A Life Without Limits

Surveying and the STEM careers Australia relies on

What you learn at school can be the key to unlocking what you’ll study after school. For students who find STEM subjects engaging, there are some real opportunities out there in the world of surveying.

Hold on – STEM, you say? What is STEM?

You may have heard the term STEM thrown around in the past. Either way, it’s worth your while to stop, pull the term apart and get to grips with it – because STEM is at the heart of a lot of the subjects offered at high school, as well as many study areas we pursue during our tertiary careers. In fact, STEM is an integral component in many professions that we as a society rely on in the 21st century – professions that are taking us into the future.

Think of this as your ultimate guide to STEM careers.

What is STEM – and what does STEM stand for?

Let’s take it back to the beginning.

STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But STEM is a lot more than just a collection of disparate disciplines.

When we talk about STEM, we’re talking about a whole approach to learning and development. It is about the combination of those four areas.

At a school level, STEM subjects are key to developing skill sets we’ll use throughout our entire lives. STEM encourages independent thinking, initiative, teamwork and creativity. It builds our communication, critical analysis and digital literacy skills. This educational foundation will stay with you all the way through your life – particularly if you develop an interest in STEM careers.

On a global level however, STEM is symbolic of change. Technology is advancing and with it comes increased automation, great autonomy, even new types of jobs that never existed before now. This all signals an evolving economy, with STEM at its heart.

In essence, these four pillars – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – underpin the industries of the future. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the fields that push society forward. We use our understanding of them to innovate, create, build and reach for the stars. They’re in-built into the structure of our world, and that’s not changing anytime soon.

STEM’s connection to surveying

So how is STEM connected to surveying? The truth is, all four pillars are intrinsic to surveying practices.

The science of geography is intimately connected to the physical environment, similar to surveying. Surveyors, historically, have been responsible for delineating land measurements big and small, from determining the point at which one state or territory gives way to another, to measuring out the tiniest suburban plot of land. But as times have changed, the surveyor’s role description has broadened. Today’s surveyors deal with both the physical geography of our land, as well as the human geography – how humans affect and inhabit the landscape. Through it all, location-based data is at the heart of the work they do.

Technology has always walked in lockstep with the surveying profession. As advances have been made across the millennia, surveyors have gone from wielding ropes and rods on the banks of Ancient Egypt’s Nile River, to the drones and laser scanners utilised across the world in the 2020s.

Engineering also shares a striking relationship with surveying. You just have to look at our page on civil engineering to see the connections between the two disciplines. It should be made clear that surveying is not engineering per se – however, surveyors and engineers work hand in hand across a multitude of projects, and an engineer is unlikely to make a start on a construction project until the surveyor has had the chance to do their work.

Mathematics and surveying are also close bedfellows.

In fact, when it comes to maths careers, surveying has to be very high on the list – as demonstrated by the following theorems, all of which are regularly used to complete surveying tasks.

The first of them is Pythagoras’ theorem, demonstrated in the image to the right. An integral mathematic principle, it was utilised by the Egyptians to create a right angle when setting out a pyramid. You can actually make use of this theorem today to work out the height of any given pyramid.

Trigonometry is used to map slopes on a horizontal plane.

The image to the left outlines sine, cosine and tangent, three common ratios found in trigonometry.

When a surveyor measures a distance, it is usually a slope distance – but any distance shown on a map or plan or chart has to be a horizontal distance.

The surveyor will use basic trigonometry to calculate the horizontal component and vertical components of that measurement from the observed slope distance.

A third mathematical principle utilised within surveying is the parabola, seen to the right. A parabola is used in geometric road design. Parabolas offer a constant rate of change of grade as a driver enter a curve, gradually increasing to the highest point. The end result ensures a comfortable ride for the driver and their passengers.

If you drive on a road over a hill that leaves you with an unpleasant feeling in your stomach, that could mean that it has not been designed based on a parabola.

In short – if you’ve been wondering what jobs you can use maths or geography in, surveying could be your answer.

Attitudes towards STEM

From December 2018 to 2019, the Australian Federal Government contracted YouthInsight to consult with 2,092 students aged between 12 and 25. They were quizzed on everything STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The aim was to discover whether young people felt positively or negatively towards this important area.

