Occupations · Architecture and Engineering
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.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 17-3031.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 76% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $55,020 | 2,290 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $61,680 | 1,560 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $49,260 | 1,530 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | $56,400 | 1,500 |
| Raleigh, NC | $49,530 | 1,310 |
| Austin-Round Rock, TX | $47,870 | 1,160 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | $50,700 | 1,010 |
| Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | $45,610 | 1,000 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $43,200 | 900 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $58,110 | 890 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $48,520 | 870 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $79,880 | 810 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- 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.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2020-11
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
Averaged across the 2 earlier occupation codes this job was merged from.
O*NET 25.0 education, training and experience · observed 2017-07
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Use drone technology to capture aerial images or videos for creating detailed and accurate maps.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning. 8 entries that were only relabelled between releases are left out.
Now listed 22
No longer listed 19
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| surveying technician | 3112.9 | exact |
| cadastral technician | 2165.1 | close |
| hydrographic surveyor | 2165.4.1 | close |
| geographic information systems specialist | 2165.3 | close |
| land surveyor | 2165.4 | close |
| cartographer | 2165.2 | close |
| mine surveying technician | 3117.5 | broader |
| hydrographic surveying technician | 3111.5 | broader |
| soil surveying technician | 3111.14 | broader |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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