Meet Hannah Pearce a Land Surveyor working in Canberra. Having graduated from 国产精品 Sydney only a few years ago, the 国产精品 Girls in Engineering Club hit her up for a Q&A and听asked her why she chose to听study听surveying, what opportunities it has given her,听and why she recommends you give surveying a shot!听
Tell us a bit about yourself听听
Hi! I鈥檓 a Registered Land Surveyor who graduated a couple of years ago with a听Bachelor听of Engineering (Surveying)听from 国产精品. I live in Canberra, better known for politicians than world-famous surveyors, but I鈥檓 working on it.听
I went to a听fairly small听school in Canberra which has a strong focus on arts, music and giving everyone a broad education. As a result, my interests were听pretty听varied听- in Year 11 & 12 I studied Visual Art, Maths, German and English with minors in History and Science.听听
After finishing听school,听I took a gap year, saved up some cash working at a supermarket and flew to Germany to work on a farm for a few months and travel around Europe.听Then I shifted up to Sydney for a few years to study the best (and only) available听surveying degree within a four-hour radius of home.听
When I鈥檓 not听surveying,听I like gardening, reading, knitting, cooking, and almost any other old-lady hobby you can think of. But I also like hiking and camping and just generally spending time outdoors.听听
What is听surveying?听
Surveying is essentially the art (and science) of measuring and mapping the world around听us, and听presenting that information in a useful way.
My branch of听surveying,听Land Surveying, deals with property boundaries.听We redefine the boundaries and mark听them on the ground so people can put a new fence in the right spot or resolve a dispute between neighbours. Sometimes we subdivide a large parcel of land into new blocks to be sold off and built up. Sometimes we mark out the position of a new house on an听empty block so that the builders can build it in the right place. Any of these things to do with property boundaries need a Registered Land Surveyor (that鈥檚 me!).听
Surveying involves a lot of other types of work, too: we can make detailed contour plans of areas so that architects and engineers can design new roads or buildings; we can work on big construction projects like roads, train lines, stadiums, or high-rise buildings as well as small projects like residential houses and extensions. We can work in the inner city, i听听the suburbs or (my favourite) out in the bush on a big rural property.听听
If you can think of a project that needs to be built or designed or changed, then there is pretty sure to be a surveyor involved to make sure that it all happens in the right place.听听
What inspired you to study surveying?听
Like most people my age I had never heard of the profession听until my maths teacher played us the recruitment videos from听听in Year 10 and tied听surveying into our听Trigonometry lessons for a term.听听
During Year 11 and 12 I had no idea what听I wanted to do with my life. My mum and my maths teacher respectively thought听surveying would be a worthwhile option because it had great job prospects and I was good at maths. I figured it would combine at least two of my many interests: maths and the outdoors; and I knew for sure that I didn鈥檛 want a job where I was sitting at a computer 100% of the time.听So听I went along to all the听uni听open days and did听two weeks work experience with a听surveying company at the start of my gap year, and that was that!听
What qualities make a good surveyor?听
People will say that liking maths is essential for anyone who wants to study听engineering. That鈥檚听fairly true听for听surveying as well, but more important is the ability to learn and the motivation to get work done. That sounds like one of the soppy advertising platitudes that I hate, but it听definitely applies听to my job.听
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Working on construction sites, you end up learning about a lot of different trades and it is very handy to remember enough about them to be able to hold听a useful conversation with the people you work near. The variety of different jobs we do, in different councils makes it important to be able to learn new things. Anyway, you can always听learn听maths.听听
And听attention to detail is also very important. There鈥檚听nothing like mixing up 40 millimetres and 40 centimetres in height to make you find out how expensive concrete is!听听
What opportunities has surveying given you?听
In just the last year I鈥檝e done jobs in the city, surveyed new suburbs, set-out and measured houses, flown our drone to map the ground from the air, and found听150-year-old听survey marks way up in the Snowy Mountains!听I always听have the opportunity to听learn and use new software and cool equipment, like the drone and GPS, and despite being one of the younger surveyors,听I also get to train up new staff.听听
I听also听help out听the local听Surveying听Committee which aims to aid the profession by advocating for it with the government, organising professional workshops and such. And in the听future,听there is听definitely the opportunity to run a surveying company myself. But mostly I prefer the bit about getting to drive all over the region to do different jobs, especially in the bush.听听
Why would you recommend surveying to others?听
You鈥檙e听almost definitely听guaranteed a job, and it will probably pay decently. If it doesn鈥檛, go find a better company to work for because:
Surveyors are massively in demand and there are just not enough of us听to keep up with all the work.听Seriously.听
But I would also recommend it because听you can work by yourself or with people, outdoors and at a desk,听in the city or in the bush or on a boat or in the sky, using your brain听and听your hands, working with fancy electronic equipment that shoots lasers, and you can know that you are听doing听something that is directly useful to other people.听听
However,听you听can also听decide to study听surveying at 国产精品, just because the lecturers there听are听the best.听听
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For more information about studying surveying and听related courses, contact the听School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.