NSPS CST Level II study plan
NSPS CST Level II · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Field track - Level II work elements
Map every Level II field-track work element in Domain 1 into a personal checklist, marking each as unfamiliar, partial, or confident
Define the field workflow stages (pre-field research, monument recovery, field observation, data recording) and write a one-paragraph summary of what Level II responsibility looks like at each stage
List the field instruments and equipment a Level II surveyor is expected to set up, check, and maintain, and note the calibration or verification step for each
Build a glossary of 25 field terms with your own one-line definitions, flagging any term you cannot define without notes
Your checkpoint
A completed Domain 1 self-assessment checklist covering all listed work elements, with confidence ratings and a ranked list of your five weakest areas
Field track - Level II work elements
Explain the purpose and legal weight of monumentation and how to document a recovered or set monument in field notes
Describe the standard order of field operations for a boundary or control survey and justify why the sequence matters
Practice writing field-note entries that another surveyor could follow without asking you questions
Identify the common field errors that require a return visit and state a prevention step for each
Your checkpoint
Five complete mock field-note sets for realistic scenarios (monument recovered, monument set, control traverse, topographic pickup, as-built check), each self-reviewed against a written quality checklist
Field track - Level II work elements
Work through the Level II field math skills: angular closure, linear closure, coordinate geometry, and basic area computation, solving at least three problems per skill
Explain how field measurements become adjusted coordinates and where a Level II technician checks the work
Describe field-to-office data flow, including file formats, naming conventions, and the checks performed before data is accepted
Draft a short field safety and site-hazard briefing you could give to a crew
Your checkpoint
A worked problem set of at least 15 field computations with shown steps, plus a one-page field-to-office data handoff procedure
Field track - Level II work elements & Office track - Level II work elements
Complete a timed 40-question mixed practice set weighted 50/50 across Domains 1 and 2 and log every miss by cause (knowledge gap, misread, calculation slip)
Review each Domain 1 miss and write the correct reasoning in your own words
Skim the Domain 2 work-element list and mark which items overlap with field tasks you already know
Set a target score and a weekly practice-question quota for the remaining four weeks
Your checkpoint
A scored practice exam with an error log categorizing every miss and a written remediation plan for the second half of the schedule
Office track - Level II work elements
Map every Level II office-track work element in Domain 2 into a checklist with confidence ratings, mirroring your Domain 1 method
Describe the office review chain for a survey deliverable, naming who checks what and at which stage
Explain how records research (deeds, plats, prior surveys) supports a boundary or control project and what a Level II technician is expected to extract
List the document-control practices that keep a project file defensible
Your checkpoint
A completed Domain 2 self-assessment checklist plus a one-page diagram of the office review chain from raw data to signed deliverable
Office track - Level II work elements
Describe how to evaluate boundary evidence and resolve conflicts between record and measured data at the technician level
Explain coordinate system, datum, and projection choices and how a wrong choice shows up in a deliverable
Outline the steps to perform a quality check on a plat or map before it leaves the office
Identify the records-retention and documentation expectations that apply to Level II office work
Your checkpoint
A written QC checklist for reviewing a plat or map, with at least 12 specific checkpoints and the failure each one catches
Field track - Level II work elements & Office track - Level II work elements
Complete two timed 40-question mixed practice sets and compare scores against your week 4 baseline
Rework every remaining item in your error log until you can explain the correct answer without notes
Write a one-page comparison of how the same project is handled differently on the field track versus the office track
Identify any work element still rated unfamiliar and build a focused one-hour study block for each
Your checkpoint
Two scored practice sets with a before-and-after error log showing which gaps closed and which persist
Field track - Level II work elements & Office track - Level II work elements
Take one full-length timed mock exam under test-day conditions and score it
Review only your error log and flagged items, not new material
Recite from memory the field and office work-element lists and the key checkpoints for each
Write a one-page test-day plan covering timing, question triage, and calculation double-checks
Your checkpoint
A full-length mock exam score above your target, a cleared or explicitly accepted error log, and a final one-page test-day plan
Milestones
Week 2: You can write a complete, self-explanatory field-note set for an unfamiliar scenario without consulting references, and your Domain 1 checklist shows no more than three unfamiliar items
Week 4: Mixed practice score at or above 60 percent with a categorized error log; every Domain 1 miss has a written correction in your own words
Week 6: Domain 2 checklist complete with no more than three unfamiliar items, and your plat QC checklist passes review against a sample deliverable you construct yourself
Week 8: Full-length mock exam at or above your target score, with no uncorrected items in the error log and all work elements rated partial or confident