missing skills fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 information skills 5 required, 7 supplementary
  • still to learn compare survey computations required
  • still to learn record survey data required
  • still to learn perform surveying calculations required
  • still to learn prepare surveying report required
  • still to learn process collected survey data required
  • optional, not held collect data using GPS optional
  • optional, not held collect mapping data optional
  • optional, not held compile GIS-data optional
  • optional, not held conduct research before survey optional
  • optional, not held create GIS reports optional
  • optional, not held determine property boundaries optional
  • optional, not held value properties optional
02 engineering, manufacturing and construction 4 required, 1 supplementary
  • still to learn cartography required
  • still to learn surveying methods required
  • still to learn topography required
  • still to learn surveying required
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
03 natural sciences, mathematics and statistics 4 required
  • still to learn geodesy required
  • still to learn geomatics required
  • still to learn mathematics required
  • still to learn survey techniques required
04 working with machinery and specialised equipment 3 required
  • still to learn operate surveying instruments required
  • still to learn adjust surveying equipment required
  • still to learn calibrate precision instrument required
05 working with computers 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held create thematic maps optional
  • optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
06 business, administration and law 1 supplementary
  • optional, not held urban planning law optional
Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a surveying technician role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 19 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held conduct land surveys skill
  • already held ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
  • already held geographic information systems knowledge
  • already held interpret geophysical data skill
  • already held perform scientific research skill
  • already held technical drawings knowledge
  • already held use technical drawing software skill
  • already held adjust engineering designs skill
  • already held apply digital mapping skill
  • already held civil engineering knowledge
  • already held collect geological data skill
  • already held develop geological databases skill
  • already held engineering principles knowledge
  • already held engineering processes knowledge
  • already held geography knowledge
  • already held geology knowledge
  • already held prepare geological map sections skill
  • already held use CAD software skill
  • already held use geographic information systems skill
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held collect data using GPS optional
  • optional, not held collect mapping data optional
  • optional, not held compile GIS-data optional
  • optional, not held conduct research before survey optional
  • optional, not held create GIS reports optional
  • optional, not held create thematic maps optional
  • optional, not held determine property boundaries optional
  • optional, not held urban planning law optional
  • optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
  • optional, not held value properties optional
26 held skills the surveying technician role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role advise on building matters skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on construction materials skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on geology for mineral extraction skill
  • not needed by the target role advise on waste management procedures skill
  • not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
  • not needed by the target role assess environmental impact skill
  • not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
  • not needed by the target role collect samples for analysis skill
  • not needed by the target role conduct field work skill
  • not needed by the target role environmental design knowledge
  • not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
  • not needed by the target role examine geochemical samples skill
  • not needed by the target role execute feasibility study skill
  • not needed by the target role geochemistry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role geological time scale knowledge
  • not needed by the target role geophysics knowledge
  • not needed by the target role impact of geological factors on mining operations knowledge
  • not needed by the target role mining, construction and civil engineering machinery products knowledge
  • not needed by the target role monitor geotechnical structures skill
  • not needed by the target role nuclear energy knowledge
  • not needed by the target role oversee construction project skill
  • not needed by the target role perform computer analyses of geotechnical structures skill
  • not needed by the target role perform sample testing skill
  • not needed by the target role provide information on geological characteristics skill
  • not needed by the target role soil science knowledge
  • not needed by the target role study aerial photos skill
10 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn cartography required
  • still to learn surveying methods required
  • still to learn topography required
  • still to learn geodesy required
  • still to learn geomatics required
  • still to learn mathematics required
  • still to learn survey techniques required
  • still to learn surveying required
  • optional, not held quantity surveying optional
  • optional, not held urban planning law optional
Index

Other moves recorded from geological engineer

Full index of moves from geological engineer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a geological engineer become a surveying technician?

Yes, and it is a substantial move. A geological engineer already covers 36% of what a surveying technician is expected to do: 19 skills carry over, 7 of which the surveying technician role treats as required.

What skills does a geological engineer need to become a surveying technician?

16 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is cartography.

How hard is the move from geological engineer to surveying technician?

Its learning distance is 67.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.