According to 2015 statistics from the US Department of Labor, there are 44,300 surveyors in the United States. But mapping is practiced by a larger population of cartographers, topographers, photogrammetrists, civil engineers, and geographers – it’s not exclusive to the surveying industry. The American Society of Civil Engineers lists more than 150,000 members in 177 countries, and the Imaging and Geospatial Society has 7,000 supporters. All of these disciplines can be grouped under a broader category called geographic information systems (GIS). GIS professionals provide a wide variety of land-related services like identifying property boundaries, subdividing land, and surveying construction sites for placement of buildings. They also produce topographic and hydrographic maps, volumetric calculations for stockpiles, and flood insurance maps, among other services. Read more…