Retrain as a Building Surveyor, Quantity Surveyor, or something else? Advice please!

[floppybit]

I’m 49 years old and I work in sales into the construction industry. I’m completely burned out/bored with it and can’t stand doing it until I retire. I have a degree and would love to do a masters at my local university, but I’m a single parent with a mortgage and I don’t know if this would be a mad thing to do financially. I’m even considering borrowing money from my house to pay for it when my current mortgage expires in a few months. I’m very conscious that time is not on my side - am I too old to be considering this? I was leaning towards building surveying as I’m sick of being stuck behind a desk, but there seems to be a lot more QS jobs advertised online. What if I qualify but can’t get a job? If I do get a job will I have to spend years earning crap money? Is there a similar job I haven’t considered? Does anyone work in this industry that can advise please??

I'm not in the industry but just wanted to say, never too old to pivot in your career! Consider apprenticeships maybe, so you can earn while you learn?

I’ve seen a few apprenticeships but for bachelors degree, not the masters. I saw one apprenticeship for the masters but I didn’t qualify as my degree isn’t recent and not related. I suppose I feel a bit embarrassed about applying as I would be so much older than other candidates

What about retraining within the sustainability industry - linked to property & buildings and a growing sector.
Years ago people were retraining as EPC assessors - albeit I think this market is probably saturated now.
I think it would be a difficult market to get a job in, coming into it to late with no experience. (I work in the industry)
I wouldn't worry though about being older on a masters course though

Go for QS /Cost Estimator, they are some of the best paid roles in construction. (I'm a civil eng).

There are a fair few degree apprenticeships for QS out there. Wates do one. I think Turner and Townsend. But I seem to come across many!

Someone mentioned sustainability;
a good QS will manage waste materials and help choose appropriate materials, and feed into sustainability that way.

Thanks for your reply. That’s a shame about it being a hard area to get into with no experience, I’d heard there was a national shortage of building surveyors and I like the idea of being able to do physical inspections as I can’t stand being tied to my desk

Most of the vacancies I’ve seen have been for QS or Estimator. I looked up how to become an Estimator but everything I read said there’s no established route, so I suppose a QS qualification is the only way

What about a damp surveyor 🤔

@floppybit I think it would be better to explore parts of the industry where it's not expected to be RICS qualified. You'd not only have the time to do a masters, but then have to gain a RICS qualification, there are various routes to doing this but you're also then competing with graduates - and the salary's for these roles tend to be low at essentially trainee level.
Could you do some facilities and health and safety qualifications and do something more related to facilities management

@whoisit1234thanks, I will do a bit of research into facilities management (as I’m not entirely sure what it is)!

Would this course be more practical in terms of finding a job at the end of it? https://www.salford.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/real-estate-and-property-management

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That sounds like a very good option but obviously it isn’t in the construction side but arguably if you have experience in sales in construction it should fit very well with your experience.

I'm in the same industry and wanted to retrain as Building Surveyor. I think Cost Consultant/ QS is paid much better but both of these qualifications are paid really well, especially after a few years of experience. They would also open doors for going into Project Management, for example, which is much more interesting and can be paid really well.

I would say definitely go for it, but I hope you know these professions are number based and are similar (to me) to accounting and (to me, again) are excruciatingly boring. ))

Edited: I did not finish the course as I found it impossible. I hate numbers!

I’m a building surveyor and was a building inspector for years. We have sponsored many to become qualified. Usually ex-trades that want to make the move, so not youngsters. It’s a great job, and now it’s a licensed profession, it’s becoming well paid!

I’d definitely consider local authorities as a way in.

@localnotaildid you do the building surveying or quantity surveying course? Was it uni or college full/part time? I was leaning towards BS as it looked more interesting and less just sitting crunching numbers than QS. Pp has said it would take years to become chartered BS so perhaps I’m too old and should have done this 10 years ago, but I was knee deep in little kids then! Have you stayed in your original position since you quit the course? Sorry you didn’t manage to finish it and hope you still enjoy what you’re doing.

QS here, massive shortage in the industry. Never in my life have I seen trainees and 3rd year QSs being poached for £30k until the last 3 or 4 years.