The good news is that young people see the value in STEM subjects and STEM careers. Approximately 80% of those surveyed agreed with the statement that “scientists make a positive impact on the world”. When asked if STEM skills were important when it came to securing future jobs, the results strongly skewed in the positive.

Digging a little into the data, it becomes clear that there is a discrepancy between male and female attitudes to STEM. For students in grades nine and ten, just 32% of girls chose to take on one or more STEM elective subjects. For boys, the number sat at 70%.

However, surveying is a career path that is increasingly embracing a more diverse workforce, with increased opportunities being provided for young women. The culture of the profession is developing to place a greater emphasis on the opportunities for women: universities and companies are increasingly offering scholarships and programs that encourage women to step into the profession. Meanwhile, women currently occupy the positions of both the Surveyor General of NSW and of the President of the Institute of Surveyors Victoria. Visit this page to find out more about women in surveying.

What are some stand-out STEM careers?

Okay, so now you have a better understanding of how STEM connects with surveying. One key question you may still have is, “how will STEM help me find a career?”

To answer that, it’s important to acknowledge that the global economy is changing. Current jobs are disappearing due to automation and new jobs are emerging every day as a result of technological advances.

The continual developments in technology are changing the way students learn, connect and interact every day. Skills developed by students through STEM provide them with the foundation to succeed at school and beyond.

Employer demand for STEM qualifications and skills is high, and will continue to increase in the future. Currently, 75 percent of jobs in the fastest growing industries require workers with STEM skills. In fact, in March 2019 the Australian Government’s Department of Education, Skills and Employment reported that STEM jobs were the fastest growing in the country, with employment in STEM occupations grew by 16.5 percent between November 2013 and November 2018.

That trend is forecast to continue.

The Department of Jobs and Small Business projects that by May 2023, occupations will blossom by 10.8 per cent – that’s 271,300 people. Non-STEM jobs, meanwhile, are projected to grow by 6.1 percent, or 614,900 people, over that same window of time.

To be competitive, the Australian workforce needs people who can adapt to a changing workplace. STEM empowers individuals with the skills to succeed and adapt to this changing world.

As a result, STEM nowadays leads to both newer professions that didn’t exist in the not-too distant past – such as app developers, drone technicians and data scientists – as well as long standing careers like surveying that have found their scope widening as technology has developed.

What are the highest paying STEM jobs?

When it comes to STEM careers Australia wide, surveying is amongst those that require the most growth to meet the market’s demand.

Meanwhile, half of Australia’s workforce will soon need to know how to use, build or configure digital systems. A whopping 70% are training for a job that will, in the future, be replaced by automation. Around 18% have a serious chance of losing they job thanks to technology.

What’s interesting though is that half of the current jobs with skills shortages – and room for more graduates – are in the STEM arena. Employers know this, which means STEM graduates are in hot demand for science, technological, engineering and maths careers.

That translates to good starting wages.

Generally the highest paid graduate positions in STEM include dentistry at $78,300 and medicine at $70,300. But these are outliers. Surveying, in line with its standing as one of the STEM careers that require the most growth, has a high average starting salary of $60,049 according to The Good Education Group. To give some context, the national average is nearly ten grand less, at $52,840.

You can read more about the surveying starting salaries and industry demand for workers here.

How to learn more about a surveying career in STEM

There’s a lot you can learn about STEM. On this website alone, there’s an in-depth breakdown on surveying here, and details on how you can find out if surveying is right career for you by undertaking work experience. You can also find out more about the skills shortage that affects the surveying profession here.

For teachers that would like to bring a better understanding of the real world possibilities of STEM to the classroom, this website has a number of teaching resources that demonstrate the links between mathematics, maths careers and surveying. Visit this page for more.

Sources

The New Work Order: Ensuring young Australians have skills and experience for the jobs of the future, not the past (2015). Foundation for Young Australians

Australia’s STEM Workforce: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (2016). Office of the Chief Scientist, March 2016.

The New Basics: Big data reveals the skills young people need for the New Work Order (2016) Foundation for Young Australians.

STEM Education and the Workplace (2012). Office of the Chief Scientist

STEM Skills in the Workforce. What do employers want? (2015)

What is STEM?, Government of Western Australia Department of Education

Your Guide to STEM: The Careers of the Future, training.com.au