Quantity Surveyor career advice welcomed

lostat40

Hi, I had previously posted about my career dilemma but thought it was best to start at separate thread focusing on quantity surveying as a possible career change. Is there anyone who can give me advice on this preferably quantity surveyors , I am 40 years old and have no clue if this would be a good fit for me. I have no experience in construction apart from one year as a trainee electrician. Is this too big of a risk in today's climate to quit a job and pursue this? Ideally I would like to shadow someone for a few days to see if this is for me but I have no clue how I can do this especially as well with COVID-19 in play. I know I would need to do a masters but would want to be working with a company when doing this as It would help my learning and add experience to my CV. Appreciate any advice given, thanks

Sandtree

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/quantity-surveyor

Why do you think you need a Masters? The only qualified quantity surveyor I've known left school at 17 and worked his way up.

Speak to some local firms about work experience etc... some may think it a bit odd for a 40 year old but my Mrs did such stuff at 38 in a design studio. As you say, with the current situation you are likely to find more resistance, especially with those working from home but if you have patience it could pay off.

lostat40

Sandtree said:

https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/quantity-surveyor

Why do you think you need a Masters? The only qualified quantity surveyor I've known left school at 17 and worked his way up.

Speak to some local firms about work experience etc... some may think it a bit odd for a 40 year old but my Mrs did such stuff at 38 in a design studio. As you say, with the current situation you are likely to find more resistance, especially with those working from home but if you have patience it could pay off.

To get into this line of work you need to be registered with the RCIS via a degree or masters. As I already have two degrees now then the masters would be quicker to complete. I dont know anyone in this field so its the world of the unknown so some voluntary experience would really help. I'm also interested in knowing about the work life balance and if its stressful these are of course questions I hope someone in surveying could answer on this forum

TELLIT01

lostat40 said:

To get into this line of work you need to be registered with the RCIS via a degree or masters. As I already have two degrees now then the masters would be quicker to complete. I dont know anyone in this field so its the world of the unknown so some voluntary experience would really help. I'm also interested in knowing about the work life balance and if its stressful these are of course questions I hope someone in surveying could answer on this forum

Blimey, how times change.  I started as a trainee Quantity Surveyor straight after 'O' Levels at school.  I'm convinced the only reason so many jobs demand university degrees is to keep the courses topped up.  Either that or 'O' levels 50 years ago were actually the equivalent of modern degrees.

lostat40

TELLIT01 said:

lostat40 said:

To get into this line of work you need to be registered with the RCIS via a degree or masters. As I already have two degrees now then the masters would be quicker to complete. I dont know anyone in this field so its the world of the unknown so some voluntary experience would really help. I'm also interested in knowing about the work life balance and if its stressful these are of course questions I hope someone in surveying could answer on this forum

Blimey, how times change.  I started as a trainee Quantity Surveyor straight after 'O' Levels at school.  I'm convinced the only reason so many jobs demand university degrees is to keep the courses topped up.  Either that or 'O' levels 50 years ago were actually the equivalent of modern degrees.

Really!!! Yeah i totally agree with you on degrees. Are you still in the field? 

Sandtree

https://www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/join-rics/ states you can join with no degree if you have 4 years relevant work experience

lostat40

Sandtree said:

https://www.rics.org/uk/surveying-profession/join-rics/ states you can join with no degree if you have 4 years relevant work experience

I don't have the 4 years experience unfortunately. This is a completely new field I would be going into. Everyone who is a Quantity Surveyor nowadays as far as I am led to believe is either put through an apprenticeship or a degree via the company that have taken them on. 

TELLIT01

lostat40 said:

Really!!! Yeah i totally agree with you on degrees. Are you still in the field? 

No. Happily retired.  The only field I'm in these days is when I go out for a walk. :-)

lostat40

TELLIT01 said:

lostat40 said:

Really!!! Yeah i totally agree with you on degrees. Are you still in the field? 

No. Happily retired.  The only field I'm in these days is when I go out for a walk. :-)

Is the job extremely stressful? If I did go into it I don’t want to be working away from home (young family) is there a type of QS that works more at an office than on site?

AW618

TELLIT01 said:

lostat40 said:

To get into this line of work you need to be registered with the RCIS via a degree or masters. As I already have two degrees now then the masters would be quicker to complete. I dont know anyone in this field so its the world of the unknown so some voluntary experience would really help. I'm also interested in knowing about the work life balance and if its stressful these are of course questions I hope someone in surveying could answer on this forum

Blimey, how times change.  I started as a trainee Quantity Surveyor straight after 'O' Levels at school.  I'm convinced the only reason so many jobs demand university degrees is to keep the courses topped up.  Either that or 'O' levels 50 years ago were actually the equivalent of modern degrees.

Speaking generally, not in terms of QS which I know little of; it's not that O levels were the equivalent of a degree, it's just that degrees are far more common now as a far greater percentage of the population goes on to further education.  If back then you wanted people in the top 25% academically that would stretch down to people who had left school after O levels; now to get the same quality of person you need to ask for a degree.  It's nothing to do with what they have learned; 95% of actual subject knowledge taught in universities is never, ever used in work; it's just a way of judging how academically able people are.

TELLIT01

Quantity surveyor is likely to be predominantly office based as their role is to calculate the amount of materials involved in a construction job.  I spent about 90% of my time in the office, but that could vary depending on the company you worked for.  I loved the work.