Meet The Team: Mark Hockaday, Land Surveyor and Mentor

Ever wondered how someone becomes a land surveyor? For Mark, it started with a fascination for maps during a geological mapping project at university. Mark knew he wanted a career that was both outdoorsy and technical, after some research, surveying seemed like the perfect match.

Mark joined Kemp over six years ago, and it’s clear he’s never looked back. Growing up in Cornwall, he wanted to stay close to home while working on exciting projects across the Southwest. Kemp ticked all the boxes, offering opportunities to work on large-scale infrastructure projects and make a positive impact on the local community, all without leaving his favourite county.

“One of the things I love most about my job is the variety,” Mark says. “No two days are the same. It might be cliché, but it’s true!” On a typical day, Mark starts with a site walkover, identifying boundaries and any specific client requests. From there, he sets up site control and gets down to surveying. The day wraps up with downloading and checking data to ensure nothing’s been missed.

But not every day is typical – especially when Cornwall’s unpredictable weather has other ideas. Mark recalls one memorable project early in his career: surveying borehole locations for the St Austell to A30 link road. “A snowstorm hit out of nowhere, and within an hour, the site was blanketed in four to five inches of snow. My car was stranded, but luckily the client had a 4×4 and drove me most of the way home. I still had to walk the last mile carrying the GPS though!”

When he’s not braving Cornish snowstorms or mentoring students, Mark is a man of many hobbies. He loves photography, fossil hunting, landscape painting, hiking, and diving into Cornwall’s rich history. And if he wasn’t a surveyor? “I’d have pursued my interest in geology further and become a palaeontologist,” he says.

As for his dream adventure? “I’d love to visit the national parks in the USA, especially in Utah. The rock formations there are incredible!”

Mark’s passion for his work and the Southwest shines through in everything he does, whether it’s mentoring future surveyors or navigating the hidden corners of Cornwall. We’re lucky to have him on the Kemp team!