Retiring Surveyor

[CosmicTruth]

I'm having to retire due to health issues.
It was a good career, I surveyed all across the US and alaska for almost 44 years.
I listed my old GPS equipment on ebay, I had paid $6000+ for it. It looks like it will sell in just 4 hours for $600. It's kind of depressing because I really needed the money to pay my bills until my SSA disability starts paying in April.
The listing is for Trimble 4600LS X2 PN 26800-21 Gently Used & TDC1 Data Collector.
I powered up the TDC1 and it works fine, It is old but efficient at controlling the 2 4600LS GPS units. The system is old and still has the old 9 pin connectors.
I apologise for kicking this post in here, I'm just depressed to see the units and TDC1 sell so low.

Wish me luck on my retirement
Hope to get a prime someday soon

[CosmicTruth]

My first job offer was with the COE but I turned it down because I had no way to get to Bakersfield CA, so I took a job in Arkansas, had an overpriced National Semiconductor calculator. in 1978 moved to Denver CO and a year or so later bought a 41C with the survey pac. That was brand new tech back then, and I got it instead of the 67 that was suggested by a coworker.

[RMollov]

I wish you all the best. It sounds so sad surveyor in the USA with 44 years on the job to struggle paying ongoing bills.

[Harald]

(01-26-2018 11:53 AM)RMollov Wrote:  I wish you all the best. It sounds so sad surveyor in the USA with 44 years on the job to struggle paying ongoing bills.

I have to agree with that. It is going to hit all of us sooner or later...

[d b]

Congratulations on a long career doing interesting things with real math, and squeezing precision out of worn & cobbled together systems. Accuracy, who knows? I always assumed compensating errors when I got over 1:100,000.
Someone starting out now will be able to look back on years spent doing data entry and how many canned programs he's learned to use. You done good.

[teenix]

(01-26-2018 06:26 PM)Harald Wrote:  I have to agree with that. It is going to hit all of us sooner or later...

Sadly I too have met that fate recently. No more flying (that was for survey too) and pushing 60, statistically there is only a 10% chance of finding any work now.

Still, on the bright side I can fiddle around with the MultiCalc and emulator a bit more :-)

cheers

Tony

[CosmicTruth]

(01-26-2018 11:53 AM)RMollov Wrote:  I wish you all the best. It sounds so sad surveyor in the USA with 44 years on the job to struggle paying ongoing bills.

The robots are taking over, I seen it coming with those old HP EDM's and then the 3808A.

[CosmicTruth]

(01-26-2018 08:25 PM)Den Belillo (Martinez Ca.) Wrote:  Congratulations on a long career doing interesting things with real math, and squeezing precision out of worn & cobbled together systems. Accuracy, who knows? I always assumed compensating errors when I got over 1:100,000.
Someone starting out now will be able to look back on years spent doing data entry and how many canned programs he's learned to use. You done good.

I intentionally switched jobs alot, in an attempt to become well rounded. I have working experience in boundary, aerial photogrammetric, hydrographic, seismic, topographic, and all aspects of surveying both in the office and in the field.

[Michael de Estrada]

(01-27-2018 04:57 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  The robots are taking over, I seen it coming with those old HP EDM's and then the 3808A.

Sure, there are computerized transits, and you don’t need to spend hours making computations to close a traverse, but there are still human beings out in the field doing surveys. So, the profession still exists and there is employment available, although perhaps not as many jobs. The same situation occurred in the drafting profession with the advent of CADD systems.

[CosmicTruth]

My diagnosis is a brain tumor, parkinson's disease, and I had some mini strokes. But the sad part is the way in which my last employer chose to let me go. He asked how my disability claim was going, told me he had hired my replacement and I had to train him, after 3 weeks of training he laid me off, then fought my Unemployment Insurance claim and won, so I get no UI. It is a complicated series of events, luckily I was approved for SSA Disability, but the payments dont start until the end of April.

[CosmicTruth]

(01-27-2018 05:19 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  

(01-27-2018 04:57 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  The robots are taking over, I seen it coming with those old HP EDM's and then the 3808A.

there are still human beings out in the field doing surveys.

I remember having the 4 man crews, with 2 chainmen, an instrument man, and party chief! I have watched the tools progress to GPS and drones I can imagine the future tools too!

[Dan]

(01-27-2018 05:19 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  My diagnosis is a brain tumor, parkinson's disease, and I had some mini strokes. But the sad part is the way in which my last employer chose to let me go. He asked how my disability claim was going, told me he had hired my replacement and I had to train him, after 3 weeks of training he laid me off, then fought my Unemployment Insurance claim and won, so I get no UI. It is a complicated series of events, luckily I was approved for SSA Disability, but the payments dont start until the end of April.

Man, that is really low. I don't know how people like that sleep at night.

Is it true that gradians are used by surveyors? I used to teach math and only ever saw degree and radian measure.

