One of those times when you wish you had a camera ready:
I recently watched a pair of surveyors working along Westheimer. The assistant carrying the target rod was directed by the transit operator (across the street) to stand near a telephone pole.
He walked over, stuck the rod in the grass, then looked up and apparently decided the telephone pole was in the spot he wanted.
So, to my considerable surprise, he stepped closer, reached out and tried to PUSH the telephone pole out of the way. He appeared astonished that it would not get out of his way. Really.
One might reasonably surmise that the job of Surveyor Assistant does not require an advanced academic degree.