Surveying has been a blessing to me. There is no other way to describe my 30-year career. Times weren't easy for a young family man/entry-level engineer back in the early 1980s. Making the decision to go back to school and become a surveyor was one of the best decisions of my life. Two years later and with a surveying degree in hand, I was brought on board with Dewberry.

Since the summer of 1985, I've had the opportunity to contribute to the backbone of our built environment. I've held nearly every possible position, volunteered with numerous associations, and have had the privilege to see aspects of this country that someone outside the industry would never be able to see.

I can't think of a better way to celebrate National Surveyors Week 2015 than by describing some of my favorite projects and what this line of work means to me.

The Places You'll Go!

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's green line has been used for years to get to Nationals Park, home of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. Right after that metro stop, the green line dips under the Anacostia River and emerges on the other bank. Before the first metro car ever ran under the river, I had the opportunity to run traverse control and check alignments in that tunnel right after the boring machine finished cutting through the stone and muck.

Due to that project's heavy workload, I was able to work both in the field and in the office, which has been one of this job's unspoken benefits.

A History of Progress

My favorite projects have been the ones that require site visits to the National Mall. I've surveyed The Ellipse, the Washington Monument, and a few other of our nation's architectural treasures. Projects like these remind me of the history of surveying, which was a respected practice of our Founding Fathers. As the joke goes, there are four presidents on Mount Rushmore: three surveyors and that other guy.

While some technologies are indeed replacing the work we do, like automated machine control GPS systems used on construction equipment to model the surface of project sites, advancements like LiDAR and drones are seen more as opportunities than disruptors. I anticipate the FAA will soon allow the use of unmanned aerial vehicles and drones for low-cost aerial mapping.

A Universal Language

I was once responsible for performing an interior as-built survey of a Washington, D.C., embassy. Slabs of marble were being cut and shipped from the embassy's home country. Our measurements had to be absolutely perfect. Once our survey was done, the information was sent overseas and the project was complete. This may seem like a mundane story, but it illustrates how the precise measurements and accurate locations native to the work we do has helped make surveying a universal language.

In closing, I'm particularly proud of a time we ran digital levels on a 25-mile project in five days with an error of only a quarter of an inch in a five-mile loop. However, being paid to work around some of our nation's most historic landmarks, timeless artifacts representing the birth of our country, has been my greatest privilege.

They say if you find a job you love, you'll never work a day in your life. If that's the case, I haven't worked a day since 1985.