Building surveying: Your guide to becoming a building surveyor

From working in the private housing market and helping to restore historical buildings to advising on large-scale commercial projects, surveyors are central to the construction industry – and building surveyors play a vital role in every project.

But what is a building surveyor and what do they do? What qualifications do you need to become one and what does the average salary look like?  RICS answers the most-asked questions about the profession in this guide.

What is a building surveyor?

Whether houses, public projects or commercial properties, building surveyors are responsible for assessing the quality of buildings.

So what do building surveyors look for? In short, they look for ways in which buildings can be improved. Specifically, they advise on options for repair, maintenance or restoration. Building surveyors will be involved in the development of new buildings, surveying existing buildings and the maintenance of buildings with historical or architectural importance – and that’s just the start.

Building surveyors spend plenty of time on site evaluating specific elements of buildings and examining environmental issues, for example. In your career as a building surveyor, you’ll help with planning applications and always be on hand to manage contractors on behalf of your client.

What does a building surveyor do?

Being a surveyor is both a varied and rewarding career – but what is the role of a building surveyor and what tasks will you be expected to carry out on a regular basis? A building surveyor will typically need to:

• determine the condition of existing buildings by looking for defects
• advise on environmental, health and safety issues of buildings
• provide advice in relation to legal and planning issues
• deal with planning and building regulations applications, and
  
• offer advice on property alterations, improvements and extensions.

Put simply, the building surveyor’s job description isn’t a simple one. Your working hours might be the usual office hours of nine to five, but you’ll often find yourself on site dealing with contractors and advising clients, as well as in the office. If you want to be a building surveyor, be ready to put on your hard hat and high-vis jacket to get involved in the finer details of each project.

On a day-to-day basis

So, what do building surveyors do on a day-to-day basis? With such a varied role, no two days on the job will be the same.

The building surveyor role requires you to wear many hats. These include safety analyst in the form of carrying out structural and internal inspections to make sure a building is safe. You’ll also need to be a quality controller to ensure a building is fit for human habitation, as well as understanding energy standards and the history and heritage of older buildings. Your project management skills will need to be exceptional to ensure your client’s projects come in on time and under budget. Not to forget essential admin skills when you’re called in to help with planning applications, demolition licenses and maintenance agreements.

As you grow your career, you’ll find different areas you might want to specialise in.

How to become a building surveyor

There are several routes you can take to become a building surveyor, so don’t be put off if you haven’t yet got a university degree.

Associate and chartered RICS qualifications

There are two types of RICS qualification which offer different routes to becoming an RICS-accredited surveyor.

RICS associate qualification

This is the entry-level RICS qualification and offers the chance to progress to full chartered status. To be eligible for associate status, you will need either:

• 1 year of relevant experience and a relevant bachelor’s degree
• 2 years of relevant experience and a relevant higher/advanced/foundation qualification, or
• 4 years of relevant experience (no qualifications required).

RICS chartered qualification

This is the most common way to qualify, as most people already have surveying-related qualifications and work experience. To be eligible for chartered status, you will need either:

• relevant experience and an RICS-accredited degree
• 5 years of relevant experience and any bachelor’s degree, or
• 10 years of relevant experience operating at an advanced level by seniority, specialisation or in academia.

Essential skills for building surveyors

Of course, qualifications are essential when becoming a building surveyor, but so are personal skills, both those you already possess and those you can build on throughout your career. The following are key skills required of building surveyors:

• strong communication skills (both written and verbal)
• strong maths knowledge – numerical analysis and analytical thinking
• strong interpersonal skills to build and develop relationships
• creative approach to problem solving
• strong IT skills
• good project management skills
• patience and the ability to work under pressure
• the ability to use your initiative
• resilience and determination
• teamwork and motivation skills, and
• commercial awareness.

It’s also important that you have a reasonable level of fitness and mobility. The job may require working on scaffolding and getting into difficult spaces. However, physically disabled building surveyors are found in the profession, and it is an extremely welcoming profession to all.

Building surveyor salary: How much could you earn?

So what is the average building surveyor salary in the UK? The wage you can hope to earn will depend on your qualifications, skills and experience. Your location, employer and the sector you work in will also be factors.

As of April 2022, building surveyor salaries range from £25,000 to £70,000 a year¹, with the average annual salary being £52,500 in the UK. When you first start your career, you can expect a graduate building surveyor salary of between £22,000 and £26,000². If you’re in London, this will be higher. As your career progresses, so will your prospects, with potential salaries in the range of £28,000 to £50,000². Senior-level building surveyor salaries can reach £70,000, with some partners and directors earning six-figure sums².

Securing chartered status will also help you increase your salary and job prospects. You can expect to earn a base salary of around £39,000 when you first become chartered³, and with more experience, your salary could increase to £62,000. The average chartered building surveyor salary is currently around £52,000.

Once you progress your career, it’s also likely you’ll be working to targets and bonuses. In addition to your base salary and bonuses, being qualified as a chartered building surveyor may also entitle you to a car allowance, life insurance policy, pension plan and private healthcare. When you have enough experience and a globally recognised RICS-accredited qualification, you can also start your own business and/or move to another country as a highly sought-after skilled building surveying professional.

For up-to-date surveyor salary information, please visit RICS Recruit.

Ready to learn more about becoming a building surveyor? Discover more about RICS qualifications to take the next step in your surveying career.

_{1https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/building-surveyor}

_{2https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/building-surveyor}

_{3https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Certification=Chartered_Building_Surveyor%3A_MRICS_%26_FRICS_(Royal_Institution_of_Chartered_Surveyors)/Salary}