What should you expect as a Quantity Surveyor?

Becoming a Quantity surveyor may come across as an incredibly daunting endeavour, but hopefully we can give you a concise insight into what to expect and the opportunities that you could look forward to. But before rushing into that, first let’s get a better understanding of what a Quantity Surveyor actually is. As a Quantity Surveyor, you would be operating within the Property, Construction and Land Management industries, likely being in charge of managing, deducing and calculating project related costs, thereby ascertaining preliminary estimates, leading on to concluding the budget outcomes and requirements.

Now within the UK, regardless of Brexit, construction based fields and markets are predicted to cumulatively swell over the next few months and even years. Shortages in the skills that candidates have has been a recurring factor in recent years, primarily in beginner and intermediate career levels. An experienced Quantity Surveyor with a solid amount of time put into the field (typically 2-10 years), are incredibly valuable and bankable. Often ranging between an assistant and a senior level, their flexibility combined with practical experience is prized in the workplace.

Therefore, once your role is properly understood, you can begin to consider the ideal settings and choices to make to tailor your Quantity Surveyor Career to suit your own preferences. These could include whether you would prefer to stay within your local area, or to expand your reach and network, allowing the possibility of travel across the UK or even internationally. The degree to which you decide to expand will dictate the types of opportunities that become available to you on a professional scale.

Bear in mind however that you will need to keep an eye on the small details and fine print of your job role within different projects and companies, in order to clarify to yourself that the salary and benefits are up to scratch and meet your own needs and lifestyle. Furthermore, fully understanding the working conditions and hours will allow you to better designate your work time. Moreover, having a rough idea of the type of people you’ll be working with day-to-day never hurts.

Imagine operating as a financial adviser, lawyer and accountant all simultaneously, having to balance the responsibilities of ensuring construction efficiency, advising on commercial based contracts and managing client’s investments. This can become incredibly daunting if not handled properly, causing you to lose your bearings and not operate as effectively as you would wish. That being said, this is not always the case and workload you would be faced with, it all depends on the company you are collaborating with, for example, a more established contractor with greater resources may outsource certain workloads and contracts third parties.

If you would like to know more about any Quantity Surveying roles available that we are recruiting for, please click here for more information.