Do I Need a Degree?
Not at all! It’s fine if you do, but it’s not a requirement for the job. There’s an apprenticeship pathway for people over 16 who aren’t in full-time education, which gives you practical experience and the chance to earn a salary while you study. There are lots of different apprenticeship options to choose from, so it’s important you pick one that’s a good match with your current skills and in a career you want to progress in. How long it takes to qualify will depend on the type of apprenticeship you choose, but generally, you’re looking at 1-6 years. If that sounds good, you can find more here.
I Have a Degree, but it’s not Relevant
No problem there either! In fact, many of our surveyors at Harrison Clarke did degrees in completely different things! You can still pursue a career in surveying by studying an RICS accredited postgraduate course, which will give you a Masters degree or a postgraduate diploma level qualification. It will massively help your career if, while you’re studying, you are employed in a building surveying role or practice. That’s why so many companies offer graduate schemes or accept employees without RCIS accredited degrees.
Is There a Degree I Could do?
Yep! There are hundreds of RICS-accredited courses you can do that will stand you in good stead for a career in chartered surveying. There are also thousands of university courses in related fields (like architecture) that will be a good stepping stone into the industry. Universities will have different requirements for entry, but an undergraduate course will typically require either 2-3 A Levels, a T level, a Level 3 apprenticeship or similar.
How do I Become Chartered?
Once you’ve achieved the rank of ‘surveyor’, there’s still one more hurdle before you hit the gold standard, and that’s becoming chartered. On top of holding the relevant qualifications, you’ll need to gain some practical, hands-on experience too. Then you’ll need to complete an appropriate chartered assessment. The most common option for this is the APC (or the Assessment of Professional Competence) – but you can also qualify as a senior professional, industry specialist or an academic.
To apply for the APC, you need to have:
• At least 2-5 years of relevant experience after completion of an RICS accredited degree, OR
• At least 5 years of relevant experience and any bachelor’s degree (which doesn’t have to be RICS accredited), OR
• 10 years of senior or executive experience, including those in leadership roles with advanced skills or who are teaching at university.
What Does the APC Involve?
The APC requires you to have developed your skills over either 12 or 24 months of structured training before you can take the assessment. The only exception is if you already have over 5 years’ experience, in which case you can skip to the final assessment once your submission has been reviewed.
The APC itself is quite demanding, requiring a mix of technical, professional, ethical, interpersonal, business and management skills. You’ll have to submit a summary of experience along with a case study that demonstrates your abilities for formal assessment. You’ll also need to complete a set amount of continuing professional development and an ethics course.
That Sounds Like a lot…
It certainly can be! We’ve not met a surveyor who’s forgotten the feeling before their assessment, or how they felt when they were going through it. But if you’ve gone through the structured training and gained the knowledge and experience, then this is your opportunity to showcase that. If you’re feeling nervous, there are a lot of organisations and individuals out there who will help, and you will be assigned a supervisor and APC counsellor to help you prepare and keep you on track. They won’t certify that you’re ready until you’ve reached the minimum training limit, so if they say you’re ready to go, then you’re ready to go. The APC is there to ensure that all candidates are competent and meet the high standards of professionalism required to be a chartered surveyor.
The RICS covers a large variety of roles, from the land, property and built environment sector – too many for us to mention – but their aim is to make sure everyone involved meets those high professional standards. At Harrison Clarke, we have a team of experienced and competent surveyors who have all been through this process, so we are able to say we are a firm of chartered surveyors. So if you need expert advice for your property, or support getting through the chartered surveyor process, one of our team will be happy to help. Just get in touch with us on 023 8155 0051.
We also have a range of videos talking through various aspects of the Party Wall process. You can access them via our website or our YouTube channel.
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