Woods supported me through my entire journey, from leaving university to where I am now. Read on to find out how Woods helped me get licensed and why Woods is an attractive place for graduate surveyors to work.
The general requirements for licensing for cadastral surveyors involves the cadastral law exams, submitting projects for each discipline, meeting the diary time requirements for experience in each of the disciplines, and completing the professional entrance exam interviews. It is quite a big list of tasks that you need to complete, so it helps that Woods has a great support network for graduates and a range of work available to make completing the requirements easier.
Here's how Woods helped me get licensed (and why Woods is an attractive company for graduate surveyors to work for):
All the cross-discipline experience you need
One of the most attractive things about working for Woods as a graduate is the range of work you are exposed to - from small to large projects, simple to complex, and almost everything in between.
Woods have a consistent workflow of complex projects eligible for the licensing application and a department that can cater for each of the main disciplines required for licensing (surveying, planning, and land development engineering), graduates can complete all the tasks required for the application internally.
The right career path for you
The scale and diversity of work available also enables each manager to allocate projects that align with your personal goals, while gaining sufficient exposure to any other potential fields of interest to best set you up for your career.
While working in the surveying team I gained experience in cadastral surveying, construction set out, topographical survey, as-built surveys, laser scanning technologies, and subdivision resource consent and compliance. I also worked on a diverse range of land development projects, requiring a variety of surveying methodologies to be applied from project scoping to completion.
Later when I shifted to the engineering team, I was an engineers representative which involved detailed design, contract observation, consent and compliance for both earthworks and civil components to produce a successful subdivision.
A support network of people who have been through it themselves
Woods supported me through my entire journey, from leaving university to where I am now. The experienced surveying staff at Woods provide a great support network for graduates as they have been through the process themselves. They support us to learn and prepare for all the exams and assessments required. It helps to know that experienced staff are basically following along with you and can answer any questions you have. There is also a survey graduates chat forum that we use day-to-day to ask simple questions and help each other along, which is very useful too.
A great company culture, we’re family
The culture at Woods is great, I love working here. The staff are all supportive and very approachable but it's not just at the graduate level, it is at every level - from interns to directors. I can easily go knock on a director's door and have a chat if needed. On the social side, we have a Social Club which runs an event every month, social summer sports teams such as touch rugby, and every Friday afternoon we stop work for a staff barbecue and beer. We're quite a close family and the social aspect helps keep the culture alive, especially through COVID-19, shifting things online and trying to keep people in contact and connected.
A workplace that keeps you on your toes
I love the culture, the support network, and knowing that I have friends at work, and on the other side of things, I really like the work that we do as well. There's such a diverse range of projects, you're constantly learning new skills by taking on new challenges and projects - you're always on your toes.
If you’re interested in a career with Woods, visit our careers page for more information.
Jess Smyth - Licensed Cadastral Surveyor