General question, can I leave him for a hour or two whilst I go and look at a property. He’s crate trained but fear he will cry/ bark relentless the whole time. Is it safe to do so? Thanks
QSs who work with smaller contractors/subbies — what commercial mistakes do you see most often?
I’m thinking of businesses that are strong operationally but don’t yet have a full-time QS/commercial team and are starting to take on larger, more contractual work.
Things like:
Missing notices/deadlines
Poor variation tracking
Doing extra work without securing entitlement
Weak applications/records
Not fully understanding contracts
Poor cost/value and margin visibility
What tends to cost these businesses the most money?
And if they couldn’t justify a full-time QS, what tools, processes or support would you put in place first?
Also interested in what you think could realistically be automated/systemised versus what still needs an experienced QS.
I’m 26, have around 2 years’ experience, and work as a QS for a UK utilities contractor.
I’m currently the lead QS across five live projects (~£30m ish total final account value across EHV ), handling NEC3 Option A/B & other bespoke contracts, CVRs, forecasting, CEs/EWs, applications, final accounts, subcontractor management and client meetings.
I’m on £35k in the North West.
I feel the responsibility is quite high for my experience, so I’m wondering:
Am I underpaid?
Would you stay another year for experience or move now?
If you were in my position, would you target Tier 1, consultancy, major infrastructure, FIFO Australia or the Middle East?
Interested to hear what people further into their careers would do or suggest.