T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Biedenbach Surveying Co. owner and operator Greg Biedenbach shows children the importance of surveying while Ohio Society of Professional Surveyor in Training Leven Marling, left, watches.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Ohio Valley Chapter of the Ohio Society of Professional Surveyors sponsored a student workshop for Belmont County high school students in hopes of fostering interest in the field.

The event was held in cooperation with the Ohio State University Belmont County Extension on Friday afternoon at the Belmont County Fairgrounds.

Ohio Valley chapter President Al Smith said the purpose of the event was to stir interest in surveying as a career. It consisted of multiple stations depicting different aspects of land surveying procedures and equipment.

Smith said multiple schools were invited to the event, but Belmont County Career Center was the only school that had students attend.

Smith said he believes it is crucial to provide students the opportunity to see what the surveying profession looks like because, “anybody that wants a job can get an entry level position as a technician with a company and learn as they go and progress their way up the ladder.”

“We have different stations set up, both outside and inside, showing office work that can be done using software that’s geared towards surveying. We have a GIS mapping exhibit here through the Belmont County Engineer’s Office, plus field instruments, scanner robotic instruments. We even have a drone here, because drones are used in surveying and mapping to a certain degree, depending on the job situation. And so they’re seeing all that and, again, in hopes that they’ll be interested in a career.”

He added that he is optimistic and believes that some of the students in attendance seemed enthusiastic about a potential career in surveying.

According to Smith, the average age of a land surveyor is 60 years old. He would like to see the median age be lowered to 40.

Friday marked the first workshop of its kind in Belmont County, but the Ohio Valley Chapter of the Ohio Society of Professional Surveyors held a workshop last year in Monroe County. Smith said he plans to continue to hold workshops similar to Friday’s in multiple counties within the state.

“Our chapter covers seven counties, so we’re hoping to do a different county every year to spread the word and public awareness on what surveyors do,” he said. “At the state level, they’re getting wind of what we’re doing here, so the other chapters throughout the state might follow suit.”

He added that March 16-22 is National Surveyors Week, and one of the missions for the week is increasing public awareness, so he believes hosting the event on Friday was perfect timing.

According to the National Society of Professional Surveyors, on Oct. 1, 1982, then-U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond introduced a Senate Joint Resolution to authorize President Ronald Reagan to issue a proclamation designating the week beginning on March 13, 1983, as “National Surveyors Week,” which Reagan did on Feb. 13, 1984.

Smith said a lot of people are unaware of what a surveyor does on a day-to-day basis.

“A surveyor does a lot of different things. We do jobs pertaining to any development of land. Any development of land is going to call for a surveyor to be involved in it. We do construction, whether it be commercial or residential, boundary surveys. If somebody wants to know where they own to or splitting land off for new parcels, you’re going to need a land surveyor,” he said. “The definition of surveying is measurements on the surface of the Earth, so anything that requires that is more or less going to need a surveyor on the job. And right now, there’s a lot of different positions available out there from entry level to somebody that wants to get a degree and become a licensed surveyor. It’s quite in demand because of it being needed in so many different aspects, and we don’t have too many people getting into it.”

Smith has over 50 years of experience and is licensed in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. He is adamant about getting the word out to the next generation entering the workforce that surveying could be a valuable trade to learn.

“We want to get the word out there for young people graduating from high school and don’t have an idea what they want to do, look at surveying as a possible career,” Smith said. “Work for a company during the summer if you can, or get your foot in the door somehow or other. If you like the outdoors and you like a challenge, because every job is different, then it’s a good career for you to get into.”