Sunburned_Surveyor
08-19-2004, 04:37 PM
There seems to be a great deal of energy on both sides of the debate about the California LS Exam. Perhaps
there is a way we can put all of this energy to use, for the good of the profession, and not the bad. I will propose an idea here, and allow others to share there thoughts and comments. But first I think I need to clear some animosity, and attempt to
lay a common foundation for parties on both sides of this argument.
I think we can all agree on two or three things:
(1) There are many licensed surveyors in the State of California with an immense amount of knowledge and experience.
(2) There are many LSIT's and young or new surveyors in the State of California that would greatly benefit from that knowledge and experience.
(3) The profession as a whole will only benefit from the sharing and dispensing of that
knowledge.
I think most, (but perhaps not all), will agree with this:
(2) The profession, and the public, will benefit from a continual influx of newly licensed surveyors. In fact the survival of the profession depends on it.
With that common ground established, I propose the following:
We form an orginization whose purpose is to help new surveyors advance in the profession by making available the knowledge, experience, and assistance of those that have been practicing in
the state as licensed surveyors for many years. This might initially pertain to only the LS exam, but with time and some hard work, it might expand to include the LSIT exam, and might have an
active role in recruiting young people to the profession.
I don't think it would take much to get this off the ground initially.
I envision a website or online forum in which a different surveying "problem" or "situation" is discussed each week. The problem would be presented, the LSIT's could offer there thoughts and solutions and then the experts (Licensed Surveyor's) could help us to see how they would approach the problem and why they would approach it that way. Although we would have to be careful not to cover any exam material directly, we could cover material from each "subject" the exam covers, as well as real-life situation California LS's deal with in their own practices. We might also discuss important state laws that pertain to surveying, important court cases that affect property in California, and matters of ethics and business management. I reallty think there would be no shortage of information to talk about. I know I would be very excited at the opportunity to learn from not only those in my own office, but surveyors around the state. Many like Scott Tikalsky, Ian Wilson, and others have already helped me immensely with surveying questions on this forums. Wouldn't it be great if we could organize that assistance and offer it to all the LSIT's in the state? If this inital plan was a success, we might organize practice exams, work shops, and volunteer projects that help young surveyors gain the experience thay need to pass the exam. (Imagine getting a group of LSIT's together to create a control network for a rural county, investigating the historical boundaries of a rancho, or put together a GIS for land records for a small municipality. There is a lot of untapped potential here.) All of this would accomplish two goals:
(1) Help those interested in obtaining licensure as a land surveyor become better land
surveyors before they are licensed. (2) Helping those that put forth the effort to learn gain the
knowledge they need to pass the LS exam.
I would be willing to put this type of organization together, with some assistance from others,
of course. I would much rather invest time in this type of endeavor, than invest in the effort to
become licensed in a neighboring state.
I welcome your thoughts and comments.
The Sunburned Surveyor
there is a way we can put all of this energy to use, for the good of the profession, and not the bad. I will propose an idea here, and allow others to share there thoughts and comments. But first I think I need to clear some animosity, and attempt to
lay a common foundation for parties on both sides of this argument.
I think we can all agree on two or three things:
(1) There are many licensed surveyors in the State of California with an immense amount of knowledge and experience.
(2) There are many LSIT's and young or new surveyors in the State of California that would greatly benefit from that knowledge and experience.
(3) The profession as a whole will only benefit from the sharing and dispensing of that
knowledge.
I think most, (but perhaps not all), will agree with this:
(2) The profession, and the public, will benefit from a continual influx of newly licensed surveyors. In fact the survival of the profession depends on it.
With that common ground established, I propose the following:
We form an orginization whose purpose is to help new surveyors advance in the profession by making available the knowledge, experience, and assistance of those that have been practicing in
the state as licensed surveyors for many years. This might initially pertain to only the LS exam, but with time and some hard work, it might expand to include the LSIT exam, and might have an
active role in recruiting young people to the profession.
I don't think it would take much to get this off the ground initially.
I envision a website or online forum in which a different surveying "problem" or "situation" is discussed each week. The problem would be presented, the LSIT's could offer there thoughts and solutions and then the experts (Licensed Surveyor's) could help us to see how they would approach the problem and why they would approach it that way. Although we would have to be careful not to cover any exam material directly, we could cover material from each "subject" the exam covers, as well as real-life situation California LS's deal with in their own practices. We might also discuss important state laws that pertain to surveying, important court cases that affect property in California, and matters of ethics and business management. I reallty think there would be no shortage of information to talk about. I know I would be very excited at the opportunity to learn from not only those in my own office, but surveyors around the state. Many like Scott Tikalsky, Ian Wilson, and others have already helped me immensely with surveying questions on this forums. Wouldn't it be great if we could organize that assistance and offer it to all the LSIT's in the state? If this inital plan was a success, we might organize practice exams, work shops, and volunteer projects that help young surveyors gain the experience thay need to pass the exam. (Imagine getting a group of LSIT's together to create a control network for a rural county, investigating the historical boundaries of a rancho, or put together a GIS for land records for a small municipality. There is a lot of untapped potential here.) All of this would accomplish two goals:
(1) Help those interested in obtaining licensure as a land surveyor become better land
surveyors before they are licensed. (2) Helping those that put forth the effort to learn gain the
knowledge they need to pass the LS exam.
I would be willing to put this type of organization together, with some assistance from others,
of course. I would much rather invest time in this type of endeavor, than invest in the effort to
become licensed in a neighboring state.
I welcome your thoughts and comments.
The Sunburned Surveyor