The Daily Record: Demo Day gives teens insights into world of surveying

National youth development Urban Alliance and the Maryland Society of Surveyors introduced Baltimore teens to career pathways in the growing land surveying industry during an event featuring an interactive demonstration of surveying technology March 20 at Mergenthaler Vocational-Technical High School.

Students from Mergenthaler, Patterson High School, Edmondson-Westside High School, The REACH! Partnership School, Carver Vocational-Technical High School, Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, and Green Street Academy learned how surveyors use technology including computer-aided design and drafting and geographic information system mapping, survey-grade GPS equipment, robotics, laser scanning and unmanned aerial systems , or drones. 

The two organizations, in partnership with the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and Baltimore City Public Schools , run the Future Surveyors Program which provides just-graduated high school seniors with paid, full-time summer internships within the surveying industry, along with on-the-job mentoring, pre-employment job skills training, post-high school planning assistance, and preparation for Certified Survey Technician exam. The program is designed to introduce high school students to living-wage, career-ladder jobs within the surveying industry.