Lord of all you survey

Who wants to work the average day? We know that most people never intend to spend their working life behind a desk - it just ends up that way! And if you land a job that means you don't spend all day every day in the office, doesn't that mean that you won't be involved in the sharp end of business - deal making, finance and management?

Well fear not! Help is at hand in the form of a career that will allow you to get the best of both worlds. An ever-changing work environment, providing opportunities to 'get out of the office' and the opportunity for you to form your own niche in a particular specialist area. Surveying.

Surveying
There is no such thing as an average day in Surveying, each specialism has different things to offer. You might be working for an investment bank in Canary Wharf or a global Consultancy in Sydney, perhaps helping a corner shopkeeper get his business rates bill down, developing a social housing programme for your local community or even calculating the environmental impact of a proposed new airport terminal.
Some surveyors specialise in the way buildings are constructed, some in the financial dynamics of property investment, others in the way farms are managed - the list goes on.

What areas does it cover?
Before entering the field of surveying you should choose the area which interests you most. However, the flexibility of Surveying means that once qualified you can sometimes change the specialism that you are practice. The principle areas are :

• Antiques & fine arts
• Facilities management
• Minerals & waste management
• Residential property
• Building surveying
• Geomatics Planning & development
• Residential Survey & Valuation
• Commercial property Housing (Public and Voluntary)
• Plant & machinery Rural Practice
• Construction Management
• Consultancy
• Project management
• Taxation Allowances
• Environmental Practice
• Marine resource
• Management Research
• Valuation

Here are just a couple of them and what kind of work you might do!

Commercial Practice
The world of Commercial Property is once again diverse with many different opportunities for a wide range of skill sets. Within many of the leading Surveying firms there are a number of different departments that a commercial property surveyor may work in.

• Large firms
  In a large firm such as Insignia Richard Ellis, a global international surveying firm, work is diverse and often high profile. Companies such as this provide :
  
  Leasing and Acquisition Agency - ie buying property and getting leases on properties for your clients.
• Investment Advice - will a property go up or down in value, how can you make sure it goes up?
• Professional Services including
  valuation, asset management - making sure that your client's property gets the right tenants, is taken care of etc, landlord and tenant, rating and taxation and shopping centres & retail park management.
• Corporate Real Estate Services
• Fund Management
• Retail Leasing and Acquisition Agency
• Hotels
• Research

Working for a large firm with a good networking infrastructure allows graduates to benefit from in-house training and a structured development framework. There are also benefits from working within smaller firms who concentrate their activities to one or two specialist areas.

On the job
What might you be doing when you first start out in surveying? Let's say that you're working on valuation. You're required to provide reports on property values on a periodic basis either monthly, quarterly or annually. In order to carry out these valuations the firms has to gather information on all factors which effect value and, as a graduate, that's your job.

There are several sources of information on the internet databases called Focus and EGI (Estates Gazette Interactive) which firms such as Insignia Richard Ellis subscribe to. You can search for recent lettings in a certain area during a certain time and on a particular property use. Firms often also maintain their own database which would assist you in finding out rates per sq ft and capital values. In most cases you will be required to telephone the relevant agent/surveyor dealing with that property from other firms, to obtain more detailed information about the transaction. This is an essential part of not only valuing the property, but also enables you to get to know the market and your colleagues within IRE and other firms, and builds your confidence in really familiarising yourself with the property market and associated factors.

You'll also spend a fair amount of time reading leases and recording information into summary sheets, noting all the pertinent factors which may affect a valuation such as remaining lease length, break clause and rent review structure. You will also be involved in writing reports in draft format. The majority of reports include descriptions of the property, market commentary and a breakdown of how we achieved our valuation figure.

Working within the Valuation Department you cover a wide aspect of areas from speaking to architects about buildings and materials, to planning authorities about proposed planning permissions in the area, tenants, agents and other valuers from other firms. You may also have the opportunity to move to a management department, which means that you might be involved in instructing contractors to carry out structural works to renewing a tenant's lease on expiry, inspecting the property to ensure tenants are fulfilling their repairing liability contained within their lease.

