What does a quantity surveyor do in the UK? Role, routes, pay

What does a quantity surveyor actually do?

RICS calls quantity surveyors the cost managers of construction. Most of the work happens while a building is being paid for: feasibility, design and construction. You can also work on extensions, refurbishments, maintenance and demolition. The same skills apply to housing, offices, retail and industrial buildings, and to infrastructure such as roads, railways, utilities and power generation.

Day to day, you estimate quantities and costs of materials, labour and time, prepare tender documents, compare bids and negotiate contracts. Once work starts you track spending against budget, value work done for monthly payments, price variations, assess claims for loss and expense, and agree the final account at the end. You report on the money to clients and managers. Most of the job is office-based, with regular site visits in protective kit.

Client side or contractor side?

On the client side, also called consultancy or private practice, you might work for a surveying firm, a developer, a public body, a large retailer or utility, or a loss adjuster. Here the focus is early cost planning, setting budgets, advising on procurement, running tenders and keeping the design within the money available.

On the contractor side, you work for a national or regional main contractor, a specialist contractor or a subcontractor. The job is commercial: pricing work, managing cash flow and profit, submitting valuations, and negotiating variations and final accounts with the client's surveyor. RICS expects contractor-side candidates to go deep on commercial management, and consultants to go deep on design economics and cost planning.

Which contracts do you need to know?

Standard form contracts set out how you get paid, how change is valued and how disputes are handled. RICS lists JCT and NEC alongside FIDIC, ACA, ICC and IChemE as forms candidates may use. In practice, you need to know who the parties are, how each form allocates risk and pricing, and how its payment, retention, extension of time and final account clauses work.

The terms vary between forms. NEC deals with change through compensation events, while JCT calls them variations. Under the JCT Design and Build contract the quantity surveyor is not a named role, so a client-side QS often acts as employer's agent instead. If you can handle both families of contract, you can work across more projects.

How do you get in and become chartered?

The National Careers Service names four ways in: a degree, an apprenticeship, working your way up, or a graduate training scheme. You can take an RICS-accredited quantity surveying degree, or a postgraduate conversion course if your first degree is in another subject. Level 6 degree apprenticeships run for 3 to 5 years, and the University of Portsmouth's quantity surveying degree apprenticeship, for example, runs for 5 years part-time with one day a week at university. You can also start as a surveying technician or assistant and study part-time.

Chartership comes through the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence on the Quantity surveying and construction pathway. There are six core competencies at Level 3, including contract practice, procurement and tendering, and quantification and costing. Members can use the title Chartered Quantity Surveyor. If you hold full membership of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) with a quantity surveying specialism, you can also apply for the joint CCES designation once you are a chartered member of RICS.

Pay

United Kingdom

£38,300–70,100

London

£46,900–85,900

South East

£39,400–72,000

East

£37,000–67,600

West Midlands

£36,400–66,600

North West

£35,300–64,500

Scotland

£35,800–65,500

North East

£34,600–63,400

Wales

£32,900–60,200

GBP a year, before tax. Ranges run from the 25th to the 75th percentile, based on ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data (April 2026, provisional) moved to the current year with a wage index. Regional figures are modelled. Sector, contractor or consultancy side, and chartered status all move pay. Refer to the Quantity Surveying salary guide for figures from live adverts.

What you need

Entry qualificationsFor a degree you usually need 2 to 3 A levels or equivalent. A degree apprenticeship usually asks for 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 plus A levels or equivalent.
Numeracy and detailYou need solid maths, close attention to detail and analytical thinking to measure work, build cost plans and check valuations.
Construction knowledgeYou need to understand how buildings go together and how design and construction choices affect cost and programme.
Contract knowledgeYou need a working knowledge of standard forms such as JCT and NEC, including payment, change, retention and final account provisions.
Negotiation and communicationYou spend a lot of time agreeing prices, variations and accounts with clients, contractors and site teams, so clear speaking and writing matter.
SoftwareYou need to use a computer and the main software packages confidently. Spreadsheets and measurement tools are part of most days.

How to get there

Year 0Choose a route inTake an RICS-accredited degree, start a Level 6 degree apprenticeship, or join a firm as a surveying technician or assistant.
Year 1-5Assistant quantity surveyorMeasure work, help price tenders, prepare valuations and learn contract procedures under supervision while you study.
Year 3-6RICS APCRecord structured experience on the Quantity surveying and construction pathway and sit the assessment to become MRICS.
Year 4-8Quantity surveyorRun your own packages or projects, from cost plans and tenders through to final accounts.
Year 8+Senior or managing QSLead larger schemes and teams. You can move into commercial management, project management, disputes, consultancy or self-employment.

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Questions people ask

Do you need to be chartered to work as a quantity surveyor?

No. Chartered status with RICS is something you can apply for to have your skills recognised and improve your prospects. Many people work as quantity surveyors while they work towards the APC.

What is the difference between a client-side and contractor-side QS?

A client-side QS advises the person paying for the building on budgets, procurement, tenders and cost control. A contractor-side QS manages the builder's commercial position, including pricing, cash flow, profit, valuations and claims.

Can you become a quantity surveyor without a degree?

Yes. You can take a Level 6 degree apprenticeship, which lasts 3 to 5 years and is funded by the government or your employer. You can also start as a surveying technician or assistant and study part-time.

How much do apprentice quantity surveyors earn?

It varies by employer. One recent Level 6 apprenticeship advert started at £20,000 and rose to £30,000 after the fourth year, with £45,000 on completing MRICS. Another offered £26,228 a year.

Which RICS competencies matter most for a QS?

For the chartered APC, the core competencies at Level 3 are commercial management or design economics and cost planning, construction technology and environmental services, contract practice, procurement and tendering, project finance, and quantification and costing.

What does a quantity surveyor do in the UK?