If you've been in the field long enough, you've noticed there's almost no good content built specifically for working land surveyors.
There are plenty of trade publications — most of them written for firm owners or focused on equipment specs you didn't ask about. There are Reddit threads and Facebook groups, which are useful but scattered. There's no consistent, practical resource that covers what actually matters week to week: what's happening with field technology, what boundary law cases you should know about, how to price your work and talk to clients about money.
That's what The Benchmark is.
What It Covers
The Benchmark is a free newsletter for working land surveyors. Every issue covers practical field and office content. Not press releases, not vendor-sponsored content, not "here's what's trending in geospatial." Actual content for people running boundary, ALTA, topo, and construction layout jobs.
Specifically:
- Field technology — what's actually worth adopting and what's hype. When something like AI-assisted deed research or RTK network improvements affects how you work, I'll break it down from a field perspective, not a vendor pitch.
- Boundary law — case law updates, state licensing changes, monument recovery decisions, and anything that sets precedent you should know about. Not legal advice. Just what's happening and why it matters.
- Fee strategy and pricing — how to set your rates, how to handle pushback, how to structure minimums, and how to have the money conversation with clients and contractors without losing the job or working for free.
- The business side — hiring, crew management, client communication, and the parts of running a survey operation that nobody trained you for in school.
Who It's For
Working surveyors. People who are in the field or managing crews that are. Licensed professionals who still pull up field books and argue over found monuments.
Not for people who are already running a 20-person firm and mostly doing business development. Not for students who aren't yet licensed. Not for software vendors looking for content ideas.
If you're a working PLS, LSIT, or survey technician who wants practical content that respects your time and your professional intelligence — that's who this is for.
The Free Checklist
When you subscribe, you'll get a copy of the pre-job checklist I use before every job — office prep, equipment checks, on-site startup steps, and a quick reference organized by survey type. Boundary, ALTA, topo, construction staking. Print it, keep it in the truck.
It's the kind of thing I wish I'd had when I started. It's free.
How to Subscribe
Free. Every two weeks. No spam. The first issue is coming soon.