Land surveying is a profession with a long history in North America.
"Land surveyors had a major role in the formation of this country. They were really on the frontier -- a lot of early land surveyors were actually explorers," says Elizabeth Cannon. She is a professor of geomatics engineering.
Much of the work that land surveyors do today begins with what was done by surveyors before them. "After you get the request to do a survey, you do a preliminary deed search. Then you have to look at surrounding property deeds as well," says surveyor Jamie Clow.
Paul Lamoreaux is a right-of-way engineer in San Francisco. (That means he figures out the best place to put a road so it doesn't interfere with surrounding properties.) He says the importance of historical research cannot be underestimated.
"You have to keep following a thread, like a detective and like a historian. Some people fall down on the research because they don't want to take the time or they are working on some sort of a budget."
He says you shouldn't be surprised to find yourself going through dusty volumes at the local library or archives.
Finding what you're looking for can be quite thrilling, as Lamoreaux recently found when investigating the path of an airport extension.
"They thought it was logical to build the airport extension. We were acquiring the right of way along the route of the San Francisco and San Jose Railroad, which was built in 1864 and abandoned 20 years ago. I had to search through the state archives to find just where the railroad was originally located."
It is also important to research what is currently on the land in question. Lamoreaux says, for example, that by building on the old rail right of way, some modern concerns lost out.
"They didn't take into account that that was a freight route, not a passenger route. So I'd say that in the East Bay we should maybe have been 10 blocks to the east, closer to the population. It's all old warehouses out there. Plus they had to build the system high enough to go over freight cars. That's causing some problems."
Clow agrees that the dilemma begins when you compare what you find in the deeds to what people use as the property. "We have a two-person survey crew and they go out and get the information about what people are occupying right now as their boundary," he says.
"We take that back to the office and compare that with the deed. Hopefully, things compare up pretty closely. If it doesn't, well, then we have to go talking to the neighbors and maybe survey there. There are cases where there may be no deed -- people have just swapped properties. That's where you really start to get into trouble."
Because of its rugged history, the profession does not traditionally have many women. "In a lot of cases, the environment in which surveyors work -- say, for example, in oil and gas exploration -- may not be the most welcoming to women," says Cannon.
Sarah Cornett is a land surveyor who has worked in oil exploration. She agrees that women entering the profession should be prepared to meet individuals with biases. But she says she has found no insurmountable barriers. Cornett is now the executive director of a land surveyors' association.
Gerard Lachapelle is head of the department of geomatics engineering at a university. He says the reasons behind the low number of women in land surveying are as much to do with attitude as physical requirements.
"Now, the profession is realizing that it can't deny itself 50 percent of available brainpower or it will fall behind," he says.
Cannon agrees that there is room for women in the profession. "If you look at the roots of the profession, it hasn't been that long that it has required a university degree. Before it was more of an apprenticeship thing, so it tended to stay with the same sort of people."
Cornett's advice to women who want to follow in her footsteps is to deal with biases on an individual basis. "Keep it in perspective and don't forget your sense of humor. That said, any serious misconduct or harassment should be taken to the appropriate authority."
History plays an important role in the job of a land surveyor. But it is not a profession that is stuck in the past. Land surveyors make use of state-of-the-art technology on a daily basis.
"In the past, things were done just by stepping over the land. As often as not it would be quite a bit off," says Clow.
"Today, we use precise instruments which store data in them rather than writing it down. This is a big change in the last 10 years. The registry is computerized now and property maps are all digital."
Practicing land surveyors keep up with advances by using online help, attending conferences, seminars and workshops and by reading trade publications. Surveyors also constantly update equipment and software.
Cannon researches and develops global positioning systems (GPS) systems. This technology uses satellites to identify precise points on a land area. "I teach a course in satellite navigation. Some of those students are future land surveyors. They're there to learn about the tools they'll be using. They know they cannot rely on yesterday's tools."