Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between surveyors and survey party chiefs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a surveyor and a survey party chief. Additionally, a surveyor has an average salary of $46,875, which is higher than the $45,923 average annual salary of a survey party chief.
The top three skills for a surveyor include GPS, survey data and data collection. The most important skills for a survey party chief are GPS, survey party, and survey equipment.
| Surveyor | Survey Party Chief | |
| Yearly salary | $46,875 | $45,923 |
| Hourly rate | $22.54 | $22.08 |
| Growth rate | 1% | 1% |
| Number of jobs | 4,087 | 15,901 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A surveyor is responsible for measuring the physical boundaries of a property based on the design documents. Surveyors' duties include determining reference points using special measuring equipment, analyzing land records, evaluating the stability of the property location, verifying data to property agencies and other organizations, responding to the client's inquiries, processing legal property documents, and finalizing boundary lines and maps. A surveyor must have a broad knowledge of the land and property processes, as well as excellent research and analytical skills.
Survey party chiefs are individuals distinguished from an engineering technician class. The chiefs supervise land surveys, plan, and assess the proposed field survey projects. They gather field data using the necessary equipment. Their job involves managing equipment logistics, travel-related budgets, and recruiting local staff. They perform work on several highway projects like fills and cuts, bridgework, and centerline layouts. Also, they execute data analysis and offer recommendations for the expansion of military bases and to achieve runway capabilities.
Surveyors and survey party chiefs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surveyor | Survey Party Chief | |
| Average salary | $46,875 | $45,923 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $67,000 | Between $31,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Diego, CA | Jackson, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Bowman Consulting Group |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a surveyor and a survey party chief in terms of educational background:
| Surveyor | Survey Party Chief | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 38% |
| Most common major | Business | Surveying, Mapping, And Hydraulic Technologies |
| Most common college | Pennsylvania State University | Pennsylvania State University |
Here are the differences between surveyors' and survey party chiefs' demographics:
| Surveyor | Survey Party Chief | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% | Male, 96.7% Female, 3.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.6% Asian, 4.9% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 10.8% Asian, 5.0% White, 75.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |