Work Environment
This occupation is typically found in the following Career Sector(s):
Videos & Interviews
Videos on the Web
- Surveyor Building- from: Youtube Search
- Building Surveyor- from: YouTube [Video]
- Chartered Building Surveyor- from: YouTube [Video]
Most commonly reported Work Activities
- Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Material Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.
- Getting Information Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
- Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
- Communicating with Persons Outside Organisation Communicating with people outside the organisation, representing the organisation to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail.
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events Identifying information by categorising, estimating, recognising differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems Analysing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
- Organising, Planning, and Prioritising Work Developing specific goals and plans to prioritise, organise, and accomplish your work.
- Processing Information Compiling, coding, categorising, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
Working Life
All construction projects – including housing estates, office developments, airport terminals, and national sports stadiums – take a lot of money and expertise to complete and maintain.
Surveyors specialise in one of the following areas of construction:
- Quantity Surveying
- Building Surveying
- Project Management
- Facilities Management
Surveyors provide value for money through the efficient cost management of construction process – their objective is to control cost, limit risk and add value to the project ensuring that the design and construction of a project delivers value to the client.
Surveyors often act as a project managers – appointed at the beginning of a project, they assist the client in developing the project brief and then selecting, appointing and co-ordinating the project team.
View Society Chartered Surveyors Ireland What does a Surveyor do in their Career.
Most commonly reported Work Tasks
- Monitor installation of plumbing, wiring, equipment, or appliances to ensure that installation is performed properly and is in compliance with applicable regulations.
- Approve building plans that meet required specifications.
- Inspect and monitor construction sites to ensure adherence to safety standards, building codes, or specifications.
- Inspect bridges, dams, highways, buildings, wiring, plumbing, electrical circuits, sewers, heating systems, or foundations during and after construction for structural quality, general safety, or conformance to specifications and codes.
- Review and interpret plans, blueprints, site layouts, specifications, or construction methods to ensure compliance to legal requirements and safety regulations.
- Maintain daily logs and supplement inspection records with photographs.
- Conduct inspections, using survey instruments, metering devices, tape measures, or test equipment.
- Measure dimensions and verify level, alignment, or elevation of structures or fixtures to ensure compliance to building plans and codes.
- Train, direct, or supervise other construction inspectors.
- Confer with owners, violators, or authorities to explain regulations or recommend remedial actions.
Further Information
- Building surveyor- from: GradIreland
- Building Surveyor- from: N.C.S. [UK]
- Minerals Surveyor- from: N.C.S. [UK]
Qualities - Surveyor Building
As a building surveyor you need good communication skills and strong leadership qualities. You need to be able to think quickly and act logically with good organisational skills, determination and flexibility so that tasks are completed within required timescales. You also need numeric competence, design and technology and information technology skills. Experience of computer-aided design (CAD) is useful. You must enjoy technical work and you need to be thorough in your work.
Have an interest in all aspects of building surveying for residential and commercial property and provide professional advice on building structures, cost of essential repairs, leases and dilapidations.
Surveying courses in construction cover a wide range of technical skills in the area of science, technology and professional capability. Therefore, you should be interested in subjects such as science, maths, construction technology, law, business and information technology. The courses also place great emphasis on professional skills, including communication, leadership and dispute resolution.
Interests - Surveyor Building
This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:
Realist
Realists are usually interested in 'things' - such as buildings, mechanics, equipment, tools, electronics etc. Their primary focus is dealing with these - as in building, fixing, operating or designing them. Involvement in these areas leads to high manual skills, or a fine aptitude for practical design - as found in the various forms of engineering.
Realists like to find practical solutions to problems using tools, technology and skilled work. Realists usually prefer to be active in their work environment, often do most of their work alone, and enjoy taking decisive action with a minimum amount of discussion and paperwork.
