Soil surveying technician to surveying technician
A soil surveying technician already meets 44% of what the surveying technician role asks for. The move turns on 11 required skills not yet in the profile.
60.5/ 100
1 How much of what a surveying technician is expected to do is already part of a soil surveying technician’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 this move works
A surveying technician role treats 12 of its required skills as things a soil surveying technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adjust surveying equipment
- cartography
- conduct land surveys
- ensure compliance with safety legislation
- mathematics
- operate surveying instruments
What stands in the way is 11 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 17 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 soil surveying technician background worth leading with.
- already held adjust surveying equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held prepare surveying report information skills
- already held surveying methods engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held operate surveying instruments working with machinery and specialised equipment
- already held record survey data information skills
- already held surveying engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 17 carried skills, including the 12 the surveying technician role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 7 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.
- still to learn compare survey computations required
- still to learn interpret geophysical data required
- still to learn perform surveying calculations required
- still to learn process collected survey data required
- optional, not held collect geological data 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 determine property boundaries optional
- optional, not held value properties optional
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn geodesy required
- still to learn geomatics required
- still to learn survey techniques required
- still to learn use technical drawing software required
- optional, not held develop geological databases optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping optional
- optional, not held create thematic maps optional
- optional, not held use CAD software optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held quantity surveying optional
- still to learn calibrate precision instrument required
- optional, not held prepare geological map sections optional
- optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
1 further area in the appendix
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.
- 01 compare survey computations practise this
- 02 geographic information systems study this
- 03 interpret geophysical data practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 17 skills that carry over
- already held adjust surveying equipment skill
- already held cartography knowledge
- already held conduct land surveys skill
- already held ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
- already held mathematics knowledge
- already held operate surveying instruments skill
- already held perform scientific research skill
- already held prepare surveying report skill
- already held record survey data skill
- already held surveying knowledge
- already held surveying methods knowledge
- already held topography knowledge
- already held civil engineering knowledge
- already held engineering principles knowledge
- already held engineering processes knowledge
- already held geography knowledge
- already held geology knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held urban planning law optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held collect geological data optional
- optional, not held develop geological databases optional
- optional, not held prepare geological map sections optional
- optional, not held quantity surveying optional
- optional, not held use geographic information systems optional
- optional, not held adjust engineering designs optional
- optional, not held apply digital mapping 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 CAD software optional
- optional, not held use spreadsheets software optional
- optional, not held value properties optional
20 held skills the surveying technician role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role advise on nature conservation skill
- not needed by the target role agroforestry knowledge
- not needed by the target role agronomy knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply safety procedures in laboratory skill
- not needed by the target role biology knowledge
- not needed by the target role collect samples 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 conduct soil sample tests skill
- not needed by the target role ecology knowledge
- not needed by the target role environmental legislation knowledge
- not needed by the target role gather experimental data skill
- not needed by the target role laboratory techniques knowledge
- not needed by the target role monitor geotechnical structures skill
- not needed by the target role perform laboratory tests skill
- not needed by the target role pollution prevention knowledge
- not needed by the target role soil mechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role soil science knowledge
- not needed by the target role soil structure knowledge
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn geographic information systems required
- still to learn geodesy required
- still to learn geomatics required
- still to learn survey techniques required
- still to learn technical drawings required
- optional, not held quantity surveying optional
- optional, not held urban planning law optional
Common questions about this move
Can a soil surveying technician become a surveying technician?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A soil surveying technician already covers 44% of what a surveying technician is expected to do: 17 skills carry over, 12 of which the surveying technician role treats as required.
What skills does a soil surveying technician need to become a surveying technician?
11 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is compare survey computations.
How hard is the move from soil surveying technician to surveying technician?
Its learning distance is 60.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
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.