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If you want to be a good Construction Cost Estimator (US) also called a Quantity Surveyor (UK), then you must get a College Diploma or University Degree at an institution that offers the course. Getting an education at a recognized institute of learning will equip you with knowledge in many aspects of the Quantity Surveying profession. After getting an educational qualification, you can even go further to be a certified professional by writing examinations offered by an international or local body of Quantity Surveyors. Such bodies include the ASPE in America and RICS in the UK. Depending on the advancement of the profession in the region, some countries have their own examining and certifying bodies which offer professional status to qualifying individuals.
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1 Know Yourself Some people are cut out to be professionals and some are not. And it takes time; there are no short-cuts. The qualities you need to go down this route include certain skills, attitudes and resources. Be honest with yourself and ask do you really like numbers and the urban environment because that is what quantity surveying is all about.
Plan But be Flexible You need to think about this long before taking the traditional route to get a degree. The best plan is to look ten years ahead and consider your likes and dislikes, what resources you have and what is realistic. If you don’t go down the university route, don’t panic as education can be picked up along the way via part-time study and the Internet and probably a phone app in a few years time. You need to start early and think broadly. There are many practical skills necessary to be a successful QS. Summer experience in a local shop learning how to sell and develop your people skills is never wasted. Using a gap year to travel the world may equal out with that summer job as a show of your experiences. There’s a fine line between which is more desirable. .
Be Hard Core Clients are buying services from professionals and nothing else. What will you be selling to these clients when you are a working quantity surveyor? You must be able to identify skills that the market wants and you must ensure you have those skills. This is part of the earlier planning process and knowing what you are capable of doing. These skills are usually universal technical disciplines such as finance, quantification, law, estimating and economics. It takes years of repetition to develop these skills, and specialising too early or focusing on soft ‘glam’ subjects (dare I say ‘sustainability’) is very dangerous. You must have hard, technical, analytical skills to be a successful professional. I would add that you don’t accept an expat job until you have these skills under your belt as expat jobs are notorious for a lack of core skill training and ‘distracting’ people from reality!
Soft Skills are Critical Despite an era when we depend on machines, you must be able to deal with and manage people. Developing your people skills is an essential quality you will need as a QS. You will need to be able to connect with people from all walks of life and get them to do things. This is definitely not an easy task.
Network You need to build a network. This means a collection of people and organisations that can provide you with advice, mentoring, jobs and good old fashioned support particularly if things go wrong. You cannot afford to be an island – no professional quantity surveyor is. You need to develop your professional network to grow your career. Be nice and say ‘hello’ to everyone.
Be Proactive, Show Spark There are thousands of people applying for your dream job. The competition in the professional market is intense and getting harder. Think about how an employer bombarded with CVs will pick out yours. One thing you can do is take the initiative and do something that shows your passion or that you are prepared to take some initiative and leaves you standing a cut above the rest. An example of this is a young woman I interviewed some years ago. She told me that as the result of the film ‘The Life of David Gale’ she had started her own advocacy group against capital punishment. Things like that stick in a potential employer’s memory and make the candidate stand out.
Presentation is Everything Yes it still holds true; everything you do, speak, wear, tattoo, write says something about you. In fact it is even more important that you learn to manage this now as the Internet and social media mean that this information about you is available to employers too. If you want to be a professional you have to act like one.
Work Hard I know it sounds obvious but if you want to succeed you need to work hard for it. It can’t be avoided and you will almost certainly have to work hard at things you don’t like or enjoy. You need to be aware of this and able to motivate yourself as you will have to get through the paperwork and spreadsheets that are the lot of quantity surveyors.
Focus but See the Big Picture Focus your analytical skills like a laser to provide key insights, but also presenting the big picture for clients is a great and necessary ability for a QS. I would advise you to develop some practical skills such as DIY, to read widely and have plenty of variety in your life as well as time to reflect. These are all helpful ways to develop and train yourself to see the big and the small.
Never be Afraid A professional is a master of discipline and is not afraid to show his mastery. This can be easier said than done when surrounded by other professionals or when you have to give bad news, but this is what you are being paid for. It’s about getting outside your comfort zone.
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