Use as a copilot
Task areas where people work with AI — iterating, learning, or checking — staying in the loop rather than handing the task off.
- Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. · 0.5%
Surveyors
Occupation · SOC 17-1022.00
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.
Also called: County Surveyor · Land Surveyor · Licensed Land Surveyor · Surveyor · City Surveyor · Mine Surveyor · Professional Land Surveyor · Registered Land Surveyor · Staff Land Surveyor · State Surveyor · Construction Surveyor · Field Inspector
Job family: Architecture and Engineering Occupations
Take this to your AI
A source-stamped Markdown brief of this occupation — paste it into an agent, or fetch
/roles/role-17-1022-00/context.md directly.
AI work map
A fast read on where AI already shows up in this occupation, where it stays a copilot, where humans remain in the loop, and what the labor market is doing. Built from observed Claude.ai conversations mapped to O*NET tasks and from published research — measures of usage and exposure, not advice or predictions that the job is going away.
Keep a human in the loop
Task areas where a human was still judged necessary in a large share of observed conversations — not a safety ruling, an observed-need signal.
- Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. · 89.1% need a human
Skills it runs on
The capabilities O*NET rates most important for this occupation — the human ground the work is built on.
See all skills →Market signal
Independent published positions, read together — not a forecast.
- About average employment outlook (+4.4% by 2034)
- 3,900 openings/yr
- Moderate AI exposure
- Observed AI use leans augmentation
- Median pay $72,740/yr
- Work is mostly on-site (not teleworkable)
- A reversal from 2013 — rated low automation risk then (43rd), high AI task-overlap now (58th)
58th-percentile task overlap — yet about 3,900 openings a year (+4.4% projected, BLS), and observed AI use leans 5217% copilot, not hand-off (AEI) . What exposure means →
AI & job outlook
What today's research says about this occupation's exposure to AI, how AI is actually being used in it, and where employment is headed. These are positions within published studies — measures of exposure and usage, not predictions that this job will disappear.
Exposure to current AI
Each study uses its own scale, so the raw scores are not comparable across rows — the percentile (this job's rank among all U.S. occupations with data) is the comparable figure, and sizes the bars.
| Measure | Rank vs all occupations | Percentile | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.) Moderate | 52nd | 0.1 | |
| LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou) High | 73rd | 0.9 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 51st | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.1), with simple added tooling (β 0.5), and including AI-powered software (γ 0.9). Higher means more of the job's tasks could be done at least twice as fast — not that they will be automated away.
This job mostly cannot be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman) — its hands-on tasks sit outside what software-based AI reaches.
Historical automation estimate (2013)
A pre-LLM (2013) estimate of how automatable this job is by computerization and robotics. Shown for historical context only — it is not part of any current AI ranking.
Frey–Osborne probability 0.4 · 43rd percentile among occupations · Moderate
How AI is actually used in this job
Among measured AI assistant conversations mapped to this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15), these task types came up most. These are shares of observed AI conversations — not shares of the job, of worker time, or of what could be automated.
| Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. | 1.6% | |
| Analyze survey objectives and specifications to prepare survey proposals or to direct others in survey proposal preparation. | 1.3% |
Job outlook
Independent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projection for 2024–2034 — a labor-market forecast, not an AI-impact forecast.
| Outlook | About average · +4.4% by 2034 |
| Projected annual openings | 3,900 |
| Employment 2024 → 2034 | 56,100 → 58,600 |
“Annual openings” counts new jobs plus replacements for workers who leave the occupation, so it can be large even when growth is modest.
Where this work sits on the global GenAI gradient
The ILO's 2025 global study scores generative-AI exposure on the international ISCO-08 occupation system, not US SOC. Bridged through the published (and approximate, many-to-many) IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 crosswalk, this US occupation corresponds to the international occupation below. Exposure here means how much of the work's tasks today's AI can attempt — task overlap, not automation, adoption, or jobs lost.
Surveyors sits at the 82nd percentile of 427
occupations on the global GenAI task-exposure gradient
— exposure rose from 2023 to 2025. Each dot is one occupation; the
ringed one is this work. Exposure is task overlap, not automation or jobs lost.
