Chartered Surveying

Sector Overview

To put this vast career area in a nutshell, it involves all roles concerned with measuring, valuing, protecting and enhancing all the world’s physical assets. These assets include buildings, trees, antiques, festivals, ports and harbours, making this a career which can involve travelling worldwide and meeting all sorts of people.

Surveying can be divided into three main sectors:

• Built Environment – Surveying specialisms within the Built Environment group which include - Building Control, Building Surveying, Project Management, Quantity Surveying & Construction
• Land - Surveying specialisms within the Land group include – Environment, Geomatics, Minerals & Waste Management, Planning & Development, Rural
• Chartered – This gives you professional status and access to the best jobs to become chartered – you need to belong to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors

Visit the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) website for more information about surveying.

Range of jobs

Surveying has probably the widest range of jobs of any profession, ranging from advising owners of valuable antiques on their value to project managing the building of a new airport. It is an attractive sector if you enjoy variety, travel, networking and for high achievers there are excellent monetary rewards.

There are 17 specialisms across the three groups:

• Construction (Built Environment)
• Land and
• Property

The majority of St Andrews graduates are interested in jobs in the Property area.

TARGETjobs Property gives excellent descriptions of these service areas.

Other occupations in the property sector include estate agency, architecture and town and country planning.

Some areas of the property sector such as the housing market are still stagnant after the recent economic crisis whereas others such as construction have turned the corner and are beginning to be more buoyant. To find out more about current trends refer to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) market surveys and Property Week.

Sustainability and environmental impact have become a big issue in the construction and property industry making careers in this sector more attractive to students studying Sustainable Development and the Environment. Chartered surveyors are involved in projects such as making ancient buildings more energy efficient and lowering the carbon footprint of new developments. Join the RICS Sustainability Blog to find out recent activities in this area.

How to get experience

Finding and organizing work experience is important in this sector. Not only will it give you a realistic insight into surveying, it will also make you competitive in the job market. For suitable opportunities:

• Some of the large companies offer structured internships, even for non-cognates, including Grosvenor, GVA, DTZ, Jones Lang LaSalle, Cushman & Wakefield and Savills

• Regularly check the RICS website and Target Property Guide for up-to-date details on internships.

• Occasionally internships in this area are advertised on the Careers Centre website. In the past companies such as Savills and Wood Mackenzie have advertised vacation work with us.

• Many opportunities will not be advertised and you may have to try speculative approaches to firms of Chartered Surveyors in your area in order to get work experience.

• Use the RICS Find an Employer to get contact details of employers in your area of interest.

• Use any contacts that you might have, think about searching an on-line directory such as yell.com and contacting your local branch or the RICS for possible contacts (see below under job search strategy).

• Working with a surveyor is the most useful form of work experience you can gain, but you may also want to consider finding opportunities with estate agents and other property organizations in order to improve your knowledge of the sector.

• If you can’t source a surveyor level experience in your area of interest, try lower down the food chain. Office administration or building site labouring in your area of interest will still provide you with a valuable experience and hopefully give you the opportunity to network with professionals in this sector.

Entry points

As you don't have an undergraduate degree in surveying you are known as a ‘non-cognate’ and will need to take a postgraduate conversion course in surveying which is accredited by the RICS. After that you need to join a company as a trainee and pass the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) to become a member of RICS then you can qualify as a chartered surveyor.

There are two options:-

• continue to study full-time at university for a year, or
• study at evening classes/day release while you are working - some graduates are employed by large firms which actively recruit non-relevant (‘non-cognate’) degree graduates and sponsor/support them to study for their qualification whilst on the job.

TARGETjobs Property lists organisations which employ non-cognates and/or sponsor conversion courses. Closing dates are usually in November/December.

How to find a job

As mentioned above, for those wanting to become a chartered surveyor there are two options; be taken on by a company and sponsored through the RICS training, or fund yourself through the post-graduate qualification and then look for work. The first option will probably appeal to more individuals, but the number of companies willing to take you on will be slightly limited. To find vacancies for non-cognate graduates, you should:-

• Read the Target guide to Property (also available at the Careers Centre) and Targetjobs Employer Insights independent reviews on top graduate employers

• Savills has produced a resource entitled 'Careers in Property', which lists the larger surveying firms who will take on non-cognate graduates, including deadlines and how to apply. Visit the Savills website (click on 'Why a career in property?'.
• BRE has a graduate recruitment scheme for those who want to make a difference in the built environment.
• Have a look at the RICS jobs pages. While the majority of opportunities will be aimed at qualified surveyors, there are exceptions.

• Keep checking our website for vacancies in surveying. If they are posted on our site then the companies should be happy to take non-cognates.

• Smaller firms are receptive to well thought out and well argued speculative applications. Try to find out which partner handles recruitment and address your letter to him or her by name. Find the names and addresses of firms using the RICS website and then contact them individually for information on vacancies. Smaller firms are less likely to consider non-cognates, but they may be worth looking into.

• You will greatly increase your chances if you have thoroughly briefed yourself before applying to a firm. Read some recent editions of: Chartered Surveyor Monthly - the RICS journal, which is free to Student Members; or Estates Gazette, an independent publication.

• Join the RICS as a Student Member and think about attending the occasional meetings of the local branch's Junior Organisation. You can often make useful contacts in this way if you are trying to get a job with a firm in that branch's area.

• Sometimes the odds may seem stacked against a non-cognate graduate getting a job, but don't give up; once qualified, you will meet no further obstacles. Competition for places can be fierce, so use the Careers Centre to help you with the process of applications, tests and interviews.

• Search for jobs on Jobs in Surveying - searchable recruitment website.

Postgraduate study

Unless you have an undergraduate degree in surveying, a postgraduate conversion course is a necessary step towards becoming a chartered surveyor. For more information have a look at Entry points above.

Key Links and Resources

Careers Centre resources

Take-away:

• Target: Property sector guide

Online

• Careers Alumni Network- a database of St Andrews graduates who have volunteered to offer careers information to existing students.
• The Careers Centre subscribes to 'Going Global', a specialist website with information and job vacancies worldwide. To access Going Global login to the Careers Centre website and click on 'Access MyCareer'.

General property careers information

• Prospects Sector guide: Property and construction
• Targetjobs Property
• Targetjobs Construction

Professional Bodies, Trade Organisations & Journals/Magazines

• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveying
• European Society of Chartered Surveyors
• Asset Skills- The Sector Skills Council for facilities management, housing, property, planning,cleaning and parking.
• Property Week
• Online Industry Sector Profiles - Scotland This online resource has been produced by Heriot-Watt University Careers Service to help explore Scotland's main industries. It provides industry facts and figures, significant Scottish employers, job options, vacancy sources and case studies.

USA

• American Society of Professional Estimators
• RICS USA
• NCEES Land Surveying Lisencure information
• Land Surveyer Reference Page