Surveying and Mapping Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 63% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about 70% by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The conversations, in-person and hands-on work, about 30% of the time, stays with people.
Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes. May calculate mapmaking information and create maps from source data, such as surveying notes, aerial photography, satellite data, or other maps to show topographical features, political boundaries, and other features. May verify accuracy and completeness of maps.
58,010 people do this job in the US. $54,240 a year.
Reviewed on October 18, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on1 h
- A person checks AI's work24 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet3 h
- Stays with people12 h
Surveying and Mapping Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 1 hours, 24 hours become checking its work, 3 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 12 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Prepare topographic maps (about 2 h, a person checks); Enter survey data into GIS (about 2 h, a person checks); Analyze aerial photographs (about 2 h, a person checks).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 58%
- 12%
- 3%
- 2%
- 25%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
What handing it over would take, now
The 63% within reach splits by what a model would need. The dates, pace and reliability follow the controls above. Estimates.
of the working time. The material can be handed to a model and the result handed back.
of the working time. The model has to be connected to the system the work lives in.
is conversation short enough by length. This site leaves conversation with people, so it is not in the total.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 30%. Today's estimate: 63%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 30 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: none to 0.0028% (released February and March 2025); none to 0.0019% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.0028% | 632 of 703 | 1 of 30 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0019% | 651 of 677 | 1 of 30 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 30 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 48% of this job's working time as physical work. For 35% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 15% in a purpose-built cell, 20% in a structured facility. 0.56 of 3, the 293rd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 52%
- No robot shown 13%
- In a purpose-built cell 15%
- In a structured facility 20%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
What changes for the people in this job
From the task-by-task review, by the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five. It says which parts of the work stay with people and which change, not whether anyone keeps a job: that depends on decisions no data set can see.
What stays with people
30% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Conduct field surveys, the hands-on work, 14%
- Supervise survey and map crews, the conversation, 3%
- Search for survey markers, the hands-on work, 3%
- Hold survey rods, the hands-on work, 3%
- Set out and recover stakes, the hands-on work, 2%
- Operate surveying instruments, the hands-on work, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
68% of the working time: desk work a model could do by then, in tasks where a mistake costs something or a licensed person signs. A person checks it. Another 2% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Design geographic databases, costly if wrong, 10%
- Prepare topographic maps, costly if wrong, 6%
- Analyze aerial photographs, costly if wrong, 5%
- Enter survey data into GIS, costly if wrong, 5%
- Trace contours onto maps, costly if wrong, 5%
- Describe property boundaries, costly if wrong, 4%
What to learn
- Reviewing work you did not do yourself. The tasks under What becomes checking the machine, where a mistake costs something, stay a person's to check: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 58% of the time is documents and data, the part models reach first: writing a clear brief, giving the right material, and checking what comes back.
- The hands-on craft. About 25% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Running AI inside the business systems. About 12% of the time is work inside business systems, which a model can do only once it is connected: knowing the systems well enough to set that up and watch it.
Your own version of this job: read it against your job description. The headline is free; the full personal report, every task with its timeline and what to learn, is $19 (a sample).
The tasks
Sorted by . 30 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conduct surveys to ascertain the locations of natural features and man-made structures on the Earth's surface, underground, and underwater, using electronic distance-measuring equipment, such as GPS, and other surveying instruments.Measuring positions in the field with GPS and instruments.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Spot laser-scanning / autonomous reality capture (Trimble X7, FARO Focus payloads) (Boston Dynamics) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 14% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Design or develop information databases that include geographic or topographic data.Designing the database and building it in the system.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 work days3.3 h to 4.2 work days | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 44%Half by Dec 2026 |
| Prepare topographic or contour maps of land surveyed, including site features and other relevant information, such as charts, drawings, and survey notes.Drawing the map from the survey notes and features.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Documents 100% | 93%Half by now |
| Analyze aerial photographs to detect and interpret significant military, industrial, resource, or topographical data.Reading the photographs for features and what they mean.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Documents 100% | 93%Half by now |
| Enter Global Positioning System (GPS) data, legal deeds, field notes, or land survey reports into geographic information system (GIS) workstations so that information can be transformed into graphic land descriptions, such as maps and drawings.Keying and loading the data into the GIS workstation.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 1.7 h33 min to 4.2 h | Systems 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Trace contours or topographic details to generate maps that denote specific land or property locations or geographic attributes.Tracing contours and details onto the map at the workstation.Done more than weekly by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h1.3 h to 1 work day | Documents 100% | 95%Half by now |
| Research and combine existing property information to describe property boundaries in relation to adjacent properties, taking into account parcel splits, combinations, or land boundary adjustments.Researching the records and writing the boundary description.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Documents 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Provide assistance in the development of methods and procedures for conducting field surveys.Drafting procedures and discussing them with the surveyor.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Documents 80%, conversation 20% | 77%Desk part half by now |
| Supervise or coordinate activities of workers engaged in surveying, plotting data, drafting maps, or producing blueprints, photostats, or photographs.Directing drafters at their desks and crews in the field.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 1.7 h50 min to 5 h | Conversation 40%, in person 40%, documents 20% | 20%Desk part half by now |
| Check all layers of maps to ensure accuracy, identifying and marking errors and making corrections.Going through each layer for errors and correcting them.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h25 min to 3.3 h | Documents 100% | 99%Half by now |
| Complete detailed source and method notes describing the location of routine or complex land parcels.Writing up how each parcel's location was found.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.7 h50 min to 3.3 h | Documents 100% | 100%Half by now |
| Monitor mapping work or the updating of maps to ensure accuracy, inclusion of new or changed information, or compliance with rules and regulations.Reviewing the maps as they are drawn and talking corrections through with the drafters.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Documents 70%, conversation 30% | 70%Desk part half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach. Made of: how the task's time splits among five kinds of doing. Only the documents and systems parts can count as within reach, so a task that is 30% documents can be at most 30% within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Cartographers and Photogrammetrists78% now, 98% by 2028
- Geodetic Surveyors67% now, 70% by 2028
- Geographic Information Systems Technologists and Technicians68% now, 99% by 2028
- Surveyors51% now, 70% by 2028
- Geological Technicians, Except Hydrologic Technicians34% now, 41% by 2028
- Architectural and Civil Drafters73% now, 89% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Surveying and Mapping Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 63% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 70% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five (69% to 70% across the three paces the site shows). Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Surveying and Mapping Technicians come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Prepare topographic maps (93% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Enter survey data into GIS (99% of the task's time now); and Analyze aerial photographs (93% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Surveying and Mapping Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Conduct field surveys; Search for survey markers; and Hold survey rods. Together such tasks are about 25% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Surveying and Mapping Technicians learn as AI takes on more of the work?
- By the job's own task-by-task review, the first things to learn are reviewing work you did not do yourself; briefing a model and checking its drafts; and the hands-on craft. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 30% of the working time stays with people, 68% becomes checking a model's work and 2% could be handed over with lighter checks. It says which parts of the work change, never whether anyone keeps a job.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Surveying and Mapping Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Surveying and Mapping Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 48% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 35% of the working time, 20% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.56 of 3. One example: Spot laser-scanning / autonomous reality capture (Trimble X7, FARO Focus payloads) for "conduct field surveys". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 30 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, reviewed one task at a time on October 18, 2026 for what each is made of (documents, business systems, conversation, in person, hands-on), and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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