Overview of this occupation
Surveyors and Spatial Scientists plan, direct and conduct survey work to determine and delineate boundaries and features of tracts of land, marine floors and underground works, prepare and revise maps, charts and other geographic products, and analyse, present and maintain geographical information about locations in space and time.
What they do:
- Analyse physical, survey, or geographic data
- Apply mathematical principles or statistical approaches to solve problems in scientific or applied fields
- Calculate geographic positions from survey data
- Develop surveying and land information systems
- Direct land or water surveying activities
- Document technical design details, specifications or requirements
- Gather physical survey data
- Prepare or create maps
- Survey bodies of water and adjacent or underwater land
- Verify mathematical calculations
What technology tools they use:
- Data management systems
- Data processing platforms
- Data warehousing services
- Enterprise application integration software
- GPS and navigation technologies
- Geographic information systems (GIS)
- Land surveying technologies
- Mapping software
- Software development and programming languages
- Statistical and data analysis software
- Technical design and modelling software (2D and 3D)
Source: Australian Skills Classification, job and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. Used under Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence and Jobs and Skills Australia, ABS Census 2016, Customised Report.
Quick facts
Surveyors and Spatial Scientists
All employees nationwide 1
The number of people employed in an occupations as their main job across all Australian states.
Projected growth 2
The projected increase in employment in Australia from May 2023 to May 2028.
Working in NSW 3
The distribution of people employed in an occupation in NSW.
Median weekly earnings before tax 4
Earnings are before tax and include amounts salary sacrificed.
Median age of all workers 5
This shows the median age of all workers in this occupation.
Part-time workers 6
Those who usually work less than 35 hours per week.
See footnotes for source details and additional information.
Skills and knowledge
What are they good at?
This table lists skills and knowledge categories according to how relevant they are for this occupation.
High expertise | Intermediate |
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Source: Australian Skills Classification, Jobs and Skills Australia, Commonwealth of Australia. Used under Creative Commons BY 4.0 licence.
Education and qualifications
Surveyors and Spatial Scientists – Skill level 1
Occupation at Skill Level 1 have a level of skill commensurate with a bachelor's degree of higher qualification .
At least five years of relevant experience may substitute for the formal qualification
Source: Conceptual basis of ANZSCO, ABS Survey, Release Nov 2021.
Qualifications in this workforce
This table shows the distribution of employment by highest qualification completed (in any field of study).7
Year 12 and below
Certificate III or IV
Diploma or Advanced Diploma
Bachelor`s degree
Post-graduate
Source: ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on place of usual residence.
Use this as a guide for understanding what qualifications are the most common in this field. For personalised support on your education journey, talk to a Careers NSW specialist.
Talk to one of our specialists
At any career stage you can talk with a specialist from Careers NSW about your goals and how you can achieve them.