r/quantitysurveying

Worked consultancy side for the past 4 years. It’s been up and down in terms of being on project or waiting for work. Been on a project for the last 8 months and honestly I’ve done hardly any QS
/commercial work. I’m basically doing an admin job or data entry/data checks. I’ve had so much free time.
My issue is that I look back and I’ve not developed at all in this time. The time of my cv means nothing. It’s also affecting my confidence now as I’m loosing touch with what a QS role should be. Don’t get me wrong down time is nice to an extent but in the role I’m in currently, I wouldn’t even class myself as a QS.
I don’t think consultancy work is right for me, the constant changing, the stop start nature being on a project and then waiting for something to start. My question is how do others find consultancy? Anyone been in the same boat? I feel like I could do so much better and become a good QS but where I am currently I feel like I’m wasting my time

just read a post on here, let me not throw any shade, but alot of people seemed like they regretted picking this as a career? and i was wondering if people here generally enjoy or tolerate their work as a quantity surveyor.

to end, i’m myself interested in QSing, hoping to pursue it post A levels, mainly for the money and opportunity i’ve heard. however, i’ve wondered for a while, where is the drive in this job? it feels like, from some things i’ve heard too, QSing is somewhat of a ‘filler’ job. i don’t feel like i’d be exactly taking the utmost pride in my work, like if i were saving lives, but i’m most curious about how people who work as a QS feel about this?

Hi everyone, just looking for some advice from people already working in QS/commercial roles.

I’ve just turned 18 and I’ve completed my first year of a Quantity Surveying degree, but I’ve now been offered a QS apprenticeship with Clancy Group (Clancy Docwra).

From what I can see, they work mainly in utilities/infrastructure, water, power, energy and civils frameworks, so I’d probably get exposure to NEC contracts, live infrastructure projects, commercial management, valuations, subcontractors, etc.

My dilemma is whether I should take this opportunity now or stay at university another year and try again for a Tier 1 contractor apprenticeship/graduate role. I know Tier 1s are usually seen as more prestigious and maybe better for future opportunities, but at the same time real industry experience at 18 seems hard to turn down.

I’m mainly wondering:

•	Would starting at a company like Clancy limit my future opportunities compared to starting at a Tier 1?

•	How valuable is utilities/infrastructure experience long term?

•	Is getting experience early more important than the company “name” at this stage?

•	Would it still be relatively easy to move into a Tier 1 later with a few years’ experience?

Would really appreciate honest opinions from people in the industry because I’m genuinely torn on what the smartest move is.

Hi all. I’m looking to switch from consultancy to MC. I’m currently on £47k 2 years experience with a pay rise upcoming and further increases in salary once I get MRICS.

Issue is I’m in a very passive role and I feel I’m not learning as much as I should be at this early stage of my career. Hence why I feel it is in my best interest from a career point of view to make the move.

That said, considering my pay rise will get me up to the £50k mark, I’ll be having to sacrifice £15k just to get the experience I want (which isn’t even a guarantee). This is based of conversations I’ve had with recruiters who have told me that mc’s will not want someone with as many gaps in knowledge as myself.

After these discussions with recruiters and checking AQS roles online, the financial implications have put me off a bit.

Only reason I want to gain mc experience is so I can earn more money in the future so it seems counter intuitive to make the move as the payback time will be years.

What’s everyone thoughts?

Edit: it seems people are more bothered about pocket watching rather than actually giving me the advice I need.

so i work with AI and one of my clients is a quantity surveyor, and honestly the thing he dreaded most was always the reports. you know the drill, pulling numbers, formatting everything, chasing down figures. it was just... time. so much time.

he came to me and we built him AI that handles the whole initial report generation process automatically. feeds in the data, structures it, spits out a finished report.

before: ~6 hours per report
after: ~45 minutes

anyone else been automating parts of their workflow? feels like this industry is way behind on this stuff and everyone's just quietly suffering lol

obviously this things doesn't do the whole thing, but it get's you 80% there

dm me if you want a demo

Is anyone else still waiting for an interview date to come through? I’m starting to lose the motivation with it all now. Everyone else in my company seems to have had their date, and some are already getting results back, but I still haven’t heard anything about when my interview will be.

