September 2010 RICS accredited courses

DEVELOPING YOUR CAREER IN SURVEYING

rics.org/courses

PROFILE 01

WHY BECOME A SURVEYOR? IN MY EXPERIENCE
Surveying is a diverse and exciting career choice that can give you the opportunity to travel the world and meet all kinds of people. If you think of the physical assets that cover the earth – buildings, trees, reefs, airports, antiques, festivals, hotels, rainforests, ports and harbours, to name a few – surveyors are there shaping the world that we live in, making their mark. This guide is designed to help you to find out more about the surveying profession, the work that surveyors do and why surveying could be the career for you.
Name: James Lombard Position: Valuation Surveyor Degree: MSc in Real Estate Management at Oxford Brookes University Employer: Cushman and Wakefield

“I joined Cushman & Wakefield’s Paris office in September 2007 after graduating and was then recruited as a bilingual member of their valuation team on a full-time basis. Variety
Depending on which area you decide to specialise in you could become involved in planning and creating cities, protecting the environment, designing the latest Sony Playstation game, helping to organise the festival at Glastonbury, discovering a lost work of art, or doing the next big property deal.

Lifestyle & travel
Working hours aren’t usually too onerous in the surveying profession either – well unless you want to work long hours that is – which makes surveying the envy of many other professions such as law and accountancy. Another attraction is that surveyors are not chained to their desks – although you are likely to be office based you will spend a great deal of time out and about, meeting people and generally making your mark on the world. Many surveyors travel extensively – both locally and internationally.

Reward
The good news is that surveying is generally a well paid profession. Chartered Surveyors can command high salaries once they are