No, I don’t recall when the Utah Council of Land Surveyors (UCLS) held its first meeting, and no, I’m not the oldest surveyor still swinging a plumb bob. However, I do remember many of the founders of the UCLS, such as Jack DeMass, Charlie King, Hooper Knowlton, Robert Jones and Richard Sorenson. These dedicated individuals cherished our profession and worked to elevate it for the betterment of all surveyors.

They established the UCLS in 1960, focusing on enhancing survey quality through standardization, embracing new technologies and providing educational opportunities. Consider the evolution from theodolites and transits, steel chains and plumb bobs, stadia rods and range poles, to the auto levels and distance meters of the 1960s and 1970s, and calculators with log functions and continuous memory. (Yes, back then, a calculator with continuous memory was magical.)

When I began surveying in the summer of 1979, this equipment was already in use, but the companies I worked for still had garages full of older equipment. I grew fond of T-16s, inverted T-2s and top-mounted EDMs. You could say I was a bit of an equipment snob, but hey, who doesn’t love a good T-16?

The early founders and those who followed adapted to the growing needs of Utah, especially along the Wasatch Front. They developed standards for construction staking and monumentation to support a growing population with new subdivisions and streets, and created calibration baselines to ensure equipment precision and reliability. They were the original “calibration nation,” not just to ensure equipment was taking accurate measurements and turning angles, but also to help with retracements and follow in the footsteps of previous surveyors.

Many of them would be amazed by today’s GPS, LiDAR and drone equipment, which were once considered futuristic dreams. Like the founders, we have a responsibility to enhance the profession. Technologies are evolving rapidly and becoming more automated. Surveyors are now taking on roles as programmers and data analysts. This isn’t bad; it’s just different from when I started. Younger surveyors must prepare themselves and focus on the future of the profession. We must continue to learn and adapt to new and evolving technologies. We must become versatile and embrace the roles of expert measurer, land advisor, development partner, data analyst and boundary issues expert.

In Utah and across the country, we are seeing an aging workforce and a need to develop the next generation of surveyors. We need to focus on educating and making our profession exciting and inviting to young people who are considering their career options. Surveying is thrilling! We need to clearly convey that surveying requires you to be part explorer, part detective and part legal expert in land boundaries. Upcoming surveyors must be diverse, embracing the challenges of thorough research and defensible decisions supported by expert field techniques and skills. They must embrace today’s statutes and technologies while remembering the mindset, tools and history of past surveyors.

You know, if I had to start a career all over again, I’d still choose to be a surveyor. For me, it has been such a varied and fulfilling career.