SiteKiln gives you plain-English information, not legal advice. If you need advice specific to your situation, talk to a careers adviser, RICS or CIOB.
If you're looking at the office side because your knees are done or your brain wants more, estimating/QS is the money and contracts end of building -- still close to the work, just from a different angle.
1. What estimators and QSs actually do
Estimating and quantity surveying are both about money, quantities and contracts, just at different stages.
Day-to-day for a quantity surveyor/commercial QS can include:
- Talking to clients and the team to understand what's being built.
- Measuring and working out quantities and costs for labour, materials and time.
- Preparing tenders, bills of quantities and contract documents.
- Monitoring costs as the job runs -- valuing variations, agreeing subbie payments, forecasting final cost.
- Reporting on budget vs actual, cashflow and profit to the project manager/directors.
- Handling final accounts, claims and disputes.
Estimators are heavy on the front-end pricing -- pulling take-offs from drawings, getting subbie quotes, building up rates, and submitting bids -- but lots of people sit in mixed "estimator/commercial" roles in smaller firms.
You're not stuck in a suit -- most QSs split time between office and site meetings.
2. Breaking in from site -- realistic starting points
If you've been on the tools or running sites, your realistic entry points are:
- Assistant QS / assistant estimator in a small-medium contractor.
- Commercial administrator / "surveyors' assistant" -- measuring, updating spreadsheets, checking invoices.
- Internal move if your current employer has a commercial department.
Firms will often take a punt on someone with:
- Strong site background,
- Good maths and Excel, and
- Willingness to do formal training alongside work (HNC/NVQ/degree).
Treat it like an apprenticeship in the office: lower money at first, but with room to grow.
3. RICS routes -- becoming a recognised QS
If you want to be seen as a proper QS in the professional sense, you're in RICS territory.
RICS describes a QS as the person handling cost planning, tendering, contract administration and commercial management across the life of a project.
Two main levels that matter
- AssocRICS (Associate Member) -- first rung.
- MRICS (Chartered) -- full chartered quantity surveyor.
For AssocRICS on the Quantity Surveying and Construction pathway
Typical entry is:
-
Either:
- A level 3-5 RICS-approved qualification (e.g. HNC/HND) plus 2 years' relevant experience, or
- No formal qualification but at least 4 years of relevant experience in QS/commercial roles.
-
Demonstrating a set of core competencies in things like:
- Cost estimating and planning;
- Measurement and quantification;
- Contract administration;
- Project financial control and reporting.
You build a portfolio showing what you've actually done -- e.g. preparing cost plans, measuring works, managing project cashflows -- and RICS assess that against the pathway guide.
If you go further to MRICS, you're looking at an accredited degree + structured training, or an experienced-professional route later on.
4. CIOB routes -- construction manager/commercial manager
If you stay on the contractor side and want a management badge more than a pure QS one, CIOB is the other main route.
- CIOB's Chartered Member (MCIOB) recognises experienced construction managers and commercial managers.
-
You can get there via:
- A relevant degree/HNC/HND plus experience; or
- The Chartered Membership Programme (CMP) for experienced people without a full degree.
-
CMP is a structured study route covering:
- Construction technology.
- Management.
- Construction business environment.
- Health, safety and welfare.
- CIOB also recognise high-level NVQs (e.g. Level 7 Construction Senior Management) as part of an experienced professional route for chartership.
So if you drift from site manager into commercial/contracts manager, CIOB is often the more natural home than RICS.
5. Skills from site that carry over (and gaps you'll have)
What you already bring
- Knowing how things are actually built and how long they take.
- Understanding sequence and site constraints (access, logistics, working around people).
- Ability to read drawings and spot clashes.
- Realistic sense of risk -- what tends to go wrong and where money leaks.
The gaps to plug
- Measurement and take-off to standard methods (NRM, SMM) rather than "eyeballing it".
- Contract basics -- JCT/NEC language, payment terms, notices, variations.
- Comfort with spreadsheets and cost reporting: cashflows, cost-value reconciliations, forecasting.
Most people bridge that with a mix of:
- On-the-job mentoring from senior QSs/estimators;
- A part-time HNC/HND or similar in construction/commercial management;
- Later, RICS or CIOB membership routes if they want the letters.
6. Common mistakes
- Thinking QS is just "adding up" -- it's contract management, negotiation, risk and commercial strategy as much as it is measurement.
- Not getting any formal qualification -- site experience gets you in the door, but to progress you'll need an HNC/HND minimum, and professional membership (RICS or CIOB) to be taken seriously long-term.
- Expecting site-manager money from day one -- you're starting again in a new discipline; accept a dip while you learn, then earn it back quickly.
- Ignoring contracts -- a QS who doesn't understand JCT/NEC payment mechanisms, notices and variations is dangerous. Read the contracts, not just the drawings.
- Not joining a professional body -- RICS or CIOB membership opens doors and shows clients/employers you're serious about the role.
7. Who to contact
- RICS -- Associate and Chartered membership routes for quantity surveyors: rics.org (free guidance, membership fees apply)
- CIOB -- Chartered membership for construction and commercial managers: ciob.org (free guidance, membership fees apply)
- UCAS / university course search -- part-time QS and construction management courses: ucas.com (free to search)
- Go Construct -- careers information including QS and estimating roles: goconstruct.org (free)
- Your current employer -- ask about internal moves into the commercial team or sponsorship for study.
8. Sources
- RICS -- Quantity Surveying and Construction pathway guide -- competencies and entry requirements for AssocRICS and MRICS: rics.org
- CIOB -- Chartered Membership Programme (CMP) -- experienced professional route to chartership: ciob.org
- NRM (New Rules of Measurement) -- RICS standard for measurement and cost planning in construction: rics.org
- Go Construct -- career profiles for estimators and quantity surveyors: goconstruct.org
9. Related guides on this site
- 10.7 Management qualifications -- SMSTS, NVQ L6, degree routes
- 10.8 Site management as a career -- what it actually involves
- 10.10 Teaching your trade -- becoming a college lecturer or assessor
- 8.9 Tendering basics -- PQQs, ITTs, framework agreements
- 8.13 Pricing work -- day rate vs fixed price vs cost-plus
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