Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.

Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features. is a detailed work activity in O*NET — a concrete unit of work shared across 8 occupations and seen in 17 occupation-specific tasks. It rolls up into the broader work activity Assess characteristics of land or property. in Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information .

Detailed work activities are the most granular shared layer in O*NET's work-activity hierarchy (Generalized → Intermediate → Detailed → occupation-specific task). The figures below describe how this activity shows up across the economy and what independent studies measure about AI and this kind of work — not a prediction that the work will be automated.

AI exposure

Of the 17 tasks under this activity that the OpenAI / Eloundou “GPTs are GPTs” study rated, 14 (82%) are flagged as directly exposed to language models (E1) or exposed via model-powered tools (E2).

The Anthropic Economic Index observes real AI use on 1 of these tasks, with a mean mapped-usage share of 0.010% per task.

Exposure estimates overlap with model capabilities — whether a model could speed the task up — not whether the work will be done by software. Observed AI use is augmentation and assistance today, not jobs replaced.

Member tasks

Occupation-specific tasks O*NET maps to this detailed work activity, most important first.

• Conduct surveys to determine exact positions, measurement of points, elevations, lines, areas, volumes, contours, or other features of land surfaces. · Geodetic Surveyors · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features. · Surveyors · importance 4.5 · exposure with tools
• Position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that theodolite operators use for sighting to measure angles, distances, and elevations. · Surveying and Mapping Technicians · importance 4.3 · no direct exposure
• Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements. · Surveyors · importance 4.3 · exposure with tools
• Collect information about specific features of the Earth, using aerial photography and other digital remote sensing techniques. · Cartographers and Photogrammetrists · importance 4.0 · exposure with tools
• Supervise or conduct field surveys, inspections, or technical investigations to obtain data required to revise construction drawings. · Architectural and Civil Drafters · importance 3.7 · exposure with tools
• Survey bodies of water to determine navigable channels and to secure data for construction of breakwaters, piers, and other marine structures. · Surveyors · importance 3.7 · exposure with tools
• Plan and conduct field surveys to locate new sites and analyze details of project sites. · Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians · importance 3.7 · exposure with tools
• Direct or participate in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction. · Civil Engineers · importance 3.7 · exposure with tools
• Determine orientation of tracts of land, including position, boundaries, size, and shape, using theodolites, electronic distance-measuring equipment, satellite-based positioning equipment, land information systems, or other geodetic survey equipment. · Geodetic Surveyors · importance 3.6 · exposure with tools
• Perform offshore oil or gas exploration or extraction duties, such as conducting underwater surveys or repairing and maintaining drilling rigs or platforms. · Commercial Divers · importance 3.6 · no direct exposure
• Locate and mark sites selected for geophysical prospecting activities, such as efforts to locate petroleum or other mineral products. · Surveyors · importance 3.3 · exposure with tools
• Conduct field surveys or study maps, graphs, diagrams, or other data to identify and correct power system problems. · Electrical Engineers · importance 3.2 · exposure with tools
• Travel over photographed areas to observe, identify, record, and verify all relevant features. · Cartographers and Photogrammetrists · importance 2.9 · exposure with tools
• Conduct surveys to ascertain the locations of natural features and man-made structures on the Earth's surface, underground, and underwater, using electronic distance-measuring equipment, such as GPS, and other surveying instruments. · Surveying and Mapping Technicians · exposure with tools
• Record survey measurements or descriptive data, using notes, drawings, sketches, or inked tracings. · Surveying and Mapping Technicians · exposure with tools
• Set out and recover stakes, marks, or other monumentation. · Surveying and Mapping Technicians · no direct exposure

Occupations that perform this

• Geodetic Surveyors
• Surveying and Mapping Technicians
• Cartographers and Photogrammetrists
• Architectural and Civil Drafters
• Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
• Civil Engineers
• Commercial Divers
• Electrical Engineers

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

• O*NET 30.3 U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development
• Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
• “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

@misc{singulariki-survey-land-or-bodies-of-water-to-measure-or-determine-features,
  title  = {Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130. Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/detailed-activities/survey-land-or-bodies-of-water-to-measure-or-determine-features}
}