# Surveying and Mapping Technicians

> Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes. May calculate mapmaking information and create maps from source data, such as surveying notes, aerial photography, satellite data, or other maps to show topographical features, political boundaries, and other features. May verify accuracy and completeness of maps.

- **SOC code:** 17-3031.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-3031-00
- **Also known as:** Mapping Technician, Photogrammetric Compilation Specialist, Photogrammetric Technician, Survey Technician, Aerotriangulation Specialist, Geospatial Analyst, Mapping Editor, Stereoplotter Operator
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that theodolite operators use for sighting to measure angles, distances, and elevations.
- Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections.
- Design or develop information databases that include geographic or topographic data.
- Monitor mapping work or the updating of maps to ensure accuracy, inclusion of new or changed information, or compliance with rules and regulations.
- Produce or update overlay maps to show information boundaries, water locations, or topographic features on various base maps or at different scales.
- Determine scales, line sizes, or colors to be used for hard copies of computerized maps, using plotters.
- Compile information necessary to stake projects for construction, using engineering plans.
- Identify and compile database information to create requested maps.
- Operate and manage land-information computer systems, performing tasks such as storing data, making inquiries, and producing plots and reports.
- Compare survey computations with applicable standards to determine adequacy of data.
- Analyze aerial photographs to detect and interpret significant military, industrial, resource, or topographical data.
- Answer questions and provide information to the public or to staff members regarding assessment maps, surveys, boundaries, easements, property ownership, roads, zoning, or similar matters.

**Emerging tasks** (O*NET):
- Use drone technology to capture aerial images or videos for creating detailed and accurate maps.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Reading Comprehension _(essential_skill)_
- Geography _(knowledge)_
- Written Comprehension _(ability)_
- Mathematics _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Near Vision _(ability)_
- Engineering and Technology _(knowledge)_
- Critical Thinking _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(ability)_

**Skills in demand:**
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Geography _(Specialized Skill)_
- Mathematics _(Common Skill)_
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Autodesk AutoCAD _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Bentley MicroStation _(hot technology, in demand)_
- ESRI ArcGIS software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology, in demand)_
- Adobe Illustrator _(hot technology)_
- Adobe Photoshop _(hot technology)_
- Hypertext markup language HTML _(hot technology)_
- JavaScript _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 68th percentile (High) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 50th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 81st percentile (High) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 72nd percentile (High) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 91st percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** yes — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 4.5% growth (About average); 7.6k annual openings; 59.4k → 62.1k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $51,940; 56,720 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Anthropic Economic Index** (v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27)) — Anthropic. https://www.anthropic.com/economic-index
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-17-3031-00_