The Geoholics

thegeoholics

”Adding Value & Making Friends” since 2019! Our goal is to not waste your time! The group discusses a variety of topics including surveying, geospatial, geomatics, GIS, civil engineering and much much more.

  1. 6D AGO

    Episode 284 - Alex Chose, Taylor Shepley & YSN National Mentorship Program

    In this episode of The Geoholics, we’re talking mentorship, momentum, and the future of land surveying with Alex Chose and Taylor Shepley from the Young Surveyors Network. With applications open for the 2026 YSN National Mentorship Program, Alex and Taylor dig into why mentorship matters right now, not someday, and how structured mentor/mentee relationships can help young surveyors navigate licensure, leadership, business ownership, work-life balance, confidence, and the kind of hard-earned professional judgment that simply cannot be pulled from a textbook or YouTube video. The 2025 pilot program delivered a powerful result, with 100% of questionnaire respondents saying they would recommend it to their peers, and the 2026 program is expanding to 250 participants, signaling real demand and real momentum across the profession. This one is about more than career advice. It is a call to action for seasoned surveyors to be intentional about passing down knowledge, opening doors, and helping the next generation believe they belong in the room. Alex brings a passion for community, camaraderie, and preservation of wild public lands, while Taylor brings a deep commitment to mentoring the next generation of surveyors through his work in the industry and with YSN. Add in a Leica Geosystems Pro Tip on mentorship, Wanda Jackson’s “Let’s Have a Party” as Song of the Week, and the usual Geoholics energy, and you’ve got an episode focused on adding value, making friends, and reminding all of us that the future of surveying depends on what we are willing to share today.

    1h 13m
  2. APR 2

    Episode 275 - Ted Knaak & TopoDOT Solutions

    This episode of The Geoholics takes us deep into the evolution of surveying—where the industry isn’t just changing…it’s being completely flipped “upside down and inside out.” And leading that conversation? None other than Ted Knaak—OG innovator, founder, and one of the sharpest minds in the point cloud game. Ted walks us through one of the biggest paradigm shifts our profession has ever seen: we didn’t just improve data collection…we changed the nature of the data itself. This episode challenges the idea that “more data = better outcomes”… and pushes us to rethink what quality really means in a point cloud world. Ted calls out one of the biggest gaps in our industry today—dysfunctional data governance. Firms adopting scanning tech without a clear strategy...Workflows being dictated by software instead of mission...Multiple sensors, platforms, and tools creating fragmentation...Lack of defensibility when it actually matters. TopoDOT Solutions: This isn’t just a name change—it’s a mindset shift. Ted introduces the idea of defining measurable characteristics of point cloud data—bringing structure, accountability, and true quality assessment into the conversation. The role of the surveyor is evolving—from collector to interpreter, validator, and data governor. To stay relevant (and lead), surveyors need to: Understand data at a deeper level...Own quality and traceability...Think beyond deliverables...Think lifecycle! The firms (and people) who figure out data governance, quality, and strategy first…are going to lead the next era of surveying. Music by Pigeons Playing Ping Pong!

    1h 34m
4.8
out of 5
37 Ratings

About

”Adding Value & Making Friends” since 2019! Our goal is to not waste your time! The group discusses a variety of topics including surveying, geospatial, geomatics, GIS, civil engineering and much much more.

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