The Training of Surveyors
E. R. H. Darwin · Australian Surveyor · 1935
The surveyor, whose training is to be discussed, may be defined as a man skilled in measuring heights, distances and angles in the field; in making the necessary computations, and in producing the plans and sections which form a record of his work. There are many branches of this kind of work, such as geodetic, topographical, cadastral, and engineering surveys, and those incidental to some natural science such as geology, geophysics, forestry, or agriculture. As all these surveys involve the aforementioned measurements, it is possible to train men, in a not unduly long period, to take up any branch of survey work without spending very much, if any, time in special training. There is, of course, an art in this profession as in any other, only to be acquired by those who are temperamentally suited to it, and by practice. If during the training period too much stress is laid on theory at the expense of practice, the young surveyor may find acquiring the art of his profession a painful process; if, on the other hand too much stress is laid on practice he may become narrow in his outlook.