Skills
Surveying Technician Skills & Tools
The technical skills, people skills and tools employers look for in surveying technicians, and how to build and show them.
What skills do surveying technicians need?
Surveying Technicians need technical skills such as total stations, gps, and field notes, plus people skills like attention to detail and teamwork. They also use tools such as Total stations and GNSS receivers.
Technical (hard) skills
- Total stations
- GPS
- Field notes
- Construction staking
- CAD
- Map reading
People (soft) skills
- Attention to detail
- Teamwork
- Stamina
- Reliability
Tools, equipment and technology
- Total stations
- GNSS receivers
- Data collectors
- Prisms and rods
- Machetes and brush tools
- CAD and GIS software
Skills in action: common tasks
These step-by-step guides show how surveying technicians put their skills to work:
How to show these skills on a resume
- Lead your skills section with the technical skills from the job posting, for example, “Total stations” and “GPS.”
- Prove soft skills with results: instead of listing “attention to detail,” describe a situation where you used it.
- List credentials such as NSPS Certified Survey Technician (CST) near the top, with the issuing organization and date.
- Use the employer’s vocabulary. Our surveying technician glossary covers the terms hiring managers expect.
How to build these skills
Formal training, supervised practice and certification are the most direct routes. Our Surveying Technician training introduces each of these skills with plain-language lessons, procedures and a final knowledge check: a strong foundation before hands-on training or your first day.