How to hire a land survey technician

How to hire a land survey technician, step by step

Here's a step-by-step land survey technician hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a land survey technician job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new land survey technician
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a land survey technician do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a land survey technician, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A land survey technician's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, land survey technicians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents land survey technician salaries for various positions.

   Type of Land Survey Technician	Description	Hourly rate
   Land Survey Technician	Surveying and mapping technicians collect data and make maps of the Earth’s surface. Surveying technicians visit sites to take measurements of the land... Show more	$14-32
   Instrument Operator	Instrument operators assist a construction or surveying crew in the assessment of topography. The operators provide assistance in clearing obstructions from any instrument... Show more	$13-29
   Instrument Person	An instrument person is also called a survey party chief. They are responsible for preparing and conducting surveys before a particular land is constructed and developed... Show more	$14-30

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • GPS
   • CAD
   • Civil 3D
   • Boundary Surveys
   • Survey Data
   • Legal Descriptions
   • Data Collection
   • Right-of-Way
   • Topographic Surveys
   • GIS
   • AFE
   • Carlson
   • As-Built
   • Aided Design

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Work closely with GIS department to determine land locations.
   • Load documents into the database using a custom GIS application.
   • Provide topographic data through leverage of the photogrammetric process at an archeological dig in Spain.
   • Aid in the completion of natural gas pipeline layouts and in grind location projects through multiple GPS techniques.
   • Perform calculations necessary to prepare individual residential lot permit and as-built plans necessary for township approval.
   • Job types include residential, commercial/industrial staking, water management elevations and wetland location.

   More land survey technician duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the land survey technician job description is a good way to get more applicants. A land survey technician salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a land survey technician in Pennsylvania may be lower than in California, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level land survey technician. Additionally, a land survey technician with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average land survey technician salary

   $45,850yearly

   $22.04 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level land survey technician salary

   $31,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

   Average land survey technician salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$68,325	$33
   2	Nevada	$56,125	$27
   3	Florida	$53,755	$26
   4	Texas	$52,381	$25
   5	Utah	$50,945	$24
   6	Colorado	$50,580	$24
   7	Montana	$49,493	$24
   8	Ohio	$48,077	$23
   9	Kansas	$45,487	$22
   10	Georgia	$43,895	$21
   11	Nebraska	$42,391	$20
   12	Wisconsin	$42,337	$20
   13	Tennessee	$41,775	$20
   14	Pennsylvania	$41,707	$20
   15	Minnesota	$36,217	$17

   Average land survey technician salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Southern California Edison	$96,374	$46.33
   2	NV Energy	$93,918	$45.15
   3	Jacobs Engineering Group	$82,302	$39.57
   4	Widseth Smith Nolting	$73,880	$35.52	3
   5	S&ME	$73,657	$35.41
   6	Professional Engineering Consultants	$73,158	$35.17	1
   7	Pape-Dawson Engineers	$70,099	$33.70	9
   8	Stantec	$69,604	$33.46	29
   9	Morrison-Maierle	$68,760	$33.06
   10	KCI Technologies	$67,122	$32.27	14
   11	Loureiro Engineering Associates	$65,726	$31.60	5
   12	Wold Architects and Engineers	$64,600	$31.06
   13	Edison International	$61,217	$29.43
   14	NiSource	$59,674	$28.69
   15	Washington State University	$54,730	$26.31	1
   16	TAIT & Associates	$52,413	$25.20	8
   17	Ranger Oil	$52,225	$25.11
   18	EOG Resources	$52,189	$25.09
   19	Minnesota State Fair	$52,147	$25.07	18
   20	Ken Garff Automotive Group	$51,378	$24.70	9

4. Writing a land survey technician job description

   A job description for a land survey technician role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a land survey technician job description:

   Land survey technician job description example

   We are leaders in improving civilization through the design and development of our physical environment. TAIT is a family company and continues to grow since 1964. Join TAIT & become an integral part of a stellar team!

   We are looking for talented, motivated, and technically driven individuals who want to join a company with excellent opportunities for career growth and development. TAIT fosters and encourages each Associate's entrepreneurial spirit with every project & design opportunity. We provide a variety of training opportunities to develop your skills, top tier benefits because we care about your well-being, a real work-life balance & the flexibility life needs, and an unbeatable friendly, professional, positive work environment. Here's your chance to start your career with a Top Workplace in Orange County :) don't wait to apply
   

   Description

   This position is in Rancho Cordova, CA. The Field Survey Technician works under the direct supervision of an experienced and licensed Professional Land Surveyor. The Field Technician will have an opportunity to learn and improve their skills while working with experienced staff, using the latest technology in field equipment. Assist with daily responsibilities in the preparation of boundary topographic and construction surveys.

   Minimum Qualifications

   • 2+ years of experience in the land surveying field.
   • 2+ years of construction staking experience.
   • Boundary topographic survey experience.
   • Construction staking experience is desirable.
   • Experienced and knowledgeable with AutoCAD and Civil 3D, and GPS a plus.
   • Solid math skills, Team Player Attitude, Desire to Learn and Grow.
   • Ideal candidate will have LSIT

   Responsibilities

   The Survey Technician will support in preparing for construction staking, ALTA surveys, subdivision maps, records of survey, and certificates of compliance.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right land survey technician for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with land survey technicians they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit land survey technicians who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your land survey technician job on Zippia to find and recruit land survey technician candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting land survey technicians requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new land survey technician

   Once you've decided on a perfect land survey technician candidate, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, it should include benefits and perks available to the employee. Qualified candidates may be considered for other positions, so make sure your offer is competitive. Candidates may wish to negotiate. Once you've settled on the details, formalize your agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new land survey technician. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a land survey technician?