Louisiana·Architecture and Engineering Occupations·SOC 17-3031

Best Surveying programs in Louisiana, ranked by enrollment

Perform surveying and mapping duties, usually under the direction of an engineer, surveyor, cartographer, or photogrammetrist, to obtain data used for construction, mapmaking, boundary location, mining, or other purposes.

7 schools in Louisiana run programs that feed this job, graduating 65 people a year. The job pays a median of $49,440 in Louisiana across about 930 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).

Also calledSurvey TechnicianMapping TechnicianPhotogrammetric TechnicianPhotogrammetric Compilation SpecialistRodmanStakerChainmanLevelman
Graduates / yr
65
in Louisiana
Median pay · Louisiana
$49,440
BLS OEWS May 2025
Jobs in state
930
people employed
Schools
7
with a feeder program
Avg graduation rate
52%
across those schools
Median net price
$33,106
per year, IPEDS

Fields of study in Louisiana that lead to this job

Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.

3 programs in Louisiana that lead to this job

Ranked by graduates per year in Louisiana (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own Louisiana page.

Degree programs that lead to this occupation, ranked by graduates per year
#ProgramGraduates / yrShare of pipelineSchoolsGrad earnings (1 yr)Median debt
1
CIP 15.1102In Louisiana
26
40.0%
2$59,013
2
CIP 45.0702In Louisiana
23
35.4%
5$38,944$22,762
3
CIP 45.0701In Louisiana
16
24.6%
1$38,944$22,762

Top 7 schools in Louisiana

Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 0 of the 7 schools in this state.

Schools ranked by graduates per year into this occupation
#SchoolGraduates / yrTop feeder programGrad earnings (1 yr)Grad rateNet priceAcceptance
1Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Baton Rouge, LA Public · 2 feeder programs
21Geography69%73%
2South Louisiana Community College
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
18Surveying Technology/Surveying30%
3Louisiana Tech University
Ruston, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
8Surveying Technology/Surveying64%86%
4Tulane University of Louisiana
New Orleans, LA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs
7Geographic Information Science and Cartography86%$33,10614%
5Nunez Community College
Chalmette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
4Geographic Information Science and Cartography27%
6University of New Orleans
New Orleans, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
4Geographic Information Science and Cartography38%74%
7University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Lafayette, LA Public · 1 feeder programs
3Geographic Information Science and Cartography53%87%

All 7 schools in Louisiana

Every school in Louisiana with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.

All schools in Louisiana that feed this occupation
SchoolCityControlGraduates / yrFeeder programs
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegeBaton RougePublic212
South Louisiana Community CollegeLafayettePublic181
Louisiana Tech UniversityRustonPublic81
Tulane University of LouisianaNew OrleansPrivate not-for-profit71
Nunez Community CollegeChalmettePublic41
University of New OrleansNew OrleansPublic41
University of Louisiana at LafayetteLafayettePublic31

What surveying and mapping technicians earn in Louisiana

What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.

Median annual in Louisiana
$49,440
Mean annual
$59,850
Jobs in state
930
What the range looks like
10th pct$36,300Median$49,44090th pct$103,040
Versus the national median
-8.8%

U.S. median $54,240. Louisiana pays below the national figure.

Job concentration
1.29×

Concentrated here: Louisiana employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.

Metro areas in Louisiana

New Orleans-Metairie, LA
$62,570median
220 jobs
Monroe, LA
$47,670median
50 jobs
Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA
$59,870median
100 jobs
Baton Rouge, LA
$50,620median
230 jobs
Lafayette, LA
$44,440median
120 jobs
Shreveport-Bossier City, LA
$44,700median
60 jobs

Job outlook

Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.

Projected growth 2024–34
+4.5%
About as fast as average
Openings per year
7,600
new jobs plus replacements
Employment change
2,700
59,400 → 62,100
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
Plus moderate-term on-the-job training

Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.

How to get in

The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Surveying and Mapping Technicians page.

How to become a Surveying

Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0
Typical entry education
High school diploma or equivalent
On-the-job training
Moderate-term on-the-job training

Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Top skills

Reading ComprehensionCritical ThinkingMathematicsWritingMonitoringActive Listening

The same job in other states

Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.

Related careers in Louisiana

Every major mapped to this job

The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.

All 3 majors mapped to Surveying and Mapping Technicians3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
  • 15.1102Surveying Technology/Surveying
  • 45.0701Geography
  • 45.0702Geographic Information Science and Cartography

Common questions

Answers for people weighing surveying and mapping technicians programs in Louisiana.

What degree do you need to become a Surveying?+

High school diploma or equivalent is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Surveying Technology/Surveying, which awarded 26 degrees in Louisiana in 2024-25, 40.0% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.

Which college majors lead to becoming a Surveying?+

The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Geography and Cartography, Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 65 people a year in Louisiana.

How much do surveying and mapping technicians earn in Louisiana?+

The median is $49,440 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 8.8% below the U.S. median of $54,240. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.

Is demand for surveying and mapping technicians growing?+

BLS projects a +4.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,600 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.

How many schools offer programs for this career in Louisiana?+

7 institutions in Louisiana reported graduates from at least one of the 3 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.

What other job titles do surveying and mapping technicians work under?+

Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Survey Technician, Mapping Technician, Photogrammetric Technician, Photogrammetric Compilation Specialist among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-3031.

Surveying and Mapping Technicians in other statesCaliforniaTexasArizonaPennsylvaniaOregonColoradoWashingtonNorth Carolina

About the data on this page

Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).

  • BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics

    May 2025

    Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.

  • BLS Employment Projections

    2024–34

    Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.

  • IPEDS Completions

    2024-25 (provisional)

    Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.

  • College Scorecard, Field of Study

    2020-21 cohorts

    Median graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.

  • Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes

    latest available

    Graduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.

  • NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk

    CIP 2020 / SOC 2018

    Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.

  • O*NET Database 30.3

    30.3

    Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.

    Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA

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