Surveying is how people measure land and draw accurate maps. You will use real instruments and GPS, measure a lot, and turn your work into a scale drawing. It's hands-on math that helps build roads, homes, and cities.
Why it's worth it
Before anyone builds a road, a house, or a bridge, a surveyor measures the land. Surveying puts real instruments in your hands, from tape and level to GPS, and shows you how careful measurements become accurate maps. You'll practice math you'll actually use, learn to work as a field crew, and get a look at a career that's in demand, mixes outdoor work with technology like drones and scanners, and has paths both with and without a four-year degree.
Start this week
- Measure your bedroom or backyard with a tape measure and draw it on graph paper to scale, like 1 square for every foot.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Surveying counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Look for a survey marker, a small metal disk set in concrete, near a park, bridge, or street corner when you're out with a parent.
- Ask your counselor what instruments you'll use and whether a local surveyor or school might lend equipment.
Stay safe
- When working near roads, wear a bright safety vest and have an adult watch traffic; stay out of the road unless an adult has set up a safe work zone.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
Show you know first aid for injuries that can happen while surveying, such as cuts, scratches, snakebite, insect stings, tick bites, heat and cold reactions, and dehydration. Tell your counselor why surveyors should be able to recognize local poisonous plants and animals
Tip: Think about injuries that could happen outdoors while measuring, like cuts, insect stings, or heat illness, and how you'd treat them.
For example: Think about what really happens on a survey crew: sunburn and heat, insect stings, cuts from brush, or a twisted ankle on rough ground. For each, explain how to prevent it and the first aid you'd give.
- Requirement 2
Field survey
Tips for this section: Work with a counselor or surveyor to measure your lot step by step. Write every measurement neatly.
Example for this section: In a park, set a stake at each corner of a five-sided lot your counselor lays out. Set up your instrument over one corner, sight another as your reference, and record the angle and distance to every other corner and to five nearby features, like trees or a big rock. Then measure three of the points with GPS and compare the distances.
- Requirement 2a
Set up an instrument over one corner of a five-sided lot your counselor lays out and sight another corner as a reference. Using radial methods, record the angle and distance to each remaining corner as directed, plus the angle and distance to five nearby features like trees or rocks
- Requirement 2b
Use GPS to measure three of the same points and compare the distances between those points
- Requirement 3
From your requirement 2 field notes, use a protractor and scale to plot the points and draw your survey to scale, adding a title, date, north arrow, scale bar, and a diagram of the lot. Hand in a neat copy
Tip: Use graph paper and a ruler to carefully draw your lot to scale.
For example: On graph paper, choose a scale like 1 inch equals 20 feet. Plot each corner from your field notes, connect the lines, label the lengths and angles, and see how close your shape closes back on the starting point.
- Requirement 4
Use one corner marker from requirement 2 as a benchmark, assuming its elevation is 100 feet. With a level and rod, take and record readings to find the elevations of the other four corners
Tip: Practice with a level instrument alongside your counselor and record elevations as you go.
- Requirement 5
Get a copy of the deed for a property your counselor approves from the local courthouse or a title agency. Discuss the deed's parts and why each matters with your counselor
Tip: Pick a property with your counselor, then get a copy of its deed from the county courthouse or a title company and go over its parts together.
For example: Read the deed with your counselor and find the legal description. Trace the property lines it describes, look for the starting point and bearings, and talk about what happens if two deeds disagree.
- Requirement 6
Discuss emerging surveying tools like drones and laser scanning, including what each does well and poorly
Tip: Look up how drones and scanners help surveyors measure land faster.
For example: Pick one new tool, like a drone that photographs land to build a 3D map or a laser scanner that captures millions of points of a building. Explain what it measures and how it saves time compared with older methods.
- Requirement 7
Explain what GPS is, and discuss with your counselor why it matters and how it is changing surveying
Tip: Talk about how GPS works and how it changed the way surveyors do their jobs.
- Requirement 8
Name three careers that use surveying skills. Research one: training, education, certification, experience, costs, job outlook, starting pay, and advancement. Discuss what you found with your counselor and whether it interests you
Tip: Ask a surveyor what training they needed and what a typical workday looks like.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A survey crew at work
Watching a crew set up instruments and take measurements shows how teamwork and precision fit together.
How: Have your counselor or leader contact a surveying firm or the county surveyor's office and ask if your patrol can watch a crew safely.
The county recorder's or surveyor's office
You can see how deeds and plat maps are stored and searched, sometimes going back more than a century.
How: Have a parent call and ask if a staff member can show your group how property records are kept.
Where it can lead
- Licensed land surveyorMeasures property and construction sites and signs official surveys.
- Survey technicianRuns instruments in the field; many start right after high school or a two-year program.
- GIS specialistBuilds digital maps that cities, utilities, and agencies use to plan.
- Drone mapping pilotFlies drones to create detailed maps and 3D models.
- Civil engineerDesigns roads, bridges, and buildings using survey data.
Ask yourself
- What surprised you about how precise surveying has to be?
- When your measurements didn't match, how did you figure out what went wrong?
- How did your field crew split up the work, and what would you change next time?
- Where do you see the results of surveying in your neighborhood now?
- What part of surveying fits you better: the field work or the mapping?
Good questions to ask a licensed surveyor
- What does a typical day in the field and in the office look like?
- What's the hardest survey you've ever done, and why?
- How have drones and GPS changed your job?
- What happens when two neighbors disagree about where a property line is?
- What classes and training helped you become a surveyor?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Contact a local surveying firm to borrow equipment or have a surveyor help.
- Plan the field work in a park or open lot with clear permission.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- Local surveying firm — Surveyors can demonstrate tools and share careers.
- County surveyor or recorder's office — Can help with maps and property records.
- NOAA National Geodetic Survey (opens in a new tab) — How survey markers and coordinates are set across the U.S.
- GPS.gov (opens in a new tab) — How GPS works and how surveyors and others use it.
- Bureau of Land Management (opens in a new tab) — Manages public lands and keeps historic land survey records and maps.
Pairs well with
Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.