If you're a surveyor in our tech-driven profession, the biggest enemy is stagnation. Progressing and staying relevant depends on maintaining a driving curiosity about anything and everything. Otherwise there's a machine or computer algorithm waiting to take your job once it's more economically efficient to do so.
That's why it's also very important to develop your "soft" skills." Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, mindsets, career attributes, social intelligence and emotional intelligence that land surveyors need to get and stay ahead.
Now more than ever, the land surveying profession needs curious individuals who thrive when experimenting, innovating or challenging preconceived ideas about how things should be. It's what will set you apart from the pack at hiring time and elevate your value once you're established.
So nurture your curiosity, take professional and personal risks and habitually challenge "the system." Embrace uncertainty and unpopular opinions by challenging yourself with information you don’t agree with or that doesn’t come naturally to you. Look for opportunities to make things happen and re-imagine yourself and your life.
In other words: Just Keep Moving.
John Rogers, PLS (retired)
The Tenth Society
