Architecture and Engineering
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.
Also called: City Surveyor, County Surveyor, Land Surveyor, Licensed Land Surveyor, Mine Surveyor, Professional Land Surveyor
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $94,970
- $45.66/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 1,070
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- −1.9%
- 120 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Bachelor's degree
- plus Internship/residency
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $57,880 | $76,130 | $94,970 | $104,450 | $131,220 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- 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.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Moderate exposure54 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 51
- Language-model AIOE 43
- GPTs-are-GPTs 67
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for surveyors is moderate, and AI tools are not yet widely used in this work. Tools may help with searching records, checking calculations, and drafting reports and legal descriptions. Measuring on site, deciding where boundaries lie, and certifying the work still rely on a licensed person. Massachusetts is projected to see a small decline in surveyor jobs.
Likely to change
- Searching land records and titles
- Drafting reports and legal descriptions
Still relies on people
- Fieldwork and on-site measurements
- Certifying surveys and taking legal responsibility
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
Related jobs that build on what you already do.
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- Pay difference
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Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
1 program near Boston
Wentworth Institute of Technology (school website, opens in a new tab)
Boston, MA · 2.5 mi from City Hall
Surveying Technology/Surveying · Certificate (12 weeks to 1 year)
1 completed in 2023-24
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Talk to a career coach
A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.
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