Imagine flying low to the ground in an airplane on a beautiful, sunny day. You’re flying over the area where a new road will be built. The road is being built to give your community year-round access to this area. You see the rocks and creeks that the road will be built around. You reach for your camera and take pictures of geological formations and animal habitats. You’ll use these aerial photographs to plan the location of the new road. Next month, you’ll spend your time in the great outdoors, working on the ground, measuring the terrain, and placing stakes along the route of the new road.
As a survey technician, you measure the earth. You perform surveys to determine the exact locations of natural features and other structures on the earth’s surface—underground and underwater. You prepare drawings, charts, maps, plans, records, and documents that support the information collected. To aid in your plans, you also research information about specific pieces of land. You work in offices but mostly outdoors (either by yourself or as part of a team) in wetlands and forests and on mining, construction, and subdivision sites. You love that your job allows you so much time to be outside. Being a survey technician is a challenge which keeps you motivated and excited to go to work each day.
Duties vary from job to job, but the following list includes typical job duties one might encounter as a survey technician:
On average, survey technicians earn approximately $51,500 per year in Canada. Annual salaries in this occupation can range from $36,000 to $ 73,500 depending on the specific job type, location, and years of experience (Source: Payfactors).
If you are a high school student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, you should have a keen interest in:
If you are a post-secondary student considering a career as an environmental geophysicist, the following programs are most applicable.
In most cases, the minimum education requirement to work as an environmental geophysicist is a graduate degree. Pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree in fields related to environmental geophysics can enhance your expertise, career prospects, and ability to contribute to the field. These advanced degrees offer specialized knowledge and skills highly valued in both the professional and academic worlds.
In many provinces, geophysicists must obtain registration and licensure with their provincial association as a Professional Geoscientist (P.Geo.). The certification process for geophysicists is similar to that of engineering professions and is typically overseen by the same regulatory body.
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers look for professionals who can combine technical knowledge with soft skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
As key executive leaders who shape their company’s sustainability policy, CSOs work in many different types of organizations. Common employers of CSOs include:
Search for jobs on the ECO Canada Job Board.
If you are a post-secondary student seeking a CSO role in the future, consider pursuing a university degree related to:
In addition to the educational fields mentioned above, you will also need extensive management experience to become a CSO, with well-developed human resources management and leadership skills. Consider educational seminars or post-graduate studies that will hone your analytical thinking, such as:
Our Environmental Professional (EP) designation can also help you progress in your chosen environmental career.
Technical Skills
Personal and Professional Skills
Environmental employers seek professionals who combine technical knowledge with personal and professional skills. Watch our free webinar “Essential Not Optional: Skills Needed to Succeed in Canada’s Environmental Industry” or take our Essential Skills courses.
While the primary focus of a survey technician is to collect, analyze, and interpret geographic data, their work can contribute to environmental conservation and sustainable development in multiple ways.
They play a crucial role in land management and planning by conducting surveys to identify and map land boundaries, geography, and natural features. This information is vital for sustainable land use, urban planning, and resource management. By providing accurate data, survey technicians help ensure that development projects are designed to minimize environmental impact and preserve sensitive ecosystems.
Survey technicians also support conservation efforts by surveying protected areas, national parks, and wildlife reserves. They assist in monitoring and mapping biodiversity, habitat conditions, and ecosystem health. This information aids conservationists and land managers in making informed decisions to protect and restore ecosystems and sustainably manage natural resources.
Marine geologists are classified into the following occupational grouping:
NOC Code: 21102 – Geoscientists and oceanographers
The National Occupational Classification (NOC) provides a standardized language for describing the work performed by Canadians in the labour market. It gives statisticians, labour market analysts, career counsellors, employers, and individual job seekers a consistent way to collect data and describe and understand the nature of work within different occupations.
See ECO’s Blue National Occupational Standard for a career competency profile for a marine geologist that outlines the specific skills, knowledge, and behaviours required for individuals to perform effectively in this particular role. This profile is a benchmark for training and development, ensuring consistency and quality across professions within the blue economy.
Dans un esprit de respect, de réciprocité et de vérité, nous honorons et reconnaissons Moh’kinsstis, le territoire traditionnel du Traité 7 et les pratiques orales de la confédération des Pieds-Noirs : Siksika, Kainai, Piikani, ainsi que les nations Îyâxe Nakoda et Tsuut’ina. Nous reconnaissons que ce territoire abrite la Nation métisse de l’Alberta, la région 3 au sein de la patrie historique des Métis du Nord-Ouest. Enfin, nous reconnaissons toutes les nations qui vivent, travaillent et se divertissent sur ce territoire, et qui l’honorent et le célèbrent.
In the spirit of respect, reciprocity, and truth, we acknowledge that we live, work, and gather on the traditional territories of the peoples of Treaty 7, including the Blackfoot Confederacy—comprising the Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations—as well as the Îyâxe Nakoda and Tsuut’ina Nations.
This land, known as Moh’kinsstis in the Blackfoot language and encompassing what is now Districts 5 and 6, is also home to the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region 3, within the historical Northwest Métis homeland.
We recognize and honour the deep connection these Nations have to the land, and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in its stewardship.
As we continue our work, we commit to learning from Indigenous knowledge systems, uplifting Indigenous voices, and fostering relationships rooted in equity, understanding, and reconciliation.
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