A surveyor in an orange safety vest looks through a measuring instrument on a tripod beside a long trench on a dry, red-earth building site, one hand raised to signal to his team.
Photo: Sammya Nig Ltd, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Company logo and name on the safety vest and the maker's label on the shirt collar blurred; cropped to leave out distant workers, and resized to 1000 px wide.
Engineering & Tech

Land Surveyor

Land surveyors measure land, find and mark its boundaries, and make the plans and maps that land titles and building rely on.

At a glance

Pay

At the National Land Agency, an Assistant Surveyor job was advertised in April 2025 at J$2,803,771 to J$3,770,760 a year. Pay changes, so check the current figure.

National Land Agency, Job advert: Assistant Surveyor, Surveys and Mapping Division (April 2025), checked Oct 2026

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Years of study

UTech's BSc in Land Surveying and Geographic Information Sciences takes four years.

University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Land Surveying & Geographic Information Sciences (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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Jobs

Growing: Jamaica's expanding construction and infrastructure sectors keep increasing the demand for skilled geomatics experts

University of Technology, Jamaica, UTech, Jamaica and the Land Surveyors Association of Jamaica Host Seminar to Mark 50 Years of Geomatics Education at the University (May 2026), checked Oct 2026

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The path

  1. Your CSEC subjects and where to study

    BSc Land Surveying & Geographic Information Sciences

    University of Technology, Jamaica

    You need: 5 CSEC passes, including English A and Mathematics

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Land Surveying & Geographic Information Sciences (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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  2. Your licence

    To qualify for a Commission as a Land Surveyor, you spend a one-year period of training attached to a Commissioned Land Surveyor, submit a practical survey task to the Land Surveyors Board, and pass the Board's oral examinations.

    Land Surveyors Board of Jamaica, The Land Surveyors (Alternative Qualifications) Notice 1977: Rules for Attachment and Oral Examinations (revised 8 September 2021), checked Oct 2026

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  3. Your first job

    While on attachment, a student surveyor spends at least six months on cadastral surveying and at least three months on engineering surveying.

    Land Surveyors Board of Jamaica, The Land Surveyors (Alternative Qualifications) Notice 1977: Rules for Attachment and Oral Examinations (revised 8 September 2021), checked Oct 2026

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    At the National Land Agency, an Assistant Surveyor helps carry out cadastral surveys (single parcels and subdivisions) and topographic surveys, and helps produce cadastral and topographic plans.

    National Land Agency, Job advert: Assistant Surveyor, Surveys and Mapping Division (April 2025), checked Oct 2026

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    The Assistant Surveyor job asks for a BSc in Land Surveying, or a Diploma in Land Surveying and two years' experience.

    National Land Agency, Job advert: Assistant Surveyor, Surveys and Mapping Division (April 2025), checked Oct 2026

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    The National Land Agency warns that field visits can mean hilly ground, fumes and unsafe spots, and that office work can mean long hours of figures and drawing.

    National Land Agency, Job advert: Assistant Surveyor, Surveys and Mapping Division (April 2025), checked Oct 2026

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    Later, a Surveyor post at the National Land Agency asks for a BSc in Land Surveying, a Land Surveyor's Commission and Practising Certificate, and three years' experience after the Commission.

    National Land Agency, Job advert: Surveyor (Cadastral Surveys), Surveys and Mapping Division (April 2025), checked Oct 2026

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    That Surveyor post was advertised in April 2025 at J$3,501,526 to J$4,709,163 a year.

    National Land Agency, Job advert: Surveyor (Cadastral Surveys), Surveys and Mapping Division (April 2025), checked Oct 2026

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    UTech's degree leads to jobs such as pre-professional surveyor, geomatician, photogrammetrist, GIS analyst, engineering surveyor and hydrographic surveyor.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, Bachelor of Science in Land Surveying & Geographic Information Sciences (course of study), checked Oct 2026

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    It is a small profession: Jamaica has about 120 commissioned land surveyors, and more than 100 of them studied at UTech.

    University of Technology, Jamaica, UTech, Jamaica and the Land Surveyors Association of Jamaica Host Seminar to Mark 50 Years of Geomatics Education at the University (May 2026), checked Oct 2026

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    The Land Surveyors Board publishes a list of the Commissioned Land Surveyors who hold a Practising Certificate and so may legally practise land surveying in Jamaica.

    Land Surveyors Board of Jamaica, List of Commissioned Land Surveyors with a Practising Certificate (as at 3 September 2026), checked Oct 2026

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    A Practising Certificate is valid only until 31 December of the year it is issued for.

    Land Surveyors Board of Jamaica, The Land Surveyors Registration Handbook (amended January 2021), checked Oct 2026

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    To renew it each year, every land surveyor must earn at least twelve continuing education (CE) credits a year.

    Land Surveyors Board of Jamaica, The Land Surveyors Registration Handbook (amended January 2021), checked Oct 2026

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Sources for these sections

No AI writes these facts. Each one comes from the source named under it and is checked again every year.