Surveying the Surveying Profession

Since the late 1960´s the Danish Association of Chartered Surveyors has carried out a survey of the surveying profession every 10 years starting in 1967. The changes taken place over these 30 years and especially over the last two decades are quit remarkable. The professional profile of the Danish surveyors is a combination of technical, judicial and design areas. The profile thus is a mix of an engineer, a lawyer and an architect. The professional fields then consist of three areas: surveying and mapping, cadastre and land management, and spatial planning. Cadastral tasks are the monopoly of licensed surveyors in private practice, and the role of the private licensed surveyor has traditionally epitomised the Danish surveyor. However, both the structure of the surveying profession and the professional profile of the Danish surveyor are turned upside down over the latest two decades. The paper presents the concept used for surveying the surveying profession. The concept is designed for monitoring the professional profile in surveying as well as the surveying market. The key result of the survey is that “the only constant is change”. The concept is used as a strategic tool for professional development to manage this constant change. Surveying the surveying profession, this way, provides a basis for professional development, and it provides a backbone for the profession itself. CONTAC