Jobs / Architecture and engineering / 17-1022.00

Surveyors

Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.

US jobs
50,830
Median wage
$75,440 a year
Job family
Architecture and engineering

Can agents do the work of surveyors?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Architecture and engineering:

  • Task levelUnexploredNo task-level benchmark in our collection tests architecture or engineering design work, such as CAD modeling or engineering calculations.
  • Project levelNot yetWhole projects are mostly out of reach. The Remote Labor Index includes 3D, CAD, and architecture projects; across all its projects, the best agent completed 15.8% to a standard a client would accept. GDPval includes mechanical engineers, and its deliverables score higher, but those tasks are one-shot and fully specified.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in architecture and engineering, not always this occupation's tasks.

  • GDPvalby OpenAIProject level · Wins plus ties against experts
    84.9%GPT-5.5 · Apr 2026
    Strong
  • GDPval-AAby Artificial AnalysisProject level · GDPval-AA Elo
    1846 EloClaude Opus 5.5 (Adaptive Reasoning, Max Effort, Default Fallback) · 23 Sep 2026
    Unrated
  • Remote Labor Indexby CAIS and Scale AIProject level · Automation rate
    15.8%Claude Fable 5 · 1 Jul 2026
    Open

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.
  • Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.
  • Write descriptions of property boundary surveys for use in deeds, leases, or other legal documents.
  • Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.
  • Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.
  • Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.
  • Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.
  • Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.
  • Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.
  • Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.
  • Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments.
  • Determine longitudes and latitudes of important features and boundaries in survey areas, using theodolites, transits, levels, and satellite-based global positioning systems (GPS).
Other job titles for this occupation (31)

City Surveyor · County Surveyor · Land Surveyor · Licensed Land Surveyor · Mine Surveyor · Professional Land Surveyor · Registered Land Surveyor · Staff Land Surveyor · State Surveyor · Surveyor · Construction Surveyor · Field Inspector · Field Surveyor · Geophysical Prospecting Surveyor · Health Facilities Surveyor · Home Surveyor · Insurance Loss Control Surveyor · Land Examiner · Land Measurer · Licensed Surveyor · Loss Control Surveyor · Mineral Surveyor · Port Surveyor · Project Surveyor · Railroad Surveyor · Registered Professional Land Surveyor · Registered Public Surveyor · Site Surveyor · Solar Site Surveyor · Survey Engineer · Topographical Surveyor