My last two jobs I had interviews and offers within a week of resigning from current position.

We interviewed a girl that took a 5 year break whilst being a SAHM and she had 3 or 4 offers to pick from even although she basically only had a college diploma and not a BSc.

The pay is unbelievable as an experienced QS I am on £75k a year. Managing QS and Commercial Managers can expect to earn much more. One of my colleagues decided they wanted to be a Project Manager, did an internal transfer and was in their new role within a few weeks.

You do have to be good with numbers and know a little about a lot as you will be working with designers, planners, building regs etc.

If you know your way about excel you are on the right path.

I work from home once a week, office 2 days and site 2 days. There's plenty of opportunity to travel and get about.

I absolutely love my job but I know most people's idea of fun doesn't involve watching Excel tutorials on YouTube.

I was doing a part time Surveyor course, I think it was 2 years (sorry, it was a long time ago). But I'm a qualified architect so it was a different route for me.

To be honest, I would go with QS as I think you would definitely get a job quick. And the pay is great.

Thanks @Tallyrandthat’s really interesting. My main concern is doing a course and ending up unemployed at the end of it, so it’s reassuring to know that if I go the QS route I will probably be able to find employment.

I'm not on LinkedIn but anyone in my industry I speak to has weekly messages from recruiters.

There is a huge skill shortage, you'll get a job no bother.

One other thought, building surveying is much more experience based than QS. It takes quite a lot of experience which you would build up over a decent stint on the job to understand the nature of defects, their causes and remedies. I have seen inexperienced building surveyors attempt to describe building defects that could not possibly be associated with the specific ground conditions or construction methods the actual building was constructed on or by.

Whereas I would argue that it is a little easier to learn and understand modern construction and measurement and estimation if you are that way inclined. That said I think the course you suggested yourself might be a really good fit for your work experience to date.

I’m just a little concerned that I might not be good enough at maths for QS, I got a grade C at GCSE so I’m pretty average….

But I’ve worked in design in the past and have a good understanding of architectural drawings, measurements etc

The Maths in QS probably won’t be that difficult. Statistics to prep for research in later years, basic algebra, some trigonometry but not too much, intro to calculus. Various methods of calculation for areas and volumes.

The hardest bit which is probably getting to grips with the methods of measurement they use which is not specifically Maths but obviously is founded in Maths.

The real challenge is the ability to fully understand construction detailing. Quite a lot of time using BIM so students can see what it is they are building. Understanding how a foundation/ground floor build up goes together so that you can price the elements up for example.

Thanks @Lisapiecesthat’s really helpful!

I’m a Building Standards Surveyor with a local authority. My degree was in humanities but I did a conversion masters in surveying with the UCEM about 7 years ago, it was part time and all online so I was able to work and study. I fell into Building Standards, whilst I earn a reasonable, rather than a huge amount, flexi time and hybrid working has meant I can fit it around childcare.

Having said that, you could probably go straight into an inspector/ assistant role and after a few years become chartered through the “experience” route. As someone mentioned above, a lot of my colleagues are tradies so being a bit older isn’t an issue. My workplace even paid for some of them to get their degrees whilst working in order for them to apply for promotions- although I think council budgets are a bit more stretched nowadays.

The work is interesting, I’m on site 2 days a week, so not chained to a desk (however, it’s a bit less fun in the winter!!). I’ve recently become chartered and there has been lots of support to climb the ladder. There are always plenty of jobs advertised as it’s an aging workforce- I also think we are a bit more future proof than some other careers where AI is taking over.

I’d agree, it’s a steep learning curve where a lot of the role is learnt through experience. So I’d really question what support an employer could offer to help you become chartered. I also feel like building standards is a bit niche, I couldn’t pivot to surveying defects or project management. Also, at least in my experience, it’s a very male dominated industry. So the office banter can get rowdy, but if you have a thick skin and can join in (enough) it’s fine. I’ve never had an issue with site agents or architects (partly because they need me to sign the work off!).

You might find this link helpful https://www.labss.org/career-building-standards I’m based in Scotland. The English version is LABC and might be worth a look!

best of luck!!