9 graduate careers for surveyors

A surveying career involves overseeing construction and development projects, with the opportunity to specialise in areas such as building, quantity or land. Explore nine graduate surveyor jobs and discover which role best suits your skills and interests

What is a surveyor?

It's a professional role that involves measuring buildings, land, and property. Surveyors are expected to offer guidance on various projects, including:

• construction work
• property valuation
• land management.

They typically advise on key issues like the integrity of proposed structures and boundaries to property.

Surveyors are crucial in the UK construction industry, ensuring that projects are completed safely, efficiently, and to the highest standards. Currently, there are around 74,220 surveyors in the workforce.

Is there a high demand for surveyors?

Despite the construction industry's year-on-year growth, many projects face a significant challenge due to a shortage of skilled surveyors.

The Construction Industry Training Board's (CITB) Construction Skills Network (CSN) 2024-28 report revealed that an additional 1,380 surveyors must be recruited each year to 2028 to meet demand.

This highlights the urgent need for improved recruitment methods and training programmes to attract and retain talent in this vital profession.

Read our overview of the UK's property and construction industry.

Building control surveyor

Starting salary: £25,000 to £30,000

You'll be responsible for checking whether proposals for new or renovated buildings meet current regulations. If they don't, you'll provide advice on how to adapt the plans.

Duties include:

• inspecting building sites while construction is in progress
• testing foundations and drainage works
• writing reports following visits
• issuing certificates when work has been completed to the required standard.

You'll also have to be tactful and firm when explaining that work is not up to scratch.

Employed by local authorities throughout the UK, as well as in the private sector in England and Wales, you must keep up to date with legislation in areas such as:

• accessibility
• energy conservation
• fire safety
• public health.

Consider what it takes to be a building control surveyor.

Building surveyor

Starting salary: £25,000 to £30,000

Compiling reports known as building surveys, you'll identify problems and suggest options for repair and maintenance. You'll also advise on restoring existing buildings and designing new ones to ensure that buildings are sustainable.

You'll spend time making on-site visits, so good communication skills are vital when relaying your findings and suggestions to clients.

If you don't have an undergraduate degree accredited by a professional body, such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), you can take a RICS-accredited Masters course. You'll then be eligible to work towards chartered status, which can lead to more senior positions and higher salaries.

Take a look at the building surveyor job profile.

Commercial/residential surveyor

Starting salary: £23,000 to £35,000

You'll manage, purchase, sell, or lease land and property. Specialising in either residential or commercial property, your role may be focused on:

• consultancy
• development
• investment
• management
• planning.

Knowledge of the property market is essential as you:

• apply your expertise to value properties
• assess the viability of developments
• negotiate rents
• sell and buy property on behalf of clients
• manage portfolios, among other duties.

As with other property and construction careers, a RICS-accredited degree at undergraduate or postgraduate level will help you get started and allow you to achieve chartered status.

Learn more about becoming a commercial/residential surveyor.

Estimator

Starting salary: £22,000

Working from proposals and blueprints, you'll calculate a project's labour, time and material requirements to estimate the costs. You'll present your findings to potential clients, aiming to win a competitive bidding process by offering the best price and quality.

You may be asked to estimate the costs of a one-off construction project or ongoing maintenance over many years.

While estimators are typically office-based with regular hours, you'll need to be willing to work longer hours when submission deadlines approach.

A degree in a subject such as structural or civil engineering will give you an advantage, but it's also possible to become an estimator by gaining experience as a survey technician or assistant.

Explore the role of an estimator.

Minerals surveyor

Starting salary: £20,000 to £27,000

A career that spans the construction and energy and utilities sectors, as a minerals surveyor, you'll:

• assess the commercial potential of mining or quarrying sites
• investigate environmental impacts
• negotiate legal contracts.

You'll also manage the site while extraction is ongoing and restore the land afterwards. Liaising with the public and local authorities to provide information and advice is a key part of the role.

In addition to working towards chartered status with RICS, a degree in one of the following subjects would also be beneficial:

• civil or mining engineering
• earth sciences
• economics
• geography
• geology
• surveying.

Read more about what you'll need to succeed as a minerals surveyor.

Planning and development surveyor

Starting salary: £20,000 to £25,000

Your job as a planning and development surveyor is to advise public and private sector clients on their investment choices, considering economic, social, and environmental factors.

You must have a good understanding of changing market conditions to provide insights into:

• conservation
• development
• planning
• transport options.

Tasks include:

• identifying new investment opportunities
• negotiating competitive proposals
• preparing and presenting planning applications
• managing projects
• ensuring compliance with relevant legislation.

To progress in this profession, you'll need an undergraduate or postgraduate degree or professional qualification accredited by RICS.

Employers include:

• planning consultancies
• commercial development companies
• property firms
• landowners
• public utilities.

Browse the planning and development surveyor job profile.

Quantity surveyor

Starting salary: £28,000

Playing a crucial role in building and civil engineering projects, quantity surveyors manage costs throughout. They ensure value for money while guaranteeing that required standards are met and that quality is maintained.

You'll be involved in:

• undertaking feasibility studies and analysing costs
• identifying commercial risks
• advising on contracts
• arranging payments
• allocating work to subcontractors.

The most common entry route is studying for a RICS-accredited undergraduate or postgraduate conversion course. This allows you to work towards becoming a chartered surveyor. You'll require excellent financial management skills and in-depth knowledge of the property sector.

Discover more about how to become a quantity surveyor.

Rural practice surveyor

Starting salary: £25,000 to £32,000

Careers in property and construction are typically associated with city-based developments and investments. However, if your interests lie in rural land and property, then the role of rural practice surveyor may be perfect for you.

You'll advise clients in your areas of specialist knowledge, which could be:

• agriculture
• auctioneering and valuation
• environmental regulations and practices
• forests
• property and management.

Your duties might include:

• managing rural estates (such as farms)
• identifying new uses for rural properties
• valuing land
• assisting clients who want to buy rural property
• advising on how to enhance landscapes.

For more information, view the job profile of a rural practice surveyor.

Site engineer

Starting salary: £25,000 to £28,000

You'll be a key part of the site management team on small-scale projects to multi-million-pound ventures. Your input will be technical, organisational and supervisory, working alongside:

• architects
• construction managers
• engineers
• surveyors.

As the main on-site technical adviser for subcontractors, craftspeople and operatives, your duties will include:

• the day-to-day management of the site
• efficient organisation of the facilities
• monitoring the labour force
• setting out and surveying the site.

Employers typically require a degree or HNC/HND in a relevant discipline, such as:

• building engineering
• building surveying
• construction studies.

Get the lowdown on working as a site engineer.

Find out more

• Explore what you can do with a degree in quantity surveying.
• Read our 6 tips for getting into civil engineering.
• See what else the property and construction sector has to offer.