What does a survey director do?
Survey director responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real survey director resumes:
- Perform quality control and quality assurance reviews on exhibit documents submit to RMP for the right-of-way acquisition process.
- Facilitate consumer understanding of NCQA standards.
Survey director skills and personality traits
We calculated that 26% of Survey Directors are proficient in GPS, Business Development, and Project Budget. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Physical stamina, and Problem-solving skills.
We break down the percentage of Survey Directors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- GPS, 26%
Utilized GPS technology to manage a two man robotic crew assigned to residential/ commercial development projects.
- Business Development, 12%
Assisted in developing a marketing and business development plan.
- Project Budget, 8%
Assisted Survey Manager with project budgets and scheduling, invoicing and billing statements.
- GIS, 7%
Designed survey / GIS cost estimate and reporting module to ensure crews were producing efficiently and achieving profitability.
- Proposal Preparation, 5%
Perform a variety of surveying projects from proposal preparation to delivery of the final product.
- Boundary Surveys, 5%
Perform boundary surveys and oilfield related surveys* Pull metes and bounds information and related information on projects
Most survey directors use their skills in "gps," "business development," and "project budget" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential survey director responsibilities here:
Detail oriented. The most essential soft skill for a survey director to carry out their responsibilities is detail oriented. This skill is important for the role because "surveyors must work with precision and accuracy because they produce legally binding documents." Additionally, a survey director resume shows how their duties depend on detail oriented: "collected detailed data through survey equipment and field notes for launch and receiver site fabrication. "
Physical stamina. Another essential skill to perform survey director duties is physical stamina. Survey directors responsibilities require that "surveyors traditionally work outdoors, often in rugged terrain." Survey directors also use physical stamina in their role according to a real resume snippet: "researched previous survey evidence, maps, deeds, physical evidence and other records to obtain data needed for surveys. "
Problem-solving skills. survey directors are also known for problem-solving skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to survey director responsibilities, because "surveyors must figure out discrepancies between documents showing property lines and current conditions on the land." A survey director resume example shows how problem-solving skills is used in the workplace: "conducted performance reviews, coaching, call monitoring and disciplinary actions to reduce resolution time and improve customer satisfaction rates. "
Time-management skills. survey director responsibilities often require "time-management skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "surveyors must be able to effectively plan their time and their team members’ time on the job." This resume example shows what survey directors do with time-management skills on a typical day: "conducted performance reviews, coaching, call monitoring and disciplinary actions to reduce resolution time and improve customer satisfaction rates. "
Communication skills. A commonly-found skill in survey director job descriptions, "communication skills" is essential to what survey directors do. Survey director responsibilities rely on this skill because "surveyors must provide clear instructions to team members, clients, and government officials." You can also see how survey director duties rely on communication skills in this resume example: "establish data collection and communication methods as it relates to pipeline survey. "
The three companies that hire the most survey directors are:
- Federal Reserve
1 survey directors jobs
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Compare different survey directors
Survey director vs. Surveyor instrument assistant
A party chief is a management position responsible for leading and guiding a program and providing leadership for its success. To fill this role, you will manage the program and provide overall technical expertise. Party chiefs should able to assess and identify risks and offer remedies and must be highly proficient in the program area. You will collaborate with partners to ensure program success, recruit experts for the program, and supervise its implementation.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, survey director responsibilities require skills like "project execution," "business development," "project budget," and "proposal preparation." Meanwhile a typical surveyor instrument assistant has skills in areas such as "construction sites," "auto cad," "property lines," and "topo." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, surveyor instrument assistants reach lower levels of education than survey directors. Surveyor instrument assistants are 13.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Survey director vs. Party chief
Professional land surveyors have skills in reading comprehension, mathematics, listening, speaking, and time management, as well as a keen attention to detail. These traits are needed for the tasks of this chosen career, which include updating boundary lines for construction in order to prevent legal disputes. Land surveyors also oversee the provision of relevant data on the shape and contour of the surface of the Earth for projects ranging from engineering to mapmaking to construction.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that survey director responsibilities requires skills like "gps," "project execution," "business development," and "project budget." But a party chief might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "topographic surveys," "usaid," "cpr," and "rtk."
Average education levels between the two professions vary. Party chiefs tend to reach lower levels of education than survey directors. In fact, they're 11.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Survey director vs. Professional land surveyor
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from survey director resumes include skills like "project execution," "proposal preparation," "private sector," and "cad," whereas a professional land surveyor is more likely to list skills in "civil 3d," "pls," "carlson," and "topographic surveys. "
When it comes to education, professional land surveyors tend to earn lower degree levels compared to survey directors. In fact, they're 12.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 1.4% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Survey director vs. Registered land surveyor
Even though a few skill sets overlap between survey directors and registered land surveyors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a survey director might have more use for skills like "project execution," "project budget," "proposal preparation," and "private sector." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of registered land surveyors require skills like "robotic," "civil 3d," "survey parties," and "survey control. "
Registered land surveyors reach lower levels of education compared to survey directors, in general. The difference is that they're 18.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of survey director
Updated January 8, 2025
