UKC

Im  a "mature" student studying building surveying. Ive been wondering what line of work id like to go into when i get my degree, the lecturers at uni seem to think we are all going to end up working for big house building companies, which i dread the thought of.

Ive owned a small construction company for the past ten years and the thought of hanging around construction sites really displeases me.

My ambition from the start has been to work with property, but not building it, more managing it/valuation/sales/lease negotiations/disputes etc......I never knew what this profession was called until i searched the ukc forums just now and there is a thread on general practice surveying.

So my question is, is what i want to do akin to general practice, and am i studying the wrong course?!

I'm a retired General Practice Surveyor. Are you a member of the RICS? They no longer call it General Practice, but looking at your list becoming a Valuation Surveyor comes closest to it. Building Surveying will certainly give you a very good grounding if as a Valuation Surveyor, you want to do Building Surveys and RICS Home Buyer Reports but you can still be a Valuation Surveyor and undertake the other disciplines you mention - ie Project Management, Valuation,sales, Lease negotiations, disputes etc. 

I trained as a so called GP Surveyor and think that the RICS made the whole system unnecessarily complex by doing away with this title, however as a Valuation Surveyor I carried on undertaking the broad spectrum of Building Surveys, RICS Home Buyer Reports, Schedules of Condition, Valuations for various purposes including retrospective valuations for Inheritance Tax, Matrimonial Division, Capital Gains Tax, breaches of the Landlord and Tenant Acts in relation to disrepair etc. I also got involved in Boundary Dispute resolution and specialised in Expert Witness work relating to Surveyor Negligence claims. 

If you haven't done so already I suggest that you contact the RICS for further guidance. I retired nearly 9 years ago and the RICS is constantly changing, but I found it a great career and for the latter half of my career I was self employed, working from home (low overheads) and undertaking a wide variety of work. I still think there is a demand for good surveyors with a sound background in Building Pathology who can undertake full Building Surveys without churning out meaningless reports couched in exclusions clauses. Unfortunately too many "surveyors" can't because they lack the grounding, and this is giving the profession a bad name.

Good luck!

I qualified as a chartered building surveyor at the end of last year. I work for a surveying practice who serve mainly public sector clients including housing associations and schools.

We work across a range of core building surveyor competencies including Party Wall Act matters, the design and contract administration of refurbishment projects, and building inspections.

The work is varied and interesting and I would recommend it.  As Trangia has said the role of general practice surveyor is an outdated term however it appears your interest lies in the legal regulatory side of surveyor which is something you could pursue as a building surveyor.

If you would like to talk further about building surveying let me know.  

https://www.rics.org/uk/apc/pathway-guides

Replying to both,

Apologies it took a while to reply, but thanks for your messages, really helpful. 

Paragraph two of Trangia's post is exactly what i want to do.....At uni we are doing a lot of AutoCAD, surveying/measurement/management/procurement and general construction methods, which whilst no doubt useful i have zero interest in getting involved with the design, construction or management of construction projects.

Ive had a look on the RICS website (i am a student member) and they have vacancies for General practice surveyors, they must still use the term? Now i know what im looking for ive found some brilliant looking companies that id be interested in working for, thanks for your help!

Hello again, im just wondering what pathway would best suit my interests?

If for instance i did one of the valuation pathways, could i then not conduct building surveys, home buyer reports and schedules of condition for instance? How flexible is the profession?

Get a job as valuation surveyor, it's good money for basically doing f*ck all.