Hi all,
To any quantity surveyors out there, I’m after a bit of career advice regarding the possibility of moving into quantity surveying from an estimating background.
I’m currently 24 years old and for the past 18 months I have worked as an estimator for a contractor in the Aerospace industry. I have enjoyed some aspects of the role but there are some aspects which I don’t enjoy, and I have been considering quantity surveying as a potential alternative career.
I know there are lots of differences between quantity surveying and estimating but i wondered if some of you might be able to help clarify 1. Whether you think I have any relevant experience which could help me get into QS, and 2. Based on my paragraph below of what I enjoy / dislike about my current role, do you think I would enjoy being a QS. Any advice would be appreciated.
My estimating Primary roles
• Preparing estimates for contract changes proposals / bids (amendments to baseline contract)
• Using pricing models and labour rates to generate prices from estimates
• Taking estimates through an estimate clearance with a senior estimating manager
• Collating estimates from SME’s across the business, and ensuring SME’s ‘sign off’ on the hours / basis of estimate they provide
• Issuing out works authorities onto the business to approve for work to commence once contract award is achieved
• Issuing internal budget onto the business once a package of work has been agreed
• Producing internal approval documentation and gathering sign off / approval from key stakeholders
• Leading Request for bid approval presentations to internal Finance, Commercial and project managers (for proposals valued £5k to £500k max)
• Responding to customer pricing questions
• Producing proposal letters detailing assumptions, dependencies, exclusions
• Preparing cashflow for a bid

What I enjoy & dislike;
I enjoy collating estimates and presenting / analysing data in a format which is easily understood in support of winning bids. I also enjoy using pricing models to determine prices.
I dislike the admin/ bureaucracy associated with the approval processes. Ie All separate estimates are signed off by the SME / business manager who provides the estimate, following this Finance / Commercial & projects should sign off the internal approval documents ect. Sometime multiple levels of the hierarchy will have separate approval sessions.
I also feel that in my current role estimators aren’t encouraged to develop a close understanding of the actual task we are undertaking. Ie We often act as a business analyst type role, and just collate estimates and only have a top level understanding of the task and programme. It sometimes feels like getting sign off on the estimates is more important than the quality.
Because I feel somewhat disconnected from the actual task its self, I feel this impacts my ability to confidently present / sell the bid to internal stakeholders.

I’m wondering how QS would be different / similar?

Many thanks,
Alex

You realise this is (theoretically) a cycling forum yeah…?

Your two contributions have both been about career advice. Unless you aspire to work in middle management in IT and have a log burner, a nice coffee machine and a huge inferiority complex I’m not sure you’re going to get a huge range of answers here. Have you tried buildersworld.com?

Go via lion taming as a stepping stone ?

Do it make the change, dream big, live like a lion.

If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
Ooo

Michael Jackson Batman

Do it make the change, dream big, live like a lion.

Move to Africa, bask in the sun and eat antelopes raw? It’s unorthodox, but a surprisingly common route into surveying I believe.

Do it make the change, dream big, live like a lion panther

perchypanther, quantity surveyor and consumer of raw antelopes, aged 45

You realise this is (theoretically) a cycling forum yeah…?

What? This isn’t the quantity surveying forum? I’ve been wasting my time all these years?

My mistake, I’ve got two tabs open, singletrackworld and SoYouWantToBeAQuantitySurveyor.com/LionEntryRoute, thought I was on singletrack. As you were!

Unless you aspire to work in middle management in IT and have a log burner, a nice coffee machine and a huge inferiority complex

this made my day

Senior QS – 33 years and counting – contractor side

I dislike the admin/ bureaucracy associated with the approval processes. Ie All separate estimates are signed off by the SME / business manager who provides the estimate, following this Finance / Commercial & projects should sign off the internal approval documents ect. Sometime multiple levels of the hierarchy will have separate approval sessions

on this statement alone you don’t want to be a QS

Biggest skills you need are interpersonal – can you look at someone in the eyes, consistently lie to them and get away with it and they still think you are completely on their side

know how and why a building/bridge/tescos is constructed the way it is

Clearly identify time/cost risks easily and how to mitigate their effect before anyone else does

I find the following helps – leave my brain at the door, I typically work with dummies who have no idea what my function is or should be.

FFS it’s a tough audience in this morning 😡
I’m sure someone will be along soon with some useful advice though.

Edit: Plumber saves the day!

perchypanther, quantity surveyor and consumer of raw antelopes, aged 45

I imagine being a qs in the Serengeti is bloody difficult, how do you know if there is enough grass? Do you count each blade or just do a few msq then scale up?

Also is it you that’s responsible for the lack of mirrors on the Serengeti?

I imagine being a qs in the Serengeti is bloody difficult,

Nah, It’s easy.

QS’s love lion.

Also is it you that’s responsible for the lack of mirrors on the Serengeti?

I might be a wildebeest and I just don’t know it?

I might be a wildebeest and I just don’t know it?

Indeed you may, have you ever been eyed laciviously by a cougar? hungrily by a lion? It’s the only real way to tell.

have you ever been eyed laciviously by a cougar?

😯

I used to be a QS. Got fed up counting spreadsheets on spreadsheets. Never really allowed to truely QS, whatever that might be.

I am now an Artist. I wish did this from day one in my career.

However, the QS’ing gave me the money to persue art ::)

Still cough up to the RICS just in case ;(

Dear gods man, you are a wildebeest!

I’m a QS (consultant side) and have been for 10 years now.

If you want to go consultancy you’ll need to do a masters conversion course which is RICS accredited (this is what I did, my employer paid for it). The accreditation will be required to sit your APC to become chartered which is more important consultancy side than contractor side.

I get frustrated with work, but it can’t be all that bad as I’m in my 10th year with the same employer.

There is a lot of bureaucracy with the client I work with, and I mean a lot in terms of getting anything signed off. They fundamentally don’t understand what we do either which is a major cause of frustration.