44% mean task exposure (2025)
82nd percentile of 427 placed occupations
+6 pts shift 2023 → 2025
| International occupation (ISCO-08) | Task exposure (2025) | Most tasks fall in |
|---|---|---|
| Cartographers and Surveyors · 2165 | 44% | Gradient 2 |
Read the whole six-band gradient on the GenAI exposure gradient page. The crosswalk is approximate: a US occupation can map to several international ones, and the ILO scores describe the international occupation, not this exact US role.
Working with AI in this job
How people actually apply AI to this occupation's tasks, from Claude.ai (Free and Pro) conversations in the Anthropic Economic Index, 2026-01-15. This is one AI assistant's consumer sample — not all AI, not the whole workforce. Autonomy and the collaboration mix are model-rated estimates; figures below the sample floor are hidden.
| Augmentation vs. automation | 52.2% working with AI · 34.8% handed to AI |
| Most common way people use AI here | Iteration · you and AI go back and forth |
| Typical AI autonomy | 4.0 / 5 · higher = AI acts more independently |
What people delegate to AI
The role's most common tasks in AI conversations, each tagged with how people work with the AI on it. “Usage” is the share of observed conversations, not of the job.
| Task | How | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. | Iteration | 0.5% |
Where a human is still needed
Tasks where the model most often judged that a person remained necessary — a useful read on the current boundary, not a guarantee.
| Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. | 89.1% |
What people most often hand AI here
Example prompts phrased from the tasks people most often delegate to AI in this occupation (Anthropic Economic Index). Each shows the underlying measured task and its share of observed AI use. They are suggested phrasings of real tasks — starting points, not endorsed instructions.
-
Help me develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments.From: Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. · 0.5% of measured AI use · task iteration
Tasks
All 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles. Core · importance 4.9
- Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed. Core · importance 4.7
- Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents. Core · importance 4.6
- Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites. Core · importance 4.5
- Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed. Core · importance 4.5
- Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features. Core · importance 4.5
- Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys. Core · importance 4.5
- Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain. Core · importance 4.3
- Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features. Core · importance 4.3
- Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements. Core · importance 4.3
- Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments. Core · importance 4.2
- Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS). Core · importance 4.2
- Train assistants and helpers, and direct their work in such activities as performing surveys or drafting maps. Core · importance 4.1
- Coordinate findings with the work of engineering and architectural personnel, clients, and others concerned with projects. Core · importance 4.0
- Analyze survey objectives and specifications to prepare survey proposals or to direct others in survey proposal preparation. Core · importance 4.0
- Testify as an expert witness in court cases on land survey issues, such as property boundaries. Core · importance 3.9
- Adjust surveying instruments to maintain their accuracy. Core · importance 3.9
- Develop criteria for survey methods and procedures. Core · importance 3.8
- Survey bodies of water to determine navigable channels and to secure data for construction of breakwaters, piers, and other marine structures. Core · importance 3.7
- Direct aerial surveys of specified geographical areas. Core · importance 3.5
- Conduct research in surveying and mapping methods, using knowledge of photogrammetric map compilation and electronic data processing. Core · importance 3.4
- Locate and mark sites selected for geophysical prospecting activities, such as efforts to locate petroleum or other mineral products. Supplemental · importance 3.3
- Determine specifications for equipment to be used for aerial photography, as well as altitudes from which to photograph terrain. Supplemental · importance 2.9
- Develop criteria for the design and modification of survey instruments. Supplemental · importance 2.3
Work activities
- Testify at legal or legislative proceedings.
- Create maps.
- Verify mathematical calculations.
- Direct surveying activities.
- Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
- Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
- Document technical design details.
- Gather physical survey data.
- Coordinate activities with suppliers, contractors, clients, or other departments.
- Calibrate scientific or technical equipment.
- Train personnel on proper operational procedures.
- Analyze physical, survey, or geographic data.
- Determine operational criteria or specifications.
- Conduct research to gain information about products or processes.
