Careers / Surveying and Mapping Technicians
Surveying and Mapping Technicians — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$54,240
United States, 2025
Employment
58,010
United States, 2025
Typical education
Not recorded
Job Zone 3
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes. May calculate mapmaking information and create maps from source data, such as surveying notes, aerial photography, satellite data, or other maps to show topographical features, political boundaries, and other features. May verify accuracy and completeness of maps.
- O*NET code
- 17-3031.00
- Job zone
- 3
- Experience required
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years
Typical tasks
- Set out and recover stakes, marks, or other monumentation.
- Search for section corners, property irons, or survey points.
- Calculate latitudes, longitudes, angles, areas, or other information for mapmaking, using survey field notes or reference tables.
- Enter Global Positioning System (GPS) data, legal deeds, field notes, or land survey reports into geographic information system (GIS) workstations so that information can be transformed into graphic land descriptions, such as maps and drawings.
- Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites, electronic distance measuring equipment, or electronic data collectors.
- Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections.
- Collect information needed to carry out new surveys, using source maps, previous survey data, photographs, computer records, or other relevant information.
- Record survey measurements or descriptive data, using notes, drawings, sketches, or inked tracings.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$37,520
25th percentile
$45,430
75th percentile
$66,700
90th percentile
$81,630
Most important skills
- Reading Comprehension3.6
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Mathematics3.3
- Complex Problem Solving3.3
- Time Management3.1
- Active Listening3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Speaking3.0
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Active Learning2.9
- Coordination2.9
- Systems Analysis2.9
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 9 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
9
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension | 3.6 | 3.8 | Not selected | 3.8 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.5 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Mathematics | 3.3 | 3.6 | Not selected | 3.6 |
| Time Management | 3.1 | 3.4 | Not selected | 3.4 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.3 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Monitoring | 3.1 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Active Listening | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Surveying and Mapping TechniciansHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $101,270 | 40 | 2025 |
| Los Angeles, CA | $92,700 | 860 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $84,360 | 360 | 2025 |
| Sacramento, CA | $81,120 | 250 | 2025 |
| Visalia, CA | $80,680 | 40 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $79,450 | 50 | 2025 |
| Vallejo, CA | $78,790 | 40 | 2025 |
| CA | $78,110 | 3,340 | 2025 |
| San Diego, CA | $78,110 | 440 | 2025 |
| AK | $76,970 | 300 | 2025 |
| Anchorage, AK | $76,970 | 220 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $76,560 | 140 | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $76,140 | 740 | 2025 |
| Stockton, CA | $75,990 | 30 | 2025 |
| Reno, NV | $73,320 | 140 | 2025 |
| MN | $73,190 | 1,060 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $72,230 | 380 | 2025 |
| Santa Maria, CA | $71,940 | 60 | 2025 |
| Hartford, CT | $68,640 | 160 | 2025 |
| Bremerton, WA | $68,270 | 40 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Surveying and Mapping Technicians to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.