How to become a quantity surveyor
Official title: Quantity surveyors
Also called: Surveyor, Bonus surveyor, Quantity surveyor, Measuring surveyor, Managing quantity surveyor, Chartered quantity surveyor, Quantity surveyor's assistant, Quantity surveying technician, Quantity surveyor's technical assistant, Taker-off, Worker-up, Survey technician
Quantity surveyors advise on financial and contractual matters relating to, and prepare bills of quantities for, construction projects and provide other support functions concerning the financing and materials required for building projects.
Main tasks
- Liaises with client on project costs, formulates detailed cost plan and advises contractors and engineers to ensure that they remain within cost limit
- Examines plans and specifications and prepares details of the material and labour required for the project
- Prepares bills of quantities for use by contractors when tendering for work
- Examines tenders received, advises client on the most acceptable and assists with preparation of a contract document
- Measures and values work in progress and examines any deviations from original contract
- Measures and values completed contract for authorisation of payment
How to become one
Entry is through professional training and membership of an appropriate professional organisation. Entry to professional examinations will require a degree or equivalent qualification. Apprenticeships are also available. Candidates usually undertake a period of probationary training and professional assessment.
Ways in
- Apprenticeship (England): Construction quantity surveyor (degree) (level 6). England. Typically 36 months. Skills England standard ST0045.
- University: Architecture & Built Environment degrees, Offered by 12 universities in the UK
Pay · Outlook
- Median full-time pay: £52,537 a year The middle half earn £41,465 to £67,203.
- About 68,700 people work in this job now, and about 77,100 are projected by 2035. (+12.2%)
Related jobs
- Architects
- Chartered architectural technologists, planning officers and consultants
- Chartered surveyors
- Construction project managers and related professionals
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Questions people ask
How do I become a quantity surveyor?
Entry is through professional training and membership of an appropriate professional organisation. Entry to professional examinations will require a degree or equivalent qualification. Apprenticeships are also available. Candidates usually undertake a period of probationary training and professional assessment.
How much does a quantity surveyor earn in the UK?
Median full-time pay is £52,537 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £41,465 to £67,203.
Is a quantity surveyor a growing career in the UK?
Yes. Employment is projected to grow 12% by 2035, from about 68,700 to about 77,100 people (Department for Education).
Do you need a degree to become a quantity surveyor?
Usually. 85% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.
Sources
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
- Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Updated 2026-10-03
Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.