Will AI replace surveying and mapping technicians?

Unlikely, though parts of the work are changing. About 1h 37m of an 8-hour shift goes to tasks touched by robots. The other 6h 23m (80%) stays with people. Separately, BLS expects about 5.8% more of these jobs by 2035 (all jobs: +3.5%).

None of this job's tasks show regular AI use yet. That can mean the work is hands-on or in person, or simply that it rarely comes up in AI usage data.

For some tasks, yes. Robots have done 2 of this job's tasks in workplaces like this one, about 1h 37m of a typical shift. 2 more tasks have only been done in factory setups built around the machine, so they stay with people here. For 2 physical tasks, no robot has shown it can do the work yet.

• 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. (1h 1m a shift; e.g. Boston Dynamics Spot + Trimble X7 ("Setanta"), in use)
• Position and hold the vertical rods, or targets, that theodolite operators use for sighting to measure angles, distances, and elevations. (36m a shift; e.g. Dusty Robotics FieldPrinter / FieldPrinter 2, in use)

6h 23m of a typical shift, or 80%, goes to tasks with no AI or robot evidence yet. No AI usage or robot deployment has shown up for these so far. The biggest:

• Adjust and operate surveying instruments such as prisms, theodolites, electronic distance measuring equipment, or electronic data collectors. (1h 13m a shift)
• Set out and recover stakes, marks, or other monumentation. (36m a shift)
• Record survey measurements or descriptive data, using notes, drawings, sketches, or inked tracings. (24m a shift)
• Search for section corners, property irons, or survey points. (24m a shift)
• Compile information necessary to stake projects for construction, using engineering plans. (18m a shift)

On Indeed, job postings in the Industrial Engineering sector are at 124% of their February 2020 level (all U.S. postings: 104%), up 38% from a year earlier, as of Oct 9, 2026. BLS separately expects about 6,900 openings a year in this job through 2035. Across all U.S. postings, 7.3% now mention AI skills. Sector postings cover more than this one job and move for many reasons besides AI.

The median pay is about $54,240 a year ($26.08 an hour), 6% above the median for all U.S. jobs ($50,980). Most people in this job earn between $37,520 and $81,630 a year; that range covers the middle 80%. Pay figures are from BLS, May 2025, and vary a lot by state and employer. Pick a state to compare:

BLS projects growth of 5.8% from 2025 to 2035, compared with 3.5% growth for all jobs. That's about 62,000 jobs in 2035. It expects about 6,900 openings a year, mostly from people retiring or changing careers. These projections don't single out AI as a cause.

About 58,000 people in the U.S., roughly 0.04% of all workers (BLS, May 2025). That makes it the 361st largest of the 796 jobs on this site. BLS expects about 62,000 in 2035.

O*NET rates the job at level 3 of 5 for preparation, which usually means: vocational school or associate's degree. Requirements vary by state and employer, especially for licensed work.

These come from the job's official skill ratings and from the tasks that AI and robots touch least today. Building them keeps you strong in the parts of the work that still need a person:

• Skills that matter more here than in most jobs: Mathematics, Reading Comprehension, Writing, Complex Problem Solving
• Get strong at the parts of the job that stay with people (listed above), which take 6h 23m of a typical shift
• Tools employers list: Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Excel, ESRI ArcGIS software, Bentley MicroStation

Yes. Occupational experts recently added these to the official task list, a sign of how the work itself is shifting. New tasks aren't rated for AI or robots yet:

• Use drone technology to capture aerial images or videos for creating detailed and accurate maps.

These use similar skills, with less of a typical shift touched by AI or robots. Matches come from 109 official ratings of skills, knowledge and work activities, and each needs the same or less preparation unless the official list relates the jobs directly:

• Architectural and Civil Drafters (19m touched, $66k median pay)
• Cartographers and Photogrammetrists (1h 5m touched, $81k median pay)
• Geodetic Surveyors (0m touched, $75k median pay)

Each task carries its own evidence label. For this job: 2 with robots in real deployments, 28 with no AI or robot evidence found. The minutes per task are estimates, not measured hours, and "no evidence" doesn't prove a task is safe.