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 →Geodetic Surveyors
Occupation · SOC 17-1022.01
Measure large areas of the Earth's surface using satellite observations, global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), light detection and ranging (LIDAR), or related sources.
Also called: Geodesist · Geodetic Advisor · Geodetic Surveyor · Land Surveyor · Geodetic Engineer · Geodetic Survey Director · Licensed Land Surveyor · Aerial Photograph Interpreter · Aerotriangulation Specialist · Field Surveyor · Geodetic Computator · Geodetic Coordinator
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-17-1022-01/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.
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
- Median pay $72,740/yr
- Can largely be done remotely (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) . 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 | 75th | 0.9 | |
| AI assistant applicability (Microsoft) Moderate | 51st | 0.1 |
OpenAI's exposure study scores tasks three ways: with a language model alone (α 0.2), 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.
Most of this job's tasks can be done remotely (Dingel–Neiman), which tends to track with higher digital and AI exposure.
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.
| Distribute compiled geodetic data to government agencies or the general public. | 0.2% |
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.
Geodetic 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.
Tasks
All 16 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, ordered by importance. Each links to its own page with AI-exposure and observed-use detail.
- Analyze control or survey data to ensure adherence to project specifications or land survey standards. Core · importance 4.6
- Calculate the exact horizontal and vertical position of points on the Earth's surface. Core · importance 4.5
- Conduct surveys to determine exact positions, measurement of points, elevations, lines, areas, volumes, contours, or other features of land surfaces. Core · importance 4.5
- Maintain databases of geodetic and related information, including coordinate, descriptive, or quality assurance data. Core · importance 4.5
- Verify the mathematical correctness of newly collected survey data. Core · importance 4.4
- Compute horizontal and vertical coordinates of control networks, using direct leveling or other geodetic survey techniques, such as triangulation, trilateration, and traversing, to establish features of the Earth's surface. Core · importance 4.3
- Plan or direct the work of geodetic surveying staff, providing technical consultation as needed. Core · importance 4.2
- Assess the quality of control data to determine the need for additional survey data for engineering, construction, or other projects. Core · importance 4.2
- Distribute compiled geodetic data to government agencies or the general public. Core · importance 4.0
- Request additional survey data when field collection errors occur or engineering surveying specifications are not maintained. Core · importance 4.0
- Read current literature, talk with colleagues, continue education, or participate in professional organizations or conferences to keep abreast of developments in technology, equipment, or systems. Core · importance 4.0
- Provide training and interpretation in the use of methods or procedures for observing and checking controls for geodetic and plane coordinates. Core · importance 3.9
- Prepare progress or technical reports. Core · importance 3.8
- Review existing standards, controls, or equipment used, recommending changes or upgrades as needed. Core · importance 3.8
- Compute, retrace, or adjust existing surveys of features such as highway alignments, property boundaries, utilities, control and other surveys to match the ground elevation-dependent grids, geodetic grids, or property boundaries and to ensure accuracy and continuity of data used in engineering, surveying, or construction projects. Core · importance 3.7
- 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. Core · importance 3.6
Emerging tasks
Newer responsibilities O*NET has flagged as growing for this occupation.
- Determine orientation of tracts of land, including position, boundaries, size, and shape, using theodolites, electronic distance-measuring equipment, satellite-based positioning equipment, drones, land information systems, or other geodetic survey equipment.
Work activities
- Evaluate designs or specifications to ensure quality.
- Train personnel on proper operational procedures.
- Direct surveying activities.
- Explain project details to the general public.
- Update technical knowledge.
- Verify mathematical calculations.
- Gather physical survey data.
- Prepare operational reports.
- Maintain operational records or records systems.
- Calculate geographic positions from survey data.
- Analyze operational data to evaluate operations, processes or products.
- Analyze physical, survey, or geographic data.
- Survey land or bodies of water to measure or determine features.
Knowledge, skills & abilities
O*NET importance rating, from 1 (not important) to 5 (extremely important).
Knowledge
| Mathematics | 4.8 | |
| Engineering and Technology | 4.0 | |
| Geography | 3.8 | |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.8 | |
| English Language | 3.7 | |
| Physics | 3.5 | |
| Education and Training | 3.2 | |
| Design | 3.1 | |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.1 |
Essential skills
| Mathematics | 4.1 | |
| Reading Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Active Listening | 3.9 | |
| Critical Thinking | 3.9 | |
| Writing | 3.6 | |
| Speaking | 3.4 | |
| Active Learning | 3.4 | |
| Monitoring | 3.4 | |
| Science | 3.1 | |
| Learning Strategies | 3.0 |
Abilities
| Oral Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Written Comprehension | 4.0 | |
| Oral Expression | 4.0 | |
| Written Expression | 4.0 | |
| Inductive Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Information Ordering | 4.0 | |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 4.0 | |
| Flexibility of Closure | 4.0 | |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.9 | |
| Number Facility | 3.9 | |
| Near Vision | 3.9 | |
| Category Flexibility | 3.8 | |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.5 | |
| Visualization | 3.3 | |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.1 | |
| Speech Clarity | 3.1 |
Transferable skills
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.8 | |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.6 | |
| Systems Analysis | 3.1 | |
| Systems Evaluation | 3.1 | |
| Coordination | 3.0 |
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
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 | 81.5% | |
| High School Diploma | 3.7% | |
| Some College Courses | 3.7% | |
| Associate's Degree (or other 2-year degree) | 3.7% | |
| Post-Baccalaureate Certificate | 3.7% | |
| Master's Degree | 3.7% |
Interests & work styles
The interests and personal qualities O*NET associates with people who do this work.
Interest areas
| Mathematics/Statistics | 5.5 | |
| Engineering | 4.7 | |
| Physical Science | 3.7 | |
| Information Technology | 3.1 | |
| Nature/Outdoors | 2.7 | |
| Mechanics/Electronics | 2.7 | |
| Management/Administration | 2.2 | |
| Office Work | 2.0 | |
| Physical/Manual Labor | 2.0 |
Career interests (Holland / RIASEC)
| Realistic | 5.5 | |
| Investigative | 5.4 | |
| Conventional | 5.3 |
Work styles
| Attention to Detail | 3.0 | |
| Dependability | 2.6 | |
| Intellectual Curiosity | 1.9 | |
| Integrity | 1.8 |
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 |
Wages and employment are reported by BLS for the broader occupation group this specialty belongs to (SOC 17-1022), not for the specialty alone.
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.
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians · 17-3031.00 Compare →
- Surveyors · 17-1022.00 Compare →
- Cartographers and Photogrammetrists · 17-1021.00 Compare →
- Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians · 19-4043.00 Compare →
- Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians · 15-1299.02 Compare →
- Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists · 19-2099.01 Compare →
- Remote Sensing Technicians · 19-4099.03 Compare →
- Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers · 19-2042.00 Compare →
- Hydrologists · 19-2043.00 Compare →
- Data Scientists · 15-2051.00 Compare →
- Hydrologic Technicians · 19-4044.00 Compare →
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians · 17-3028.00 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 Geodetic 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
Geodetic Surveyors show 58th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 3,900 annual U.S. openings
- Geodetic 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)
Copy the whole kit
Geodetic Surveyors show 58th-percentile AI task overlap — and about 3,900 annual U.S. openings • Geodetic 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)) Source: Singulariki — "Geodetic Surveyors". https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-1022-01 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. "Geodetic 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-17-1022-01
APA
Singulariki. (2026). Geodetic Surveyors. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-1022-01
BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-role-17-1022-01,
title = {Geodetic 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-17-1022-01}
} Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.