Management often overlooks morale and workload issues. Pay sits well below the wider survey market; comparable income can be earned in unskilled jobs with regular hours, more time at home and a less stress. Promotions are frequently discussed but rarely delivered, and structured training is minimal—most people are left to figure things out on their own and having to keep re-submitting things for QA. The company’s interview conversations often paint a different picture from the reality: new starters are told travel will be limited to a few nights a month, but it’s often closer to seven or eight weeks continuously away from home. Promises of specialist scanning or bathymetric work give way to repetitive cross-section surveys and processing in GeoRiver, a proprietary program that isn’t used elsewhere, making the skills difficult to transfer.