Building surveyor
Building surveyors advise clients about the design, construction, maintenance and repair of buildings.
Typical Salary
£25,000 – £70,000
per year
Working Hours
38–40
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
In your day-to-day duties you could:
- survey 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
Skills needed
- knowledge of building and construction
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to use your initiative
- analytical thinking skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- knowledge of public safety and security
- thinking and reasoning skills
- persistence and determination
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- a graduate training scheme
Career 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 move into a related field, like building control.