Quantity Surveying

[Colapop]

Quantity Surveying - yep that's what this thread is about. Sorry no hidden meanings or pron pics here.
Can anyone tell what is involved in this career? I am currently a draftsman (sturctural- heavy concrete) and am looking at studying at Weltec in the new year and this has been suggested to me as an option.
I've gotta do something coz I think my current career is stalled or in nuetral, that and the fact that I can see definite limitations in what I am doing now.

[The Stranger:Me]

I am a builder by trade and spent my entire time in the industy on commercial work. All of those jobs involved a QS at some stage and many of them I took off and or priced.
All I can say is DON'T DO IT.

A QS is like the parking warden of the building industry, your work will never be appreciated.

It's the most mind numbing work that you can do.
That said if you suffer from insomnia it is a guaranteed cure.

[miSTa]

+1 on CaN's reply, I've done enough of it to know to stay away from it (QS) (ex commercial chippie). Mind you every job has its good and bad points, try taking the quantities of a set of house plans and see how you feel.

[Colapop]

Because I'm currently working as a draughtsman and the son of a builder, I've got a fairly good feel for buildings and the trade (I'm 37). What I'm looking to do is to upskill from my current position. I have no qualifications apart from S.C. & U.E.
I figure that QS or construction management is a progression for me. I think a base qual is what I'm looking for, maybe that I can go forward from.

[miSTa]

I'm assuming you are looking at NZCQS? I would hope so.

If you think that QS the way to go then by all means do it but with NZCQS I would seriously consider construction management first. I don't how it is now but when I was doing my Trade Cert and Adv. Trade, NZCQS was a better qualification to get than NZCB and opened more management doors.

Would formalising your drafting give you new opportunities?

You could always do what I done (and countless of others have done) - stop working and go and get a degree. In my case though it was an unrelated industry (IT).

[Drum]

Have you thought about going to uni and studying engineering?
Demand is very high at the moment and professional engineers are getting good pay and good opportunities.
Draughting skills would be a real bonus for an employer too.

I recommend Civil engineering at Canterbury!

[Drum]

Also, Works Infrastructure have got a recruitment drive on at the moment, and are hiring keen people for the construction industry. Ive never worked for them, but have had enough dealings to know they could be worth a go.
I think they had some scholarship deals too, and were working in conjunction with Welltech.

[Colapop]

The problem is, they've killed most NZ certs and replaced them with "diplomas". Fancy names don't make them better, worse by the loomk of a lot of them so far.
Formalising my drafting experience has proven harder than it should. NZQA have no quals that recognise drafting as prior learning or on the job experience. Hence the reason for the QS thoughts. There is an architectural draftsman diploma and I'm considering that. But the thing is I think I need to get a cert that I can used as a stepping stone up? I know that there's going to be a requirement in about 2 years for QS in the transmission line sector and it takes 2 years to do the diploma. I figure that I can trade up to project management in the future at some stage. I'm open to all suggestions though.

[Colapop]

Also, Works Infrastructure have got a recruitment drive on at the moment, and are hiring keen people for the construction industry. Ive never worked for them, but have had enough dealings to know they could be worth a go.
I think they had some scholarship deals too, and were working in conjunction with Welltech.

Oooo now that's interesting .... Might have to have a whisper to those guys. Don't much like Civil work (dirt farmers!) I'd prefer Mech Eng. but the opportunities are limited for me to go to 'varsity (father, provider and all that)

[SPman]

Well - as an Advanced Trade chippie, a QS (Fuckin diploma - doing NZCQS and they changed it just before I finished) who has done mainly Civil and Drainage...(much better than egocentric fucking Construction wankers!) and a building inspector, all I can say is - NZQA are a bunch of wankers!
Anyway, , advantage with QS is that a lot of people do cross over to Project management after a few years. QS does give you a good grounding in estimating,work progression and cost control, which you can transfer over to other areas.


.....ethel the aardvark goes quantity surveying........

fuck - pissed again......

[Drum]

......Don't much like Civil work (dirt farmers!) I'd prefer Mech Eng....

See, thats your problem!

[rocketman1]

Yes I have done QS work
Yes it is a bit of a boring trade, if you could be a builders accountant that would be the closest I can compare it too, unless you work for a QS consulting firm
There are some good things about it, the salaries are pretty good if you are good at your job, you can go on to Project Management, but if you have design flair I would suggest go for Engineering, Mechanical, electrical or civil.
QS sometimes turn to estimating, which requires more self focussed skills, but you are always stressed woking to deadlines, cant be too good for you
Not a bad job if you like figures, and good at maths.
Good luck

[Fordy]

Can anyone tell what is involved in this career?

Have you looked here. Taking off becomes easy with practice, but not boring cos every drawing is different and you get to colour them in! Pricing variations can be fun, pushing boundaries to achieve the best financial return within the rules of the contract. It can be forensic at times, trying to establish a certain aspect with the paperwork available. Sometimes a game of skill and wits with the other side, anticipating their next 2 or 3 moves and having a response prepared to counter their statement. You meet a lot of different people in the building process, and I've also got on the project management side and the safety and performance management aspects too.

It's been varied and rewarding.

But 18 years UK experience, qualified, on the skills shortage list in every region and yet I'm struggling to find work here. The pure qs work seems to be trainee/intermediate level and wages to suit, some of the better paid jobs do seem to include project management but they were on the back of projects coming off next year. On my limited (3 month) experience I'd say do construction management for a broader qualification.

Maybe its the wrong time of year, but I'm pretty pissed off with the job market ATM

[Fordy]

Winging POM mode [/off]

[Brett]

Hey mate, i am a Project/construction manager and work in with the QS blokes a helluva lot. If you are into the sort of job where you take a set of drawings, do takeoffs and schedules of quantities etc, and draw up tenders, then you may be interested in QS work. You would need to think about a qualification, Unitec offer the Diploma in COnstruction Economics which is about what you would need to enter this role, and some employers would prefer the Bach in Const. Economics.
It all depends really, some companies such as Mainzeal and Fletchers regularly take people on as cadets. Salary is quite low, only about 35k, but once qualified they do pay muych better. I have mates that are early twenties earning 60+k a year. Not huge money, but with experience and becoming a senior QS you could crack over 100k.
Personally i chose the Project Management role because i came out of a building apprecnticeship and did quite well in my seventh form year and wanted to do something with variety where i could be indoors and outdoors and that would keep me interested.
Qsing is an office job, if that is your sort of environment, you will probably enjoy it!
Me myself, i am thinking that a bit of a change would be good and head back out to site to finish off the apprenticeship would give me wider skills.

If you have any questions, PM me, i am happy to answer whatever you may have.