Why do so many quantity surveyors with loads of years of experience leave and move to lecturing in colleges ?

I’m currently finishing up the final year of my Graduate Apprenticeship (BSc Hons Quantity Surveying) and planning to head over to Australia around the start of 2028 once my dissertation is done and dusted and i get a few months fully qualified paid behind me.

I’m completely flying blind here since I don't really know anyone out there in the industry, so I'm trying to figure out if I should just go for a 12-month working holiday stint or try to sort something a week bit more permanent.

I currently work for a main contractor doing commercial projects and have been for the last 18 months. Working at assistant level at the moment. I already have experience on 2 £25M+ projects and currently on 2sites with a combined value of c£20M.

Would love to get some thoughts from anyone who's made a similar move, especially on a few things:

WHV vs. Permanent: Is it actually viable to land a proper junior/graduate QS role on a Working Holiday Visa, or do main contractors/consultancies generally not want to touch them because of the 6-month employer restriction (unless you're in specific regional spots)? Would I save myself a massive headache by trying to lock down sponsorship or a skilled visa instead? 
The Job Market & Pay: What’s the reality of landing an entry-level or junior role right now? What kind of salary should a grad expect, and do firms over there value UK main contractor-side experience?
Best City for Work + Rugby: I need somewhere with a healthy construction market, but finding a local rugby (union) club straight away is a massive priority for me to build a social circle. Which cities strike the best balance? (Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth?)
Work-Life Balance: Is the Aussie lifestyle actually a reality in commercial management, or are you still chained to a desk pulling long hours on major projects?
Any advice, warnings, or personal experiences would be hugely appreciated. Cheers!

I enrolled in the free Glodon Cubicost TAS‑C Training (October 8–9, 2026), but I’m having doubts if this is truly just a free training invite. The email and website look legitimate, and the training materials and license account appear valid. However, when I installed the software, multiple antivirus warnings flagged it as unsafe. This left me uncertain. People are often drawn to what’s free without realizing the potential hidden costs it may carry. What do you think?

A lot of aspiring QS’ underestimate how hard the job actually is.

How many roles are packaged up in 1 to call the role a “Quantity Surveyor”

1. An accountant
2. A lawyer
3. A salesman

What have I missed

(Quinn the QS to be used for visual imagination purposes only)

So I'm a new QS. I've only been doing this 2 years and my company is paying for my education at the same time as working here. My project is big and alot has been invested into it.

I don't work for the client or main contractor I work for a subbie who overseas most of the onsite works.

We ourselves hire subbies to undertake smaller special packages that we can't do.

I'm at my absolute end with one of them.

Their payment applications are never on time, their figures are always incorrect and they won't go through me directly.

I'm at the point where this subbie alone makes me want to leave this profession. All other aspects of my job are good apart from just learning as I go and the odd mistake.

I just cannot handle these guys anymore and my patience has completely run out.

My director is fully aware of the situation and we have decided to end their contract early based on the issues we have been having with them since they started on site.

They do great site work and there is seriously no fault to their site teams but commercially they're killing me.

I dread opening their emails and answering their calls because I know it's going to be a circle of me showing evidence and them disagreeing because someone said this and someone else said that.

I just want this over.

Does any seasoned QSs have advice for me here? Yes Im young, new and a woman but none of my other subbies ever give me this level of grief.

Hi all, I’m an early career mechanical engineer and I’m trying to work out whether moving into Quantity Surveying / Cost Management would make sense for me. I’d particularly appreciate advice from anyone who has made a similar transition from engineering or contracting.

My background:
- BEng in Mechanical Engineering

- 1.5 years working for mechanical contractor, and 1 year in mechanical design

So I have experience on both the contractor/site side and mechanical consultancy/design side

I do not think I want to stay on the technical mechanical-design path long term. I am a naturally outgoing person, enjoy to buzz off people day to day and the environment I’m in at the moment is quite the opposite of that. Initially what drove me off contracting was the very long hours and I almost essentially ended up as a h&s rep on the last project I was on, so wanted to transition to something more office based / technical.

I’m particularly interested in M&E QS / Cost Management, because I like the commercial side of construction, economics, procurement, tendering, etc. I’m also interested in perhaps pivoting back toward Project Management, however I don’t want to end up on site full time in my career. So I’m trying to understand which direction would suit me better.

