Good Surveyors are in High Demand Throughout the UK
Qualified surveyors can earn a good salary on a permanent basis, but many are going freelance to maximise their earnings and control their own destiny.
Professionals working in most sectors are at some point faced with the dilemma of whether to choose the guaranteed salary and benefits of permanent employment or the higher earning potential of going it alone.
There are pros and cons to both, but a growing number are opting for the freedom of being an independent freelancer. For quantity surveyors, the question is particularly relevant, as building surveys and other related work are in high demand, and the rewards can be significant.
What used to be seen as downsides, such as lack of financial security and the need to take care of your own financial and insurance matters are no longer the obstacles they were.
There is a high demand for qualified surveyors throughout the UK, and specialist surveyors professional indemnity insurance is readily available. Recent technological advances by HMRC will also make it much simpler to deal with tax issues, making the annual tax return a far less arduous proposition.
Careers in Surveying
There are a vast number of paths that you can follow once you have completed your Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – accredited degree course. Most commonly, surveyors are called in to provide expert assessments during the sale and purchase of both domestic and commercial premises.
However, there are a number of other specialisms that you might consider. These include damage assessments for insurance costs and expert witness work in legal disputes, both of which can be highly lucrative. Surveyors are also called in to assist with boundary disputes and to assess planning applications and conservation grants.
While starting salaries are in the £22-25,000 range, this can soon double with experience, and if you have the experience and are going it alone, you could easily turn this into £80,000 or more.
As a freelance surveyor, the world is your oyster, but the following ideas might give some food for thought.
Commercial Developments
Developments under the private finance initiative offer a variety of options for an experienced surveyor. Opportunities exist with either the consortium, the building contractor, or the public sector organisation that is involved in the development.
These developments usually feature complex building plans, which is where some sound commercial experience is invaluable.
Heritage work
If new commercial developments are not of interest, then at the opposite end of the spectrum, you might be surprised to hear that the National Trust uses a great many self-employed professionals on a consultancy basis.
They call in surveyors to advise on maintenance and repair projects for historic buildings and also to assist in the specifications for new building schemes.
As well as being very rewarding, it can prove extremely lucrative to develop expertise in the heritage and historic sector, where some specialists can earn more than £200 per hour.
Working for the MoD
Another alternative is the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which also uses a mixture of permanent and freelance surveyors. Working for the MoD requires security clearance, which can take up to 12 weeks to complete. However, once you have it in place, it is another string to your bow.
One final benefit of surveying – it provides an opportunity to work outside, to travel and not be tied to an office for your whole career. There are relatively few well-paid jobs today that provide this level of job satisfaction.