Surveyors build coordination, judgment and decision making and complex problem solving skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians (80%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians | 80% | $64,950 | −14% | None |
| 2 | Construction and Building Inspectors | 79% | $74,690 | −1% | None |
| 3 | Civil Engineers | 79% | $100,840 | +34% | None |
| 4 | Mining and Geological Engineers, Including Mining Safety Engineers | 79% | $106,220 | +41% | None |
| 5 | Surveying and Mapping Technicians | 78% | $54,240 | −28% | None |
| 6 | Hydrologists | 74% | $96,600 | +28% | None |
| 7 | Conservation Scientists | 74% | $73,010 | −3% | None |
| 8 | Solar Energy Systems Engineers | 74% | $122,930Pay for the broader BLS group “Engineers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 9 | Transportation Inspectors | 73% | $92,100 | +22% | None |
| 10 | Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers | 72% | $101,920 | +35% | None |
Compared with Surveyors, median $75,440. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as surveyors (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
80% skill match · $64,950 · −14% pay
Operations Analysis · Programming · Management of Financial Resources
79% skill match · $74,690 · −1% pay
Persuasion · Systems Evaluation · Quality Control Analysis
79% skill match · $100,840 · +34% pay
Operations Analysis · Management of Financial Resources · Management of Material Resources
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians (80% skill match, median $64,950), Construction and Building Inspectors (79% skill match, median $74,690) and Civil Engineers (79% skill match, median $100,840), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 10 pay more than surveyors at the median. The biggest increases: Petroleum Engineers (+92%, $144,910), Electrical Engineers (+60%, $120,630) and Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors (+53%, $115,160).
25 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.