- Research topics in area of expertise.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Mathematics | 4.7 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 4.3 | |
| Geography | 4.0 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 4.0 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.7 | |
| Design | 3.7 | |
| Building and Construction | 3.7 | |
| Administration and Management | 3.6 | |
| English Language | 3.5 | |
| Law and Government | 3.5 | |
| Education and Training | 3.4 |
Essential skills
| Mathematics | 4.0 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.9 | |
| Writing | 3.8 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.8 | |
| Speaking | 3.6 | |
| Active Listening | 3.5 | |
| Active Learning | 3.3 | |
| Learning Strategies | 3.1 |
Abilities
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Written Expression | 3.9 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.8 | |
| Oral Expression | 3.8 | |
| Number Facility | 3.8 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.6 | |
| Information Ordering | 3.6 | |
| Far Vision | 3.6 | |
| Speech Recognition | 3.6 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.6 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.1 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.1 | |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
| Coordination | 3.5 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.3 | |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | |
| Time Management | 3.1 |
Skills in demand
Skills employers ask for in job postings for this occupation (Lightcast), with whether each is a common or specialized skill.
Tools & technology
Showing the top 40 of 47.
Work context
How characteristic each condition is of the job, on O*NET's 1–5 context scale (higher = more present in day-to-day work). Each condition links to how it varies across all occupations.
How to get in
- Job zone
- Zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Typical entry-level education
- Bachelor's degree · BLS, the typical path — not a requirement
- Related experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
- Preparation level
- SVP (7.0 to < 8.0) — total schooling plus on-the-job experience.
What to study: Engineering , Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians . Fields of study crosswalked to this occupation (NCES CIP–SOC), not a requirement.
Education of current workers
Share of people in this occupation at each level of education.
| Bachelor's Degree | 47.4% | |
| Some College Courses | 21.1% | |
| High School Diploma | 15.8% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 10.5% | |
| Post-Secondary Certificate | 5.3% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Conventional | 5.3 | |
| Realistic | 5.3 | |
| Investigative | 4.7 | |
| Artistic | 2.1 |
Interest areas
| Mathematics/Statistics | 4.0 | |
| Engineering | 3.9 | |
| Nature/Outdoors | 3.2 | |
| Law | 2.9 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.2 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 2.2 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.2 | |
| Construction/Woodwork | 2.2 | |
| Office Work | 2.1 |
Work styles
| Dependability | 4.0 | |
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Cautiousness | 2.2 |
Wages & employment
U.S. · annual wages (BLS OEWS)
| 10th percentile | $43,680 |
| 25th percentile | $53,590 |
| Median (50th) | $72,740 |
| 75th percentile | $94,550 |
| 90th percentile | $116,330 |
| People employed | 53,080 |
Industries that employ this occupation
Where these workers are employed, by number of jobs (national, BLS OEWS). Pay shown is the occupation's national median, not industry-specific.
| Industry | Workers | National median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 40,270 | $67,870 |
| Engineering Services · National industry | 18,560 | $75,130 |
| Construction · Sector | 5,050 | $72,800 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector | 1,590 | $86,050 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services · Sector | 690 | $75,840 |
| Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors · National industry | 510 | $49,090 |
| Utilities · Sector | 500 | $91,870 |
| Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction · National industry | 350 | $54,900 |
| Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors · National industry | 290 | $61,590 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises · Sector | 240 | $82,820 |
| Transportation and Warehousing · Sector | 210 | $76,430 |
| Temporary Help Services · National industry | 160 | $48,530 |
Where this work is most concentrated
Industries where this occupation is far more common than in the economy as a whole. The location quotient is how many times more concentrated it is here (a value of 5 means five times its economy-wide share).
| Industry | Concentration | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering Services · National industry | 46.63× | 18,560 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services · Sector | 10.86× | 40,270 |
| Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction · Sector | 8.05× | 1,590 |
| Power and Communication Line and Related Structures Construction · National industry | 4.34× | 350 |
| Poured Concrete Foundation and Structure Contractors · National industry | 3.26× | 290 |
| Utilities · Sector | 2.51× | 500 |
| Construction · Sector | 1.81× | 5,050 |
| Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors · National industry | 1.38× | 510 |
Related occupations
Part of the Construction and Energy & Natural Resources career clusters.