Responsibility and training
You are given a fair amount of responsibility however you are guided in every aspect to ensure that you understand and are comfortable with what you are doing because all this work counts towards your APC - Assessment of Professional Competence - which will take you 2 years and is the final element in your becoming a Chartered Surveyor. Working within the Valuation Department you cover a wide aspect of areas from speaking to architects about buildings and materials, to planning authorities about proposed planning permissions in the area, tenants, agents and other valuers from other firms.

Rural Practice
The Rural Practice Chartered Surveyor must be in a position to assist their clients as they face the challenges confronting the agricultural industry today, including issues such as:

• The beef industry legislation
• Foot and Mouth Impacts
• Enlargement of the EU
• Animal Welfare and food safety
• Agri-environment Issues

The exciting thing about working in rural practice is that situation in the rural sector can change rapidly from month to month. A Chartered Surveyor in the Rural Faculty can expect to be involved in existing farm business and future opportunities that may arise, additional sources of income and long term planning. An external viewpoint is often essential to ensure efficient, financially beneficial practices are carried out on a day to day basis. By assessing the balance between land, labour and capital combined with other factors such as quotas and subsidies, you can highlight bad practice and often unearth avenues for potential benefit not currently being exploited.

Show me the money!
Pay does vary between firms and the area in which you work, however, the larger London firms pay their graduates between £19,000-£20,000. There is usually a £1,000 - £1,500 'golden hello' and often a pay review sometime in the first year. The salary increases on qualification.

Pay varies across the commercial property spectrum with high salaries seen in the financial, development and investment areas. You might also get an annual bonus related to performance.

In contrast, Rural graduates can expect in the region of £15,500 as an annual salary, but then the cost of living and the fact that you are out in the countryside compensate for that!

How do I qualify?
As we mentioned earlier, if you want to become a Chartered Surveyor you will need to sit the the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) and there are a number of qualifications you have to have to get to that point. Either

Successful completion of a RICS accredited surveying degree or

Successful completion of an advanced GNVQ/GSVQ or S/NVQ or any Bachelors or Masters degrees, which will qualify you for entry to an accredited degree or diploma, course or

Enrollment on an accredited degree and completing a Sandwich year with a Surveying firm.

The APC can be completed in no less than two years whilst in employment for a surveying firm or property organisation and can start upon completion of the relevant degress or other course. For the 24 months you must keep a diary of work, illustrating the hands-on professional experience on a daily basis under the supervision of a Chartered Surveyor. This is a monitor for the RICS to assess how competent you are . On-going assessments and reports throughout the two years coupled with a structured training programme at work ensures that the candidate's width and depth of knowledge is sufficient. In addition to this professional experience, Continued Professional Development (CPD), by way of lectures and seminars, enables the candidates to broaden their knowledge in many different areas of surveying. There is a requirement to complete 48hrs of CPD per year.

Life as a graduate surveyor is fast and furious and the two years of the APC is often passed by working in different departments on rotation. In our firm, Insignia Richard Ellis, we have over 50 graduates in its rotation and training system. Further information can be found in the graduates' section at www.insignia-re.com.

Want to know more?
If surveying interests you as a career or even if you aren't sure, the best way to find out is through work experience. This will also look very good on your CV when it comes to interviews - whether for a Surveying job or not!

By spending even a week working beside a surveyor you can see at first hand what the job entails and if you are cut out for it! Companies are often keen to accommodate students and school leavers for short periods of time and you should start by writing to the Human Resources departments at the large firms. Try using the Internet to get a contact name for your letter from the firms' websites.

It is also possible to get Sandwich year placements as part of a degree at some Surveying firms. This is an excellent way of completing the first year of your APC before graduating.

Work experience will provide you with a wider knowledge of your own interests and also the interests of the firm. Showing the initiative and dedication to get work experience stands out on your CV and even if you don't apply for a job in surveying it will put you head and shoulders above the competition.

Check out the RICS website too for more information.

We wish you the best of luck with your chosen career. Alternatively please do feel free to contact any of us -

chris.lawton-smith@insignia-re.com
jamie.williams@insignia-re.com
fiona.collier@insignia-re.com

by Chris Lawton-Smith