How to advance your career in quantity surveying

Quantity surveying offers a range of opportunities for progression and advancement. It can be a highly rewarding career path and gives professionals the chance to build their knowledge and expertise. Within construction, a quantity surveyor provides estimations and controls costs for large projects while ensuring every project meets quality and legal standards. Quantity surveyors must work to minimise the costs and risks of a construction project, as well as manage the contractual budget of a building project and the various parties involved – so the role brings significant responsibility

At AtkinsRéalis, we have a strong understanding of the construction market. We deliver effective solutions to our clients to help them overcome their challenges. We provide world-class expertise and outstanding projects on time and within budget. We work on global projects and our breadth of experience sets us apart from the competition. So, below, we’ve outlined how a quantity surveyor can progress to the next step and move forward in their career.

Take on new challenges

Whether you’re a seasoned quantity surveyor or just getting started after graduation, you should always request more challenges and responsibilities to enhance your role. The key benefit of taking on new challenges is that you’ll be experiencing new tasks outside your core role, which can promote career growth. For example, you could take on different types of infrastructure or a different type of construction project, such as waste management, bridges or highways – which in turn, could allow you to specialise and gain further industry knowledge. As a quantity surveyor, you’ll need to challenge yourself to grow as a professional and increase your productivity and performance.

Focus on networking

If you want to move forward in your career, growing and building your professional network is essential. This includes building relationships with other quantity surveyors and developing new contacts with other professionals within AtkinsRéalis as it enables you to learn about their roles. When you take the time to network, there are a lot of opportunities to sustain long-term relationships and mutual trust. A successful career is largely reliant on the pool of information and ideas you have generated over time. Therefore, networking allows you to listen and learn from other quantity surveyors and more senior construction professionals in the industry.

Communicate your goals

In the construction and infrastructure environment, communication is critical for the completion and success of projects, as well as for building and strengthening relationships. Therefore, as a quantity surveyor, it’s all the more important to communicate your career goals to upper management so they understand what you want to accomplish. This could include sharing your ideas about advancement and identifying your key skills and success. For example, you might have a proven track record of successfully managing client relationships, delivering key projects and providing effective cost control. You must regularly share these achievements and align them with your goals, which will demonstrate your expertise and help you advance.

Demonstrate leadership skills

As is the case in any role, quantity surveyors often need to demonstrate they’re ready for the next step. If you’re a senior quantity surveyor, the next stage would be moving into a managerial position which involves more responsibility for projects and maintaining positive relationships with different clients. Therefore, if you want to advance your career in quantity surveying, you need to demonstrate leadership and show you’re ready for more responsibility. This could include being more proactive in your team, proving yourself as a thought leader and showing that you can independently manage large scale projects. To advance, you’ll also need to show you’re highly authoritative and can effectively communicate with stakeholders. By establishing yourself as a leader, you’ll give yourself more credibility which can pave the way for more career advancement opportunities.

Are you looking for a new role in quantity surveying?

AtkinsRéalis connects people, data and technology to deliver global projects and improve communities. We provide engineering, procurement and construction services to various industries around the world, such as oil and gas, infrastructure and transportation. At AtkinsRéalis, we have opportunities across the entire project life cycle and welcome diverse groups, as we’re committed to equality, inclusion and diversity.

If you would like to take your career to the next level with AtkinsRéalis, browse our quantity surveying jobs or contact our team to find out more

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