TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — Students of TROY’s Surveying and Geomatics Program are using National Surveyors Week to educate people about their chosen career path.

“It’s really just all measuring,” explained student Spencer Hodges. “You’re measuring distances for the property boundaries, you’re pulling old deeds from courthouses and you determine property boundaries. The only way to determine a property boundary is to be a licensed surveyor.”

This career requires the use of mathematics, physics and a lot of precision.

“Surveying all comes down to triangles,” Hodges said. “You’re trying to calculate angles and azimuths and that’s where the math side comes in. Physics comes into it, too.”

One of the primary tools used in surveying is called a Robotic Total Station, which is controlled by a data collector in order to record curves and triangles. In addition to total stations, surveyors must also be trained to use technology likes drones.

“It’s definitely the next step in surveying,” Hodges told TrojanVision. “It is very useful if you can get the pictures from above to see what you’re looking at before you do the project. Drones are the future for sure and it’s exciting to see and be a part of.”

Hodges hopes National Surveyors Week helps people understand and appreciate the surveying profession.

“Not many people know about it but it’s a necessity for society,” Hodges said. “You need people with the right skill set and the knowledge and it’s cool that we get a week out of the year to acknowledge all the surveyors.”

Troy University is the only school in Alabama to offer surveying courses. For more information about TROY’s Surveying and Geomatics Program, click here.