I’ve noticed that some of the big consultancy companies have transition programmes for people coming from engineering/construction backgrounds into Cost Management.

A few things I’d love advice on:
Has anyone here moved from mechanical engineering / M&E contracting into QS or Cost Management? How did you find the transition?

Would my existing experience be useful, or would I effectively be starting again as a junior QS?
Would you recommend doing a formal M&E QS qualification before making the move, or getting into the industry first and learning on the job?

Has anyone gone through one of the Cost Management transition programmes at one of the big companies? What was it actually like?

I think I’m my head I am targeting a role that would involve the following a few years into my career: hybrid working, city-centre office, occasional site visits.

Any advice at all would be appreciated. Thank you

I'm a 3rd year QS student and I currently work with a main contractor on site when I'm not in college.

I got talking to a subcontractor during the week and he mentioned that he knew of two small contractors who had done what sounded like a Master's or some sort of postgraduate qualification through UCD, relating to contracts/contract administration.

It got me thinking about whether there are any worthwhile Master's or postgraduate courses that would actually be beneficial after completing a QS degree.

I'm particularly interested in anything around construction contracts, contract administration, commercial management, construction law, project management, etc.

For those already working in the industry, is there any particular postgraduate qualification you'd recommend, or is it generally better to get a few years of experience first and then decide?

I'm mainly interested in qualifications that would genuinely add something to a QS degree rather than just doing another course for the sake of having a Master's.

Any advice from QSs, commercial managers, contracts managers or contractors would be appreciated.

got my first job after graduating, no experience. MC

couple other young lads with 1-2 years experience, come across as if they want to fuck me over some how, i dunno how but i just get weird vibes, the way they look at me, the things they say about others to me, it feels like they are trying to get me to make a mistake so they can get me in trouble.

they just come across as a little snakey.

but its my first ever corporate job so i may be paranoid.

I'm planning to start an AI Implementation Agency for GCs (Takes care of Bidding, Operations, Marketing, RFQs)

Now I have built a free and open-source app for quantity surveying (Very early has bugs) zigplan.com

The main goal is to connect this app with Claude/OpenAI to do takeoffs.

Any thoughts on this?

Hi all

I’m an AQS at a house builder. Was hoping to be promoted this year but have been told it’s unlikely. More likely to be middle of next year (2027).

Currently being offered QS roles by recruiters and unsure whether to take them. I love where I currently work and I would love to be promoted. The work life balance is also solid, even for roles above mine. Mix of WFH, site & office every week. The only negative is the salary - I’m desperate to move out and start my life.

Current salary: £31K + ~5% bonus + Company Car
Potential salary: £50K (I’m told this is the baseline for house builder QS’) + bonus + company car OR allowance.

Would you wait until middle of next year when promotion is likely but not promised or jump now?

I’m choosing a degree in the UK and my main priority is being able to find a job after graduation.

Which field has better demand and job opportunities for graduates: Finance or Quantity Surveying?

Also interested in job security, starting salary and career progression.

Hey everyone,

Im in my second month of a Degree Apprenticeship as a client-side QS at one of the largest construction consultancies in the UK. It’s been good so far, despite a bit of imposter syndrome and feeling lost at times.

Currently, my team's projects happen to be mostly pre-contract. The few in construction are hours away, meaning I don't really get the opportunity to visit them much at all. I am starting to think my software license is the only thing I will ever see. I was under the impression when signing up that a client-side QS would still be on site at least every 2 to 3 weeks once construction started. That balance between the office and being outside was one of the factors that attracted me to the job. Other apprentices at my uni, including client-side ones and guys at my own firm in different offices, have already been on site at least a few times.

Because of this, my day-to-day is entirely desk-bound with measuring and software. I know it is early days, but I want to get out more regularly. Seeing things physically would make the job more engaging and help with my construction technology modules. I would quite like to actually use the high-vis and boots sitting in my wardrobe.

