Building surveyor
Building surveyors advise clients about the design, construction, maintenance and repair of buildings.
- Starter salary£28,000 a year
- Experienced£65,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 40 a week
What you'll do
As a building surveyor, you could:
- inspect properties, identify structural faults and recommend repairs
- assess damage for insurance purposes
- establish who's responsible for building repair costs
- advise clients on issues like property boundary disputes
- act as an expert witness during legal proceedings
- make sure properties meet building regulations, fire safety and accessibility standards
- deal with planning applications and improvement or conservation grants
Working environment
You could work on a construction site, at a client's home or in an office.
Your working environment may be at height, outdoors in all weathers and you may spend nights away from home.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- knowledge of building and construction
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- analytical thinking skills
- knowledge of public safety and security
- the ability to analyse quality or performance
- maths knowledge
- the ability to use your initiative
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a building surveyor
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- a graduate training scheme
University
You'll usually need a degree or professional qualification approved by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in a subject like:
- surveying
- construction
- civil engineering
- building engineering
If you graduated in an unrelated subject, you may be able to do a surveying postgraduate conversion course.
Course entry requirements vary, so check with individual universities which degrees they accept.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
- a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course
Apprenticeship
You could apply to do a Chartered Surveyor Level 6 Degree Apprenticeship with a construction or surveying company.
It may be possible to work towards this role by doing a Surveying Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship. You would then need to follow this up with further training to qualify as a surveyor.
RICS has more information on surveying apprenticeships.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship
Work
If you have a relevant foundation degree or higher national diploma and are working, for example as a surveying technician, you may be able to study for more qualifications on the job to become a building surveyor.
Other routes
If you have a degree, you could do a postgraduate surveying qualification through:
- a company graduate trainee scheme
- distance learning with the University of the Built Environment
Career path and progression
With experience, you could move into project or senior management.
You could go into partnership in private practice or become self-employed as a consultant.
You could also move into a related career, like building control.
Registration
- you can register with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to become a chartered surveyor through the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) scheme
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleSurveying technician
- Job roleBuilding technician
- Job roleGeneral practice surveyor
- Job roleBuilding control officer
- Job roleConstruction manager
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0