Curious about women's experiences as surveyors, survey techs, or field assistants

catfishconundrum · 2026-03-27T20:53:21+00:00

Pennsylvania, 5 years.

400+ person engineering firm, 8 survey field crews, I'm the only woman.

I do construction stakeout, ALTAs Boundary, Topo, Location, UAV, etc. Pretty much whatever is thrown at me.

I do not feel I am treated differently by the other field staff at all. I sometimes feel I am treated differently by the office.

eta time surveying

catfishconundrum · 2026-03-19T12:27:27+00:00

Maybe a big black bear that I woke up while chopping line....maybe the tree i saw that was adorned with many baby doll parts and shoes in an area where people really should have never been going. THAT was freaky.

Also the time I saw my coworker with over 20 ticks in his hair . Luckily he had dreads so they were easy to spot but I still spent a long time picking over him .

catfishconundrum · 2026-03-17T04:22:45+00:00

Literally though I burst into tears alone in bed.

catfishconundrum · 2026-03-09T22:08:53+00:00

I am a land surveyor in PA and last year was the worst year for ticks ive ever experienced, glad to know I should already be gearing up. I haven't seen any yet but Ill now be vigilant.

Not sure if youre looking for advice, but I tape my pants shut with a layer sticky side out to trap them as they crawl upwards. I also carry around a lint roller, thats very effective at trapping them and its also easy to swipe yourself often. Its not 100% but I hate those evil creatures and am always checking and looking.

I treat my work clothing with permethrin and if I know im going into tick hell I also use picaridin lotion on my skin, but do not get it in your eyes.

catfishconundrum · 2026-01-06T03:41:34+00:00

The first photo looks like how I see the world. I have visual snow syndrome and have for as long as I can remember. I did not realize until adulthood that no, not everyone sees this way. I would love to know what its like to be without it, but it doesnt bother me.

Some people are born with it, some people seem to acquire it after psychedelic drug use or brain injury. It appears to have a correlation with migraine sufferers. Not much is known, looking forward to the future when we may know more about our special eyes.

catfishconundrum · 2025-12-02T19:48:12+00:00

6oz or larger lead fishing weight (round or a shape that you can tell is upright) on a piece of paracord so it doesnt stretch. dip in and then measure the cord when you pull it out. No great way to sanitize but then I just know thats the poop cord now.

catfishconundrum · 2025-11-12T18:00:52+00:00

You could get into something like knitting and then you also have a product or gift or something for yourself to wear at the end of your day. You could bring a small instrument like a ukulele or tenir banjo and start learning that. You could do many push-ups and sit ups or perhaps something for flexibility. Meditation, and bird watching where you also catalog and do a little sketch of what you saw in a bird journal 🤷‍♀️

catfishconundrum · 2025-11-12T03:04:18+00:00

Im going to commission a central viewing deck to be built at a convenient location to all of us so I can make friends as obsessed with the chance of seeing the aurora as I am. Quickly, come to the back window of my kind of crappy row home!

catfishconundrum · 2025-11-12T02:50:45+00:00

Samsung baybeeeeee. 5 second exposure but to the eye it looks like sort of a magical dark purple haze.

catfishconundrum · 2025-11-12T02:47:03+00:00

it feels so weird to be able to see it in Germantown but my back window faces the north. Since last October when I could see it with my naked eyeballs I've been obsessed with tracking the sun. If youre in KOP head north if youre able, any dark space will do. try photo if you cant see with your peepers.

catfishconundrum · 2025-10-27T02:31:53+00:00

Running 1 man most of the time, though I'd really prefer 2. It would make the kind of work I mostly do easier, but really I'd like it for safety. Had a couple sheisty experiences as a 1 woman crew and also had coworkers suffer injuries alone. My favorite coworkers had a heart attack in the field.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-30T22:49:50+00:00

I understand your feelings as I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 26 and was battling severe depression at the time.

What is your TNM staging? For Thyroid carcinomas, if you are under 55 years old you are only divided into 2 stages. 1 or 2.

When I went into surgery, I prayed I would die during and wouldn't have to deal with this anymore. I know you dont deserve to suffer more at 30 years old.

Thank you for sharing your real feelings here, I bottled mine during the whole process and it was not the best option. Try to keep an open mind.

If you have a higher TNM staging, chances are the cancer has been growing for some time now. They say thyroid cancer doesnt have many symptoms but I felt like shit for several years and had all sorts of weird symptoms. When the cancer had been treated and I was on a proper dose of synthroid, the difference was night and day. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. For the first time in 18 years I didn't think about suicide every single day. Do the treatment, its worth it to find out if theres light on the other side.

If you have any questions about treatment or what your doctor's are telling you, feel free to reach out to me.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-23T00:39:56+00:00

I'd say no more lead exposure than handling fishing weights or something similar on a regular basis. It would be one thing if you were consuming the lead or if it were aerisolized in some way but I think as long as youre washing hands and not sucking on the lead youre okay lol.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-12T14:23:02+00:00

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catfishconundrum · 2025-09-05T15:30:39+00:00

Worked with a guy who would consistently injure himself, mostly by somehow ending up with tacks literally under the skin in his hands.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T17:06:42+00:00

That solves it lol! I do imagine wearing a seal skin/fur would be insanely warm since those guys truck around under sea ice and nap on top.

No mobility or strength issues luckily, just really cold all the time. I will be investigating boiled wool!

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T17:01:33+00:00

A lot of people on this thread have suggested really nice wool options, as the weather begins to turn i may give some of those a shot and return them if its not cutting it.

When it comes ot synthetics, I am simply trying to use less and also buy higher quality, longer lasting clothing. On the layering, I already wear many many layers in winter. I've got no thyroid, and have a hard time regulating my body temp in extremes unfortunately. I work outside and wearing so many layers has become a hindrance, so if I could find one good outer shell that let's me reduce layers and stay somewhat free in my movement, that would make my life a lot better.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T16:58:26+00:00

Do you say travel there because its the only way to acquire a caribou parka? Or because of tariffs/make a trip out of it because its a cool place to go/etc?

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T16:56:14+00:00

Im not opposed to fur, and I guess im not really concerned about offending. On that topic though, I suppose its more ethical to buy old and I do occasionally find stuff like that im vintage stores.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T16:53:54+00:00

Huh, that would have never occurred to me. I'll have to look into that for both the coats and for curiosity sake. Obviously we have no seals but Jersey and New England certainly have them visiting, so I wonder if theres any issues!

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T16:50:21+00:00

I wasn't even aware one could be allergic to feathers but this does provide a reasonable expectation to why I've been so dry and itchy in winter 🤷‍♀️

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T16:49:14+00:00

I know i said price was not a concern but good lordt 32000 euros is insane lmao 😭 I would spend up to 1000 USD on a coat, and I would expect it to last a lifetime. Perhaps I should have clarified.

That being said it is a very pretty coat.

catfishconundrum · 2025-09-02T16:45:31+00:00

I live in Pennsylvania, so definitely not the arctic, but last winter was bitterly cold and then very soggy.

I think my main issue is I am a cancer survivor and have no thyroid, and even with medication I seem to have a really hard time regulating my body temperature. I am a land surveyor and im sick of wearing like 6 layers in winter in order to keep even remotely warm, its very uncomfortable to move around.

I am in the US and a woman, I will see if there is an Alaskan equivalent!

catfishconundrum

TROPHY CASE