Terrible Introduction to Surveying
Pros
The benefits provided were exceptional. They had a variety of options. That should be expected of a company this large. There were plenty of different departments to move to if you were there long enough for an opening. The land survey technician position I acquired was a great way to get outside and learn new equipment for the jobs at hand.
Cons
Unfortunately all of the pros were totally outweighed by the cons. When I worked at the company in 2018, the survey department was the most toxic place I had ever worked. If you have never taken a surveying job, be aware of this because this it is apparently common in the industry. It seemed like evey day someone had to make a negative comment about another person. If they find out that something aggrivates you or you made a noticeable enough mistake, they will not let you forget. Everyone places blame on everyone else and everyone that had been there for over a decade had a temper. I was yelled at multiple times for some of the smallest mistakes, including but not limited to, pressing the wrong button on an instrument, and not understanding the equipment fully even though I was training. Everyone in the department wanted to get overtime, so ten hour days were the minimum. This is fine, but you will be carrying heavy equipment all day in the extreme heat/cold, next to an interstate or in the middle of a swamp. So make note that you might be getting berated on a long day with dangerous conditions. As for travel, it was always up in the air. You may or may not be leaving to do a job for one to two weeks. Every week I had to come packed assuming I would be leaving for two weeks because we would not know until the Monday we came in. I fortunately was not there long enough to experience a two week work trip. If you are out of town your activities are limited to that town and your hotel. You were welcome to use your own transportation to get to the job site/hotel if you wanted to go further out after work hours. There were not many hours after work (constant overtime) and that would put a lot of miles on your transportation. If there is a big job out of town, you will not be home for more than a week per month. I personally was not accustomed to this line of work, so my life was very derailed. I had other activites and obligations outside of work and being on the road constantly prevented those things from happening. Your work-life balance will definitely be a lot more work. It was the most mental stress I have had to deal with and it was not worth the experience to be honest. If you really are desperate for a job and just want to work or are already familiar with the industry this might be for you. I personally would not suggest this to anyone. Not here.