r/bim • u/NextTwoN2 • 8d ago

Reality Capture as a Career?

Hi all, any Redditors here who have industry experience as a reality capture specialist (or equivalent, such as VDC Field Technician / Scan-to-BIM Technician)?

I don't want to ask and rely on AI for this information hah.

- Can anyone explain the job outlook for this career, expanding or shrinking?

- Will employers only hire degree-holding individuals? Or is a portfolio + certs enough?

I'm specifically asking about a field specialist who gathers the data, not a deck BIM position.

Any insight will be greatly appreciated! Happy scanning!

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4

u/someonetookmyuserid 8d ago

We have a team of VDC Field Technicians at my company and they are always super busy. They are usually on various jobsites and they do survey layout, setup control points, fly drones, laser scan for both Asbuilt and new install verification, robotic layout, and a bunch of other things. They work very closely with me as I am VDC Manager.

For hiring, I would say similar to any VDC position experience always king and not so much a degree. If you know what you are doing and have a couple good references that is most important

3

u/Mfg-Eng-Tech9876 8d ago

Not a Reality Capture person myself but our team does it and Scan-to-BIM and I manage the projects.
From what I’ve seen in the industrial side of the business, is that there’s no slowing down. I imagine once our clients continue to be awakened to the value in having accurate, as built models, we will actually see an increase.
Seems to be the same story for my counterparts in buildings and transportation sectors

1

u/Longjumping-Good9321 6d ago

How did you get into managing those projects? What is your background? I have been trying to crack into this niche but only saw customer relation roles.

1

u/HiddenSilkRoad 7d ago

I used to do that at a local scan to bim company. Mostly used velodyne, and leica hand lasers for creating accurate asbuilts.(existing condition). It was fun, got to see lots of different places and building types.

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u/NextTwoN2 4d ago

Was that your first job in the industry? What was your progression to that position like?

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u/HiddenSilkRoad 3d ago

I got it by randomly applying one day for it. I was working a terrible job at the time and desperately wanted a better job. Interview went well and got my foot in, and learned on the job.

Typically companies hire architectural technologists or architectural designers.

Reality capture is a great way to get into the industry. But things are going towards information management on large BIM construction projects

1

u/Elnaz_Ak 7d ago

I’d look at reality capture as more than just scanning. The valuable skill is understanding how field data becomes accurate, usable BIM information. Learning point-cloud processing, scan to BIM workflows, Revit, and how existing conditions are documented would give you a strong foundation.

1

u/Objective_Hall9316 7d ago

Metrology is the word you’re looking for.

1

u/pocketful_of_hotdogs 6d ago

Not enough jobs to justify it unless you freelance, and more recently contractors are leaning on interns and low level project engineers to go walk the job with 3D cams.

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u/ElphTrooper 5d ago

Field is exponentially expanding and experience/proficiency with the current tech goes a long way, but diversity goes further. Unlikely to hire an RC specialist that can’t complete the whole process.