Don’t Everyone Rush To Apply For That Cushy Government Job At Once….
Employment advertisement in one of the twenty wealthiest counties in the US
County Surveyor
$53,540 – $56,217 annual salary rangeFWIW #1 – my office at my last job was in the same county and I was paying a guy with no experience straight out of college $52,000
FWIW #2 – Another advertisement 20 miles away: (BLANK) is actively seeking qualified licensed candidates to provide management and oversight to our Land Surveying Division in our (BLANK), Maryland office. Salary: $104,000.00 to $135,200.00 /year.
I mean I understand a county government can’t match private industry salaries, and your taking less pay for less stress, but 45 cents on the dollar seems like quite a discount. Especially when the median home price is 6.5 times your annual salary.
- 12 Replies
You get what you pay for…
I moved away from the DC area in 1988 because of the fast increasing home prices
Is it a full-time position? What are the County Surveyor’s responsibilties in your area? In Oregon some CS’s have a large staff with budgets to match. Others have a filing cabinet to maintain.
We abolished the office of “County Surveyor” in Oklahoma in 1978 (I think). It was an elected position and (in several counties) the pay was $1 a year. Office space in the County Courthouse was provided however. They gleaned their pay from individuals by performing surveys. Court cases provided a good income also when the county surveyor was directed by a judge to settle a boundary dispute; no doubt paid for by the loser.
One old county surveyor I kept up with until he passed had actually resigned his position because the county commissioners couldn’t understand why he wasn’t at their beckoned call all the time…for free.
County surveyors here (for the counties that have one) manage the surveying department for the engineering or public works department. Basically a private industry survey manager position, but replace budgets and business development with dealing with the planners, county commissioners, and reviewing plats
Most of the counties in Texas has abolished the office.
It was an elected post. Candidates had to spend money to campaign to get the word out they were on the ballot, the local county did not furnish the elected official an office nor any pay.
Some Counties have a need for them and do give them office and pay and keep them busy.
County surveyors are not required to have a state license and can survey land legally for the county, which most counties have an ample amount of properties in and out of municipalities.
They were the go between RPLS and the State Land Commissioner in that any Excess or Vacancy found was reported to the County Surveyor who would file the information and forward to the Capitol.
They also had the same legal right to decide and establish lost Headright boundaries as LSLS claim is their purpose and not any RPLS can, lol, hehehehe and ROTFL at that claim.
They also are allowed to sit in with the County Judge and Commissioners and County Clerk at their meetings and are privy to County business and inside information about their dealings and agendas.
In most of the country there are two types of government surveyors. The ones that are willing to give up pay to serve the public, and the ones that cant get a job anywhere else. They represent some of the best, and some of the worst of our profession.
I get giving up pay, what I don’t get is getting paid less than what an instrument man makes in the private sector.
Or, for that matter, I looked up the same county’s salary for a Staff Engineer Level I: two years of experience, no PE required – $77,500.
No question that this is an extreme example. They will be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
In this market I expect that they will get no qualified applicants at all.
what’s the health insurance premium that the county guy is not going to pay for and what are the level of benefits?
I can’t speak to this county in particular, and the situation may be different in different states. but last time I was job hunting the only government positions that offered a significantly better deal for insurance was the federal government. Retirement ranged from approximately equivalent to a better deal in the private sector, the days of government employee pensions are gone in most of the country (including the federal government). The government positions did have a small lead in paid time off, which had the potential to grow after many years of service.
Back in the 70-mid 80s we had a guy that called himself the county surveyor. That is what he put on his hand drawn seal as well. I think his only experience was an artillery surveyor. He surveyed everything with a compass and cloth tape. It just cracks me up that no one ever questioned him. They just assumed he was the county surveyor.
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