Robert began his surveying career in the US Army in 1974 until 1977.  After his honorable discharge from the military he worked for the State of Washington for 1 year as a Chainman, after which he went to work for the United States Bureau of Reclamation at Grand Coulee Dam as a construction surveyor.  In 1984 he relocated to Alaska and began working in the villages for four years, doing primarily construction surveys.  He then worked on the North Slope for four years as a pipeline surveyor, then in 1992 he took a position in Wasilla, AK for Acumetrix Surveying and worked for them until 1998, after which he began working for Alaska Rim Engineering; he was with them until 2017 as the Survey Manager.  In August 2017 he began Farmer Surveying LLC,  and as of August 2018 Farmer Surveying absorbed the surveying division of Alaska Rim Engineering, including files and the right to use the name Alaska Rim.