Ben Tilman, RLS

STAFF SURVEYOR – PRESCOTT

Ben Tilman

Where did you attend college and what did you study?
I attended Yavapai College for two years and received an Associate of Arts degree, and then attended Calvary Bible College for two years and received a Bachelors in Biblical Studies.

What drew you to working for Civiltec? What do you like best about working at Civiltec?
After college, I went to work for a general contractor doing residential and commercial construction in the tri-city area and worked my way up to being a superintendent. But at the beginning of the Great Recession, the owner told me he had about a week of back log, instead of the usual three months, and that maybe I should start looking for another job. So I sat down and thought hard about what I really wanted to do and decided that I wanted to try surveying. So I got my resume ready and went around to every surveying company I could find. And ended up at Civiltec! I like it here because we are a group of people all looking to get better at what we do and learn from each other. We surveyors have worked closely with the drafters in developing line work coding that does a lot of the drafting automatically. The quick and useful feedback we have between the two disciplines has built up a system that saves us time not only in the office, but in the field as well.

What are some of your favorite types of projects to work on?
I like topographic surveys and setting aerial panels, but my favourite is construction staking. There is just something amazing about being a part of creating something new. I like being able to point to something real and tell my kids that I worked on that building or road or whatever. It’s fun taking projects from the paper to the reality.

When you’re not working, how do you like to spend your time?
At home, I keep bees and chickens and do a lot of gardening. This year was my first garden at a new house, and it went very well. I’m not quite to the point where I don’t have to buy vegetables at the store anymore, but I did a lot of canning and freezing, so that was fun. I also love hiking, but don’t have time for a lot of it right now. The best hike I had this year was an orienteering treasure hunt my Dad put together for my kids, out near Hell’s Canyon. Once my kids get a little older, I’ll be able to do more hiking. I have three boys and one girl, ranging from twelve-years-old to almost two. We homeschool, so that is a big part of my time at home as well.