- Geodetic Surveyors · 17-1022.01 Compare →
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians · 17-3031.00 Compare →
- Civil Engineers · 17-2051.00 Compare →
- Cartographers and Photogrammetrists · 17-1021.00 Compare →
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians · 17-3022.00 Compare →
- Construction and Building Inspectors · 47-4011.00 Compare →
- Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians · 19-4043.00 Compare →
- Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers · 17-2151.00 Compare →
- Architectural and Civil Drafters · 17-3011.00 Compare →
- Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate · 13-2023.00 Compare →
- Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers · 19-2042.00 Compare →
- Government Property Inspectors and Investigators · 13-1041.04 Compare →
Side-by-side comparisons place two occupations’ pay, preparation, skills, and AI exposure on the same page — same data, same scale, no forecast.
What you can do with this
Options the data surfaces for Surveyors — not advice or a forecast. Each is a real cross-link you can follow into the evidence.
Skills that travel
Capabilities this work builds that are used across many other occupations.
Adjacent roles
Occupations O*NET rates as related — the nearby moves on the map.
Paths in
How people typically prepare for this work.
- Bachelor's degree · typical entry level
- Job zone 4 — Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed · preparation tier
- Engineering · field of study
- Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians · field of study
Zoom out
On the global GenAI exposure gradient this work sits around the 82nd percentile of 427 international occupations.
Write a report on thisheadline · factoids · citation
Surveyors show 58th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 3,900 annual U.S. openings
- Surveyors rank in the 58th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated.Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE
- The occupation is projected to see about 3,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- BLS projects employment to be about average (+4.4%) from 2024 to 2034.BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
- Median annual pay is $72,740, across about 53,080 U.S. workers.BLS OEWS (May 2024)
- Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 52% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census.2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2
Copy the whole kit
Surveyors show 58th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 3,900 annual U.S. openings • Surveyors rank in the 58th percentile (Moderate band) for AI task overlap across U.S. occupations — a measure of how much of the work today's AI can attempt, not how much is automated. (Eloundou et al. (GPTs are GPTs) + Felten AIOE) • The occupation is projected to see about 3,900 U.S. job openings per year (2024–34), counting growth and replacement — a labor-demand projection made independently of AI. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • BLS projects employment to be about average (+4.4%) from 2024 to 2034. (BLS Employment Projections 2024–34) • Median annual pay is $72,740, across about 53,080 U.S. workers. (BLS OEWS (May 2024)) • Of the AI use actually observed for this work, 52% looks like augmentation (drafting, iterating, checking) rather than hands-off automation — from a Claude.ai usage sample, not a census. (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) Source: Singulariki — "Surveyors". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-1022-00 Note: AI task overlap measures what today's AI can attempt, not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
AssetsShare imageMethodology & sourcesPress & newsroomThe newsroom
Every line is built only from figures this page already shows and cites. AI task overlap means what today's AI can attempt — not automation, job loss, or a forecast.
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
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27) Anthropic
- Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai Microsoft Research
- “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130 OpenAI / academic
- AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans academic
- ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025 International Labour Organization
- IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022 Institute for Structural Research (IBS)
- Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation academic
- Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome academic
Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.
Cite this page
Plain
Singulariki. "Surveyors." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-1022-00
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Surveyors. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-1022-00
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-17-1022-00,
title = {Surveyors},
author = {{Singulariki}},
year = {2026},
note = {O*NET 30.3; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) May 2024; BLS Employment Projections 2024–2034; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27); Microsoft “Working with AI” working-with-ai; “GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.) arXiv 2303.10130; AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE) Felten, Raj & Seamans; ILO / Gmyrek et al. GenAI exposure gradient 2025; IBS O*NET-SOC ↔ ISCO-08 occupation crosswalk 2022; Frey & Osborne (2013) frey-osborne-automation; Dingel & Neiman (2020) dingel-neiman-workathome. Accessed June 7, 2026},
url = {https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-1022-00}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.