[RMollov]

(01-28-2018 08:55 AM)Dan Wrote:  Is it true that gradians are used by surveyors? I used to teach math and only ever saw degree and radian measure.

The whole Europe at least AFAIK. For at least 50 years now.

[RMollov]

(01-27-2018 05:19 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  My diagnosis is a brain tumor, parkinson's disease, and I had some mini strokes.

I'd be glad to help you with a small donation to a fellow surveyor. Say how.

[Harald]

(01-28-2018 01:28 PM)RMollov Wrote:  

(01-28-2018 08:55 AM)Dan Wrote:  Is it true that gradians are used by surveyors? I used to teach math and only ever saw degree and radian measure.

The whole Europe at least AFAIK. For at least 50 years now.

No one uses gradians as a standard angle measurement in Europe. It is mostly degrees. I use radians a lot as an electrical engineer.
I was under the impression gradians is used by the mining industry.

Edit: I think I misread your post. I guess you were saying the whole of the European surveying industry uses it. That I do not know and can't comment on.

[CosmicTruth]

(01-28-2018 08:55 AM)Dan Wrote:  Man, that is really low. I don't know how people like that sleep at night.
Is it true that gradians are used by surveyors? I used to teach math and only ever saw degree and radian measure.

I agree some people I have deemed to be evil in their nature, but I have not given up on all humanity (yet).
I have had to do some calculations with grads, all our equipment reads in DMS. And we use Bearings of course for sides of land boundaries.
@RMollov I sent you a PM with my email, I think I am covered this month and next, I definitely appreciate your kindness to offer.

[CosmicTruth]

(01-27-2018 05:19 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  The same situation occurred in the drafting profession with the advent of CADD systems.

Not so much in the Drafting department, when you think about it, The draftsman just moved behind a computer.
In the field Surveyors lost 1 man with the EDM (no tail chainmen), Then with the Total Station invention the Party Chief was moved to the Rod. Then the Robotic Total Station and GPS got rid of the Instrument Operator. So the old 4 man crew is now 1 man.
Machine Control systems now has the Party Chief just installing the Surface model into the dozer and doing some base setup and surface checking.
In the near future the surface model will be on the cloud, and the machine operator will be eliminated. So surveyors might need to become truck drivers in the near future. Actually being a truck driver wont work either, maybe a computer programmer? Someone will be needed to program the robots!

[Michael de Estrada]

(01-28-2018 08:19 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  

(01-27-2018 05:19 PM)Michael de Estrada Wrote:  The same situation occurred in the drafting profession with the advent of CADD systems.

Not so much in the Drafting department, when you think about it, The draftsman just moved behind a computer.
In the field Surveyors lost 1 man with the EDM (no tail chainmen), Then with the Total Station invention the Party Chief was moved to the Rod. Then the Robotic Total Station and GPS got rid of the Instrument Operator. So the old 4 man crew is now 1 man.

Actually, it was much worse for drafting, as 1 CADD operator replaced 10 board drafters. Even engineers suffered as computer programs eliminated about 90% of the manual computation time, so far fewer engineers were required to complete a design. I am a retired Civil/Structural engineer, and what saved my career was that I learned computer programming early on. I also specialized in seismic design, rather than just doing traditional Civil/Structural work, which is rather cook book and doesn’t pay particularly well. Finally, I realized that being someone else’s employee wasn’t going to result in a secure retirement, so I started my own company with another colleague 25 years ago, which eventually lead to a nice retirement nest egg.

[Dan]

(01-28-2018 08:19 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  In the near future the surface model will be on the cloud, and the machine operator will be eliminated. So surveyors might need to become truck drivers in the near future. Actually being a truck driver wont work either, maybe a computer programmer? Someone will be needed to program the robots!

There is much talk about the job losses arising out of increased automation. According to this article "47% of jobs in the US are at risk of being automated in the next decade or two". So a number of politicians and policy strategists are advocating a universal basic income, but others are opposed to it.

[Harald]

(01-29-2018 02:45 AM)Dan Wrote:  

(01-28-2018 08:19 PM)CosmicTruth Wrote:  In the near future the surface model will be on the cloud, and the machine operator will be eliminated. So surveyors might need to become truck drivers in the near future. Actually being a truck driver wont work either, maybe a computer programmer? Someone will be needed to program the robots!

There is much talk about the job losses arising out of increased automation. According to this article "47% of jobs in the US are at risk of being automated in the next decade or two". So a number of politicians and policy strategists are advocating a universal basic income, but others are opposed to it.

Well, If you think about it, what should automation mean? It should lead to us all having to work less while maintaining the same standard of living. Instead some are left behind completely while others have to work hard and still struggle. I guess something is going seriously wrong. We are all generating wealth for someone else but not really ourselves...
Unfortunately I have no solution for that...

Cheers,
Harald