Administrative
Administrative people are interested in work that offers security and a sense of being part of a larger process. They may be at their most productive under supervisors who give clear guidelines and while performing routine tasks in a methodical and reliable way.
They tend to enjoy clerical and most forms of office work, where they perform essential administrative duties. They often form the backbone of large and small organisations alike. They may enjoy being in charge of office filing systems, and using computers and other office equipment to keep things running smoothly. They usually like routine work hours and prefer comfortable indoor workplaces.
Investigative
The Investigative person will usually find a particular area of science to be of interest. They are inclined toward intellectual and analytical activities and enjoy observation and theory. They may prefer thought to action, and enjoy the challenge of solving problems with sophiscticated technology. These types prefer mentally stimulating environments and often pay close attention to developments in their chosen field.
Entry / Progression - Surveyor Building
To gain a professional recognition as a Planning & Development Surveyor in Ireland you first need to complete a degree accredited by the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCSI) or Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Those with degree from other disciplines can still become a surveyor by taking an accredited property degree or postgraduate conversion course.
Surveyors specialise in one of the following areas of construction & valuations:
- Quantity Surveying
- Building Surveying
- Project Management surveyor
- Property
- Facilities Management
- Residential/ Rural/ Commercial surveyor
- Valuations surveyor
- Planning & development surveyor
Training & Development
Many colleges and universities throughout the country offer courses in surveying. A full list of accredited degrees is available on the SCSI website.
Candidates are advised to check individual institutions for course details.
The next step is to undertake a period of training in employment and complete the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC). This is a structured practical training programme, which takes about two years to complete in the workplace, so you will need to be prepared to combine work and study.
The training structure is based on a set of skills known as ‘competences’, which are a mix of technical and professional practice skills along with interpersonal, financial, business and management skills.
Upon successful completion of the APC, you apply to become a member of the SCSI and the RICS.
Status as a chartered surveyor will accelerate career progression and support self-employment in private practice. As this is a globally recognised professional qualification, it will also be recognised if you wish to work overseas.
Pay & Salary - Surveyor Building
Salary Range (thousands per year)* €35k - €80k
Salaries vary based on employer, location, experience, duties, and role.
Data Source(s):
SCSI/ Morgan McKinley / CPL /Sigmar/ Excel / Brightwater/ Clark/ Osborne
Last Updated: July, 2024
Labour Market Updates - Surveyor Building
Note: The following information relates to occupations that include: Architects, Quantity surveyors, Town planners, Chartered surveyors, Chartered architectural technologists.
This information has been derived from the Solas National Skills Bulletin (2024).
This occupation had a negative annual average employment growth rate over the five-year period, with employment declining annually since 2021; the numbers employed across the roles within this group are too small to determine which are particularly contributing to the decline. The number of job adverts were also relatively small (mainly for architects, town planners and quantity surveyors). Despite this, our other data sources point to issues with attracting suitably qualified persons for these roles.
Employment permits issued in 2023 were mainly for quantity surveyors and architectural technologists. The Recruitment Agency Survey identified issues with sourcing quantity surveyors while the Skills for Growth data identified issues with sourcing experienced (2-5 years) façade designers, quantity surveyors and architects with knowledge of codes, regulations and fire safety, as well as experience with tender documents.
There were over 750 architecture related awards in 2022; of these, 155 awards were made to learners on RIAI accredited programmes (i.e. qualified architects), which fell slightly from nearly 170 awards in 2021, but was 44% higher than in 2018, There were 288 awards in quantity surveying at levels 8, considerably higher than the 144 awards in 2018. Demand for these skills is likely to continue with shortages persisting for quantity surveyors (albeit small in number given the small number employed).
Useful Contacts - Surveyor Building
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Construction Industry Federation
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Society of Chartered Surveyors
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Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
- RICS Contact Centre, Suveryor Court, Westwood Way, Coventry CV4 8JE, United Kingdom
- +44 (0)24 7686 8555
- [email protected]
- Click Here
