The Life of a Building Surveyor – Part 3

Although there are many routes into the building surveying profession, the one I took was through academic studies at university. Although university gives you a solid knowledge base and teaches you the basics, I found that the real learning begins once in the work place and it never actually stops.

It was stressed throughout university and in my subsequent working life that it is important to continue learning throughout your professional life and one way to do this is by becoming a qualified member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The RICS are the leading professional body for building surveyors in the UK.

To become a chartered surveyor there are several pathways involving competency levels, critical analysis and interviews. They are all strenuous and testing but incredibly rewarding at the end. Becoming a member of the RICS allows you to operate under the title of Chartered Building Surveyor and offers clients and fellow professionals assurance that you are competent and understanding in your job role.

A colleague of mine once described the role of a building surveyor as a ‘building geek’ and as humorous as this is, it’s also quite accurate. The national pass rate for building surveying is in the region of 58%, which is lower than quantity surveying (67%) and project management (74%) by some distance. There is an argument that building surveyors face the most difficult APC of all the RICS disciplines, due to the breadth and depth of subject matter which is covered.

I am currently studying for my APC with a target of sitting my final assessment late in 2018, but my learning won’t stop there. As with most professions, chartered surveyors are required to continue learning and record a stipulated amount of continuous professional development (CPD) annually. This is particularly important in building surveying, to keep up with the fast moving environment as new technologies, materials and legislation are implemented.

GLM are a RICS regulated company, meaning we practice globally recognised ethical and professional standards. All of our surveyors are either chartered or working towards accreditation. You can be confident when employing us that you are getting a passionate, diligent and knowledge team of professionals.

Neil Dickson

Building Surveyor

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