Every time Ashley Metz arrives at a new job site, it takes a few minutes to set up her equipment.

“I’ve got three tripods here that I’ll be putting our survey equipment on,” Metz explained during one recent morning in the field.

For the past three years, tripods, prisms, and a number of other devices have been the Burnt Hills native’s tools of the trade as a land surveying technician.

“We call these glass, but it’s really a prism inside,” Metz said. “They will be able to reflect the laser beam that goes into the center back to our equipment, which allows for a very precise measurement.”

The equipment Metz relies on every day is not all that different from what surveyors have been using to measure and map properties for the past few hundred years. Of course, advances in modern technology certainly make Metz’s job a whole lot easier than that of her predecessors.

“This is one of the most advanced pieces we’ll see today,” Metz said near the end of her set-up routine. “This is a robotic total station, and it is the brains behind the field.”

On this early March afternoon, Metz was preparing to map the boundaries of one of her client’s properties.

“That’s important for a number of things,” Metz said. “A lot of people get them if they're going to do any type of land deal, or if they’re going to buy or sell property.”

Metz says she discovered her passion for surveying land during a high school internship. Like many professions in the STEM field, it is predominantly made up of men.

“There are definitely not as many women as there are males in the field, but it’s definitely a growing base,” she said.

Metz's age is another reason she’s a minority in the field.

“The average age of a professional land surveyor is 55 at this point,” she said.

Wanting to attract a new generation to her field, Metz has taken an active role with the New York State Association of Professional Land Surveyors, and helped organize its first virtual women’s summit during the organization’s recent convention.

“Most of all, I find it really fulfilling to be a land surveyor, and I want to share that with other people,” Metz said. “I also think there being a limited number of people in the field, we will need more people in order to continue the profession.”

Mark Twain famously wrote, “They ain’t making any more land,” but there is still plenty to go around, and Metz is hopeful more young women will join her in the field.

“People are always going to buy land, and people are always going to need land surveyors,” she said. ”I think it’s important to have a number of people coming in so we can carry on our tradition.”