I was really prepared for it at first, but the longer it drags on, the more burnt out I’m feeling. My revision has definitely tailed off and it’s hard to stay focused when you’re constantly sacrificing weekends and evenings and feel like you’re missing out on life. I’m hoping once I finally get a date I can lock back in again, but right now it’s been tough to stay motivated.

Anyone in the same boat or can offer some reassurance?

From your time as a QS being around other QSs, do you think all QSs can become a charted one?

Just wanna ask if there is an advantage in using Power BI in quantity surveying. Happy to hear your experiences

How long does it take to be promoted internally from Assistant QS to QS?

Was recently told by one of my senior QSs in a 1-to-1 that I’ve been doing really well, and to keep my head down, continue working hard and I’ll be QS in a year.

From the company’s point of view, I will be a capable surveyor on the cheap as I imagine I will be promoted to earn around £40k while running jobs with minimal supervision.

On the other hand, they might think I’m just a good assistant and keep me as a donkey for payments and orders.

How long did it take you to go from AQS to QS?

Hi All,

I’m currently working for a large international consultancy and about to complete my degree apprenticeship (will be about 3.5-4 years experience). Really want to go over to MC side because I’m extremely bored but also feeling like i’m not progressing much. Not too much work on and been like this for quite a while. Worked mainly on a 70+ million infrastructure job on variations/CEs and doing payment applications and some pre contract stuff but that’s about it.

My issue is that I wanna go into a MC as an AQS but feel like i’ll struggle as the 2 sides are completely different (i see a lot of it as i’m based on site with the MC and subbies) and i’m not sure what the support system is like. I dont mind being chucked in the deep end but dont want it to be a case of you’re shit at your job and no longer needed etc.

I know the real QS side is the MC/subbie side and i really want that exposure and experience but unsure on how to tackle it. Essentially my question/wonder is what is the experience like going from consultancy to MC and how long does it take you to wrap your head around everything and get good at it like the procurement, contract, variations etc

Cheers all

After the interview which i feel went pretty well and did well on ethics, did anyone else have an uneasy feeling that they will be referred?

There was maybe only one question I felt the assesor may have had a difference of opinion on however I actually believe that both myself and the assessor were right.

I am hoping that the feeling is just because I want to he MRICS and am passionate about it that I have this feeling.

I've been encouraged to go straight for MRICS as it's bettter for the business and a better bell weather for a good QS apparently. The thing is I always thought I would do a masters in quantity surveying. I have an unrelated degree. Is the course really that useless now? Would I kick myself if I pass up on the opportunity for a paid masters and to have MSc after my name? Is doing the course a complete waste of time when I could be chartered in a year?

I’m aware most big companies make you believe it’s the be all an end all.

But I’m wondering if there are any consultant surveyors here who have progressed well throughout their career without chartership.

I’m an experienced contractors QS looking to make the move to consultancy but I’m at the point in my life where extracurricular study alongside having a young family isn’t really desirable.

Any insight would be much appreciated 🙌

Final year finance student looking to break into Quantity Surveying/corporate construction without a QS degree.

What would you realistically recommend I do over the next 12 months to position myself best for grad roles?

I’m studying Finance & Business Management, but I’ve realised I’m more interested in commercial construction/property side careers rather than pure finance.

I’m aware I’m at a disadvantage compared to straight QS students, so I’m trying to be strategic rather than delusional.

I have just this week started with a MC and already feel completely out my depth.

I worked with a consultant and majority of the work was a cost assurance role and had no real interaction/involvement with the projects. Any tips or recommendations on reading material that would help me get up to speed with MC processes?

TIA.

I work for a MC on multiple frameworks, therefore we usually have around 80 CVRs to do per month between two of us. Not everything is live boots on the ground cost and value, as some are for pre construction, final account and whatnot.

Currently we add a little narrative box at the bottom to explain to the head of commercial the project position, we don't do monthly cvr reviews here. (I think these are going to start soon though which I am glad about)..

We also have a situation where once the CVRs are done, we release value to what we believe is realistic, but then our HOC changes it when he does his reviews with the director and the next month we see it's different.

