Surveyors
In short: today's best AI models could do about 51% 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.
Make exact measurements and determine property boundaries. Provide data relevant to the shape, contour, gravitation, location, elevation, or dimension of land or land features on or near the earth's surface for engineering, mapmaking, mining, land evaluation, construction, and other purposes.
50,830 people do this job in the US. $75,440 a year.
Reviewed on October 19, 2026: what each task is made of, and what handing it over would ask.
A typical 40-hour week
- AI could take on0 h
- A person checks AI's work20 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet8 h
- Stays with people12 h
Surveyors, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 0 hours, 20 hours become checking its work, 8 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 12 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Compute geodetic measurements (about 3 h, a person checks); Prepare and certify survey maps (about 3 h, a person checks); Record survey results (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.
- 65%
- 5%
- 4%
- 2%
- 24%
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 51% 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, 6%. Today's estimate: 51%.
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 24 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.026% to 0.032% (released February and March 2025); 0.0028% to 0.0083% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.026% | 403 of 708 | 2 of 24 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.032% | 348 of 703 | 3 of 24 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.0028% | 594 of 655 | 1 of 24 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0065% | 539 of 672 | 2 of 24 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0083% | 520 of 677 | 2 of 24 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 24 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 24 |
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 33% of this job's working time as physical work. For 12% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 9% in a purpose-built cell, 2% in a structured facility, 1% in any setting. 0.17 of 3, the 464th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 67%
- No robot shown 21%
- In a purpose-built cell 9%
- In a structured facility 2%
- In any setting 1%
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
29% of the working time: the conversation, in-person and hands-on parts of the tasks.
- Set control points, the hands-on work, 7%
- Survey legal boundaries, the hands-on work, 5%
- Plan and run ground surveys, the hands-on work, 5%
- Fix positions with instruments, the hands-on work, 4%
- Prepare survey documents, the conversation, 2%
- Train and direct the survey crew, the in-person work, 2%
What becomes checking the machine
62% 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 6% is desk work that is small if wrong, which can be handed over with lighter checks.
- Prepare and certify survey maps, a licensed person signs, 9%
- Compute geodetic measurements, costly if wrong, 9%
- Record survey results, costly if wrong, 8%
- Prepare survey documents, a licensed person signs, 7%
- Calculate positions and lines, costly if wrong, 5%
- Prepare survey proposals, costly if wrong, 5%
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 or sign: spotting what a draft gets wrong is a skill of its own.
- Briefing a model and checking its drafts. About 65% 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.
- Signing off under your license. Some tasks need a licensed, certified or sworn person to do or sign them. The license, and the judgment it stands for, stays with the person.
- The hands-on craft. About 24% of the time is hands-on work, which no model here does; robots are rated separately on this page.
- Judgment where errors are severe. Some tasks are severe if wrong. Knowing when not to trust an output matters more there than speed.
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 . 24 tasks from .
| Task | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compute geodetic measurements and interpret survey data to determine positions, shapes, and elevations of geomorphic and topographic features.Calculations and interpretation of the survey data.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Documents 100% | 89%Half by now |
| Prepare and maintain sketches, maps, reports, and legal descriptions of surveys to describe, certify, and assume liability for work performed.Drawing the maps and writing the descriptions the surveyor signs and stands behind.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 1.7 work days | Documents 100% | 84%Half by now |
| Prepare, or supervise preparation of, all data, charts, plots, maps, records, and documents related to surveys.Preparing the plots, maps and records, or directing the drafters.Done daily by most who do it. | 9% | 6.7 h2.5 h to 2.1 work days | Documents 80%, conversation 20% | 61%Desk part half by now |
| Direct or conduct surveys to establish legal boundaries for properties, based on legal deeds and titles.Measuring in the field and working the deeds through to the boundary.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 3.3 work days | Hands-on 60%, documents 40% | 15%Desk part half by Jan 2027 |
| Plan and conduct ground surveys designed to establish baselines, elevations, and other geodetic measurements.Planning the survey and measuring it in the field.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Trimble S7/S9/SX12 + Trimble 4D Control (T4D) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 9% | 1.7 work days3.3 h to 3.3 work days | Hands-on 60%, documents 40% | 15%Desk part half by Jan 2027 |
| Record the results of surveys, including the shape, contour, location, elevation, and dimensions of land or land features.Entering the field measurements and notes into the survey records.Done daily by most who do it. | 8% | 4.2 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Documents 50%, systems 50% | 73%Half by now |
| Establish fixed points for use in making maps, using geodetic and engineering instruments.Setting and measuring control points in the field.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 7% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Hands-on 100% | Stays with people |
| Conduct research in surveying and mapping methods, using knowledge of photogrammetric map compilation and electronic data processing.Reading, analysis and writing on methods.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 7% | 2.1 work days3.3 h to 1.3 work weeks | Documents 100% | 18%Half by Jul 2027 |
| Analyze survey objectives and specifications to prepare survey proposals or to direct others in survey proposal preparation.Reading the specifications and writing the proposal, or directing its writing.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Documents 80%, conversation 20% | 71%Desk part half by now |
| Verify the accuracy of survey data, including measurements and calculations conducted at survey sites.Checking the measurements and calculations, with re-measurement in the field where needed.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.3 work days | Documents 70%, hands-on 30% | 56%Desk part half by now |
| Calculate heights, depths, relative positions, property lines, and other characteristics of terrain.Working the measurements through to heights, positions and lines.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 6.7 h | Documents 100% | 91%Half by now |
| Search legal records, survey records, and land titles to obtain information about property boundaries in areas to be surveyed.Reading deeds, plats and titles in the records office and online.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1 work day | Documents 80%, systems 20% | 86%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.
- Geodetic Surveyors67% now, 70% by 2028
- Surveying and Mapping Technicians63% now, 70% by 2028
- Civil Engineers30% now, 74% by 2028
- Cartographers and Photogrammetrists78% now, 98% by 2028
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians62% now, 82% by 2028
- Construction and Building Inspectors49% now, 51% 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 Surveyors is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 51% 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 (67% 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 Surveyors 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: Compute geodetic measurements (89% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); Prepare and certify survey maps (84% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028); and Record survey results (73% of the task's time now, 100% by the end of 2028).
- Which tasks of Surveyors stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Set control points; Fix positions with instruments; and Locate and mark prospecting sites. Together such tasks are about 11% of the working time, and the people and body parts of the other tasks stay with people too.
- What should Surveyors 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 signing off under your license. By the end of 2028 on the long-run pace at four in five, about 29% of the working time stays with people, 62% becomes checking a model's work and 6% 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 Surveyors?
- 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 Surveyors?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 33% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 12% of the working time, 1% in any setting. Its index is 0.17 of 3. One example: DJI Dock 3 + Matrice 4D (FlightHub 2) for "direct aerial 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 24 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 19, 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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