4 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 46, No. 2 From the PLSO Office Aimee McAuliffe, PLSO Exec. Secretary Community Affiliations are Key We’ve all heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” This often rings true in daily life. After all, there are a lot of smart people in the world that are just as capable as we are. (I’m all about giving us the benefit of the doubt.) So, what’s to differentiate two professionals apart when they have similar qualifications, be it an employer or potential client? Graduates are often startled by the realities of the need to network when they first start their career. This is, of course, the part where I tell you how being an active part of an association creates situations for you to create your network of people. You might think attending a chapter meeting or serving as its secretary is no big deal. But suddenly you’re getting referrals from the association office or chapter president because they can’t take the project on. That happened because you became known to them and they know you show up when you’re supposed to. Otherwise, you’re just a name on a list of other names, aren’t you? Now, let’s flip the script. We desperately need more land surveyors if we’re going to be able to keep up with projects in the next 10 years. If we can’t keep up with projects, well-meaning but short-sighted people will want to find a way to circumvent licensing requirements, ultimately putting the public at risk. This is why outreach for the profession, from reaching middle and high school-aged children to college students who haven’t chosen their major, is more important than ever. Quick question—is a message louder if one person is shouting in one classroom or if a lot of different people are whispering the same thing, in every room of the school, multiple times a day? That’s right, professional land surveying needs to not only know more people, but it needs to know the right people. We want to be in “the room where it happens.” So how do we get out there and meet people? We have to network by adding value. Value may be found in sponsoring appropriate events, talking about the pathway to licensure at job and college fairs, volunteering time in a classroom to talk about the cool parts of surveying, sharing surveying photos and memes on Instagram, or even a funny video of surveyors dancing around a Total Station to “Hard Way To Make An Easy Living“ by Toby Keith on TikTok. Better yet, change “All the Single Ladies” to “All the Land Surveyors” and dance to Beyonce like nobody is watching. Trust me, it will get shared. Shared laughter brings a lot of value. One new thing PLSO is doing this year is sponsoring the Oregon ACTE Annual Conference in Bend this April 12–14. Members of our Central Chapter will be staffing our sponsor exhibit space and giving a presentation on bringing land surveying into the classroom. (Shout out to Scott Freshwaters, Mike Berry, and Russell Dodge for making this happen.) Many of us are very familiar with CTE, but just in case, I will review. ACTE is the Association for Career and Technical Education. Their mission is “to provide educational leadership in developing a Quick question—Is a message louder if one person is shouting in one classroom or if a lot of different people are whispering the same thing, in every room of the school, multiple times a day?
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