SURVEYOR : How to become a.--A surveyor in the widest sense of the term is one who is skilled in the art of measuring and delineating the surface of the earth, of managing and developing estates, of determining the value of all descriptions of laud and house property, and of measuring and estimating the work involved in any building operation. Few men, however, qualify in all branches of surveying. Some specialise in land agency, which includes a fair knowledge of agriculture, while others specialise in valuation or in quantity surveying. As the work of the quantity surveyor is to people quite unknown, it may be well to say that it consists in " taking out,' that is, measuring and computing from the architect's drawings and speci fications, the exact quantities and contents of a building, so that the builder may be able to furnish a definite price for his share of the work.
It is to be regretted that the Preliminary Examination, which all boys must pass to be registered as students of the Surveyors' Institute, is not sufficiently wide to form a good guide as to the course of study which a boy who is aiming at the surveying profession should pursue while at school. Fortunately, the Institute indicates the standard of education which should certainly be the aim of all who hope for a successful career, when they exempt from the Preliminary Examination those who have passed one of the following : (1) The Matriculation Examination of any University in the United Kingdom ; (,(2) Oxford or Cambridge Senior Local or ,Junior Honours; (3) Higher Examination of the Oxford and Cambridge Schools' Examination Board ; (4) Central Welsh Board Examination in Honours. Each of these examinations admits of a choice of subjects. It is important that the future surveyor should he strong in Geometrical Drawing and Mathematics, including Mensuration and Trigonometry, and these subjects, therefore, should receive special attention during the school course.
On leaving school, those who intend to learn the business of a surveyor must make up their minds as to the branch of surveying in which they mean to specialise. It is not absolutely necessary to he articled in order to become a surveyor, but it is highly desirable. The choice of the firm in
which to seek entrance as an articled pupil will, of course, depend on the branch of the profession in view. The usual age for entering on articles is seventeen or eighteen, and the period of training is usually three years. The premium required varies in amount with the standing of the firm, but a portion of it is often returned as wages. Some men prepare for their future work and for the examinations of the Institute by attendance at one of the agricultural colleges or of such University Colleges as provide special facilities for the study of agriculture. This course is more expensive than the other, but may offer special advantages to those who intend to practise in the country.
The Surveyors' Institute (Office, 12 Great George Street, Westminster) was instituted in 1868 to secure the advancement and facility of acquisition of that knowledge which constitutes the profession of a surveyor. No one is admitted as a student until he is sixteen years of age at least. There are three examinations held by the Institution : (1) Preliminary, (2) Intermediate, (3) Final. Particulars of these examinations may be obtained by application to the Secretary of the Institute. The second and third examinations are arranged in three divisions, corresponding to the three main branches of the profession—Land Agency, Valuation, Quantity Surveying. The Final Examination deals with advanced stages of the subject set for the Inter mediate. At present, a student who had passed the Intermediate Examina tion, and is in practice as a surveyor, is eligible for election as a professional Associate, with the right by charter of writing P. A.S.I. after his name, but after 1913 lie must have passed the Final to be eligible for election. As a consequence of this change, candidates fur the Intermediate Examination have been allowed since 1909 to sit at the age of nineteen, and for the Final at the age of twenty-one. No one is admitted to the class of Fellows until he has held for five years a responsible position in the profession. A Fellow has the right by charter to affix F.S.I. to his name.