I've tried to ask him for an explanation as to why he is declaring value over the order value on an Option A for example, where we wouldn't be expecting any further payments. Is this common practice? - I assume that because it's a framework this is how he balances out projects that aren't looking healthy?

I am an SQS now and leading the department so my intention is to make the CVRs as robust as possible.

I wanted some advice on how people are managing their CVRs and any tips, it's not something I've had massive exposure to as I've always worked on large projects where the Senior QS would do them or smaller highways projects where it's minimal change.

Thanks

Hey guys, I’m a second year student and my home town is around here.

What’s the industry like here, is there much opportunity ?

Nothing makes me feel more disgust then the thought of working in London I hate that place

Been working 4 years as an apprentice QS for a tier 1 MC and don’t enjoy or get any fulfilment from this job. I also feel really stressed from work. Looking at my seniors I can’t see this changing.

This is what I’m sick of;

The repetitiveness of everything - putting together enquiry emails, obtaining quotes, comparing, agreeing terms, then putting together contracts. client valuation, CVR, value and paying subbies/consultants

Design is never complete - I spend months and put a lot of work into procuring a package, the order finally gets placed, our design team realise the scope doesn’t comply with something, the whole scope has to change and the quotes gone up by £30-£70k to accommodate changes

Operational team - most of them have no commercial awareness, will cancel trades last minute, sign off a load of work that’s not been installed correctly costing £1000s to correct, they will go ahead and instruct variations without letting me know in advance or after, they can be mean and rude, I’d like to see them do what a QS does and then find all that time to go out on site for hours walking around, killing some time and having a nice chat

The commuting - approx 1 hour and 40 minutes a day door to door. That’s 33 hours and 20 minutes a month

Flexible working - there is none, leave the house at 7am get home at 5.40-6pm. The job requires full on-site working, home working is looked down on. I agree a QS should be on-site at much as possible

Disputes - usually between me and subbie. I keep it cordial and professional but some of them are so rude. It’s usually about a variation, my BOQ, them not getting picked for the project or contract terms they have signed up to. I often make exceptions and try to understand from their point of view but their whole attitude can be negative from the beginning and it just gets worse. I hate confrontation and I start to get clammy and nervous when subbies start to get confrontational. I understand it’s part of the job but I hate it and never realised before coming into this profession that people speak to others like that in a work environment.

Feeling unsafe on-site - I’ve seen some terrible accidents, near misses. The thought of them alone, genuinely makes me feel unsafe walking site

The stress - I think this is in every job but when your trying to deal with an ongoing dispute, get an order out the door and are getting emails and calls coming out of your ears about other packages all at the same time my brain can’t function

Everyone on the project team looks run down - this scares me the most. A lot of the senior people look overweight, underweight, scruffy, sweaty and unkept. I think people don’t have the time and energy to look after their health, well being and appearance outside of work because work consumes them. I look more run down (eye bags) tired since starting out as a QS and overall have less energy

The pay - I feel like the pay isn’t worth the stress. I get £32k including car allowance. Understand this goes up to about £50k-£60k at QS level. When I look at the quantity surveyor on my team and their responsibilities, I’d rather not have all the stress and get paid less.

Bonuses - are non existent when there’s any type of accident on site. Even if there is a bonus it’s like £2k. When I look at how much money I saved the company and the companies yearly turnover it doesn’t make sense why the bonuses are so bad

Things I do like;

Different site locations - I like that every few years I get to work on a different project in a new location

Workload - I like that I get to manage my own workload, each day it’s up to me what and how much I get done

Other QS - all the QS’s I have ever worked with have always been really kind and supportive

Anyway I could go on forever, what other job roles can I apply my skills to?

I don’t want the last 4 years to be a waste but I know ultimately I don’t want to progress into being a quantity surveyor much further. I will however complete the apprenticeship as I only have one year left and it’s a free degree which I am doing well at.

Any advice, generally feel like it's getting dangerous, I'm now a senior commercial manager, they've also hinted at me taking on a head of Commercial role in the future...

hey guys I’m planning on doing my masters msc quantity surveying from the university of Salford, manchester. As the course starts from september and ive had mixed opinions regarding this, what is the actual reality and im bit scared after doing a lot of reading