Engineering
Geodetic Surveyors
Measure large areas of the Earth's surface using satellite observations, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), light detection and ranging (LIDAR), or related sources.
Median salary
$72,740
Typical range
$44k – $116k
Job outlook
+4% (faster than average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Geodetic Surveyors
Education
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Geodetic Surveyors Intern
Internship
$36,000
~4 mos to advance
Junior Geodetic Surveyors
Entry / Junior
$43,680
~2 yrs to advance
Geodetic Surveyors
Established
$72,740
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Geodetic Surveyors
Senior
$94,535
Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.
Key skills
A typical day
- •Analyze control or survey data to ensure adherence to project specifications or land survey standards.
- •Conduct surveys to determine exact positions, measurement of points, elevations, lines, areas, volumes, contours, or other features of land surfaces.
- •Calculate the exact horizontal and vertical position of points on the Earth's surface.
- •Maintain databases of geodetic and related information, including coordinate, descriptive, or quality assurance data.
- •Verify the mathematical correctness of newly collected survey data.
Fields of study
Any field
Top colleges for Engineering
Explore all- Massachusetts Institute of Technology4% admit · $124,000 grad pay
- Stanford University4% admit · $122,000 grad pay
- University of California, Berkeley11% admit · $97,000 grad pay
- Georgia Institute of Technology16% admit · $99,000 grad pay
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign45% admit · $80,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.