Career Mirror -- by Mark Sproxton

Walking quickly from the computer drafting area full of high-tech printers and plotters, the land surveyor cradles the latest paperwork for an oil and gas client. Arriving at his desk, he carefully begins to analyse the information. He's double-checking all angles and co-ordinates before the completed survey is passed to the client.

Mid-examination, the phone rings. A field crew from another project has come up against unexpected bad weather which will slow their work. The surveyor has to advise them of how to proceed, keeping in mind the ever-closing project deadline. The work places many demands on Roy Pominville, a land surveyor by training, working now as office manager for the Focus Corporation. But to him, it's part of the routine.

"I've been at it so long, it's part of my life," he explains after 29 years in the surveying business. The land survey serves as the basis for mapping. Surveys, whether they are conducted in rural or municipal areas, are the key information used along with aerial photos to produce accurate maps. Surveyors and their crews venture into the bush, equipment in hand, to use mathematical formulas and equations detailing things like exact boundaries of man-made features, such as gas wells, or natural features, like a lake.

"It can be very demanding work and take you away from home an awful lot," Pominville said of surveying work. "When I was young I really liked being out in the field. Now I like dealing with the people whether it's employees or customers."

He's in constant contact with survey crews working on a project in the bush, project managers in the office, and oil and gas clients. The petroleum companies use the surveys to help determine where they can drill new wells, or run new pipelines. His office work comes after many years working his way up the ladder and is a place far from the stories of a friend that initially lured him to the career.

"He always came back telling me of his travels and it seemed exciting to me," Pominville said, adding that land surveyors are often called geomatics engineers now. "A friend of my dad's was a land surveyor. I applied for a job, and took it from there."

His progression up the surveying ranks resembled that of many others. Pominville began as a chainman, gained enough experience and respect to move to the position of party chief, to project manager and then to office manager. Unlike the professional surveyors of today, however, he was able to learn the job in the field, take winter courses and then write professional exams to become a surveyor. Today's surveyors must first complete a four-year degree -- often called geomatics engineering -- and meet the requirements of the Alberta Land Surveyor's Association before becoming a professional surveyor.

While his job is completed mainly in the office, the former Saskatchewan resident still ventures into the field on a regular basis. "I'm usually away every other week for a few days," he said. "I get out in the field as part of being a land surveyor to do some inspections and as a manager to get out and visit the crews." Fall and winter are typically the busiest seasons for the surveyor which will see him put in eight to 10 hour days five to six days a week. In slower times he will work closer to a traditional 40 hour work week.

Having been in the business for years, Pominville has a good understanding of what it takes to be a successful land surveyor with oil and gas clients. "It's that inquisitive mind," he said. "And an aptitude for math and science. In this business, because of the high demands, it can be stressful and it takes a person with a fairly even temperament."

For those interested in a career as a land surveyor, Pominville has a few suggestions: "Visit Web sites and talk to people. If you feel there's a career for you, you have to go to school. Education is the key. Right now most of the people coming in have finished post-secondary education. People out of university, within two or three years can be moving up through management. But be patient, set goals and determine a path to achieve them."