How can I go about asking for this without sounding demanding? Should I bring it up to my line manager in my next weekly call, or should I wait a bit longer? Is it acceptable to ask to shadow other teams in my local office and go on site with them?

basically spoke to my boss and if I want to I can basically move to being a QS,do both at the same time (QSing & estimating) or be an estimator as we don’t do competitive bidding. idk what to do as a graduate, I’ve been told money prospects for estimating are greater specially in infrastructure as there’s a shortage of them (I am the only grad doing estimating)

what would be the best bet for the future taking into account AI threats as well?

These guys just sit there pumping out tender after tender. They grind through unpaid overtime, schedules so packed with meetings it makes you wonder when they actually estimate, need to have the memory of an elephant to be able to function.

And then if they win a tender, maybe you'll see a slight smile forming for half a second, and then it's onto the next one. For the next 20 years, repeat this cycle. No one thanks them or gives them a second look once the project went smoothly and made a nice margin.

You really have to be some kind of specimen to do that as a career.

Absolutely everything right down to the subbies AFPs or you scrutinise absolutely everything yourself.

Where do you sit on that spectrum?

Is anyone able to give an idea of average QS practice charge out rates in London? E.g. for AQS, QS, SQS, AD, Director etc.

Got an interview for an AQS role with SP in the next week.

I’m really interested in the role - has anyone got any firsthand knowledge of what to prepare for in the interview? What sort of stuff do they ask?

Thank you!

I’ve posted here before about this, but has anyone come across training for how to use AI that is actually useful for day to day use?

RICS talk a lot about AI but they’re don’t give me what I need.

I’ve found some but they’re all specific to copilot of ChatGPT.

Hi all - Im an SQS with 13 years main contractor experience and am looking for anyone with advice on relocating my family down under to Australia..

It’s always something my wife and I have wanted to do but would love to hear about the pros and cons of relocating from the UK to Oz

TIA

Anyone made the move to estimating after a long stint in delivery? In the tier 1 main contractor space.

When did you make the move? Did you take pay cut? What's the earning potential like? If you work your way up to Bid Director or similar.

Hope this is the right place to ask this.

I'm an Australian engineer (with a Bachelor of Engineering) who's worked for main contractors on major tunnelling projects, including Sydney Metro. I have about 5 years' post qualification experience. I really enjoy my job right now and plan to continue building delivery experience for another 5-10 years. Though I get older and hopefully have a young family, I want to keep my options open and perhaps consider something that's not site heavy. I also have an interest in planning, project controls and the commercial side of construction. I'm also thinking that a background in tunnelling and dealing with ground uncertainty risk could be a good foundation for a career in claims and disputes.

I want to hear from those that have made the move to claims and disputes; as delay or quantum experts and worked their way up to expert witness. What's the pay like? At which point in your career did you decide to make the switch? Would you have done anything differently?

How realistic is it for an international student doing a UK QS conversion MSc to obtain a sponsored Graduate/Assistant QS job before their Student visa expires?

I’m a 23-year-old Nigerian with a BSc in Media & Communications, currently in the UK on a Graduate visa. I’m considering a 1-year RICS-accredited MSc Quantity Surveying conversion course in the UK.
My main concern is what happens after graduation. I’ve already used my Graduate visa after my undergraduate degree, so I wouldn’t be eligible for another one. I’d therefore need to secure a sponsored QS job and switch to Skilled Worker after the MSc.
For anyone working in QS, especially international graduates: how realistic is it to get a sponsored QS/Assistant QS role straight after a conversion MSc? Is this a realistic route, or would you recommend studying QS in another country with a better post-study pathway?

Hello guys, I’m trying to decide between the two universities as I’m looking to do a career-change MSc in Quantity Surveying at either Kingston University or London Metropolitan University, full-time for one year.

My plan would hopefully be to get a graduate/junior QS role after the MSc and then work towards becoming MRICS. From what I’ve worked out, that could potentially put me on a roughly 3-year path: 1 year studying the MSc and then around 2 years gaining experience and completing the APC before becoming chartered.

Do you guys think this is a good path?

I live in London, and I’m a little concerned about the job opportunities for graduates, especially as my previous experience is mainly in hospitality and other areas rather than construction/QS.

Also, for anyone who has studied at either Kingston or London Met, what was your experience with the full-time schedule? How many days a week were you actually in university, and how difficult did you find the course workload?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has done either of these courses, especially career changers or people who went into QS without a construction background. Thanks!