I am woman and want to become a quantity surveyor. Is this a good idea?

coffeelover19 on 05/03/2020 - 11:41
Last edited 05/03/2020 - 14:55

Dear folks,

As a title said, I am a 27-year-old woman who had a bachelor degree in Accounting and has been working in accounting field for real estate for around 4 years. I feel a bit bored and have started my interest to become a quantity surveyor lately. I have done some research and it seems like I will need to undertake a university degree in Construction Project Management to become a qualified one, which may take another 3-4 years. I don't really mind studying again but just wonder whether the career will be too challenging for women and whether there are another pathway to become a quantity surveyor without the need to taking a university degree.
Any advice will be much appreciated!!!

Education & Work

Comments

  • Taro Milk Tea on 05/03/2020 - 11:43
    +15

    Gender has no factor in determining the success of your decision or not. If you want it, do it, you will be great at it. It's all about self determination.

    • TheBilly on 05/03/2020 - 12:13
      +3

      If you want it, do it, you will be great at it. 

      Very big generalisation.

      I am yet to meet a construction quantity surveyor that is not a borderline spastic. They only understand numbers they get out of a book elsewhere and regurgitate it to their application.

      If you truly want to be a great Quantity Surveyor. Become a builder first and learn how things are built practically and how things actually go together, then become a Quantity Surveyor so you can understand what you are looking at on paper and not just referencing source material.

      The hard part is becoming a successful builder as a women then a successful quantity surveyor after that.

      What is boring you about accounting because being a quantity surveyor is much the same, it's numbers on paper.

      • coffeelover19 on 05/03/2020 - 13:22
        +2

        Thanks a lot for your practical advice.

    • coffeelover19 on 05/03/2020 - 13:22

      Thanks :)

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2020 - 11:44
    +1

    whether the career will be too challenging for women

    That's sexist. :P

    Do it. If you're good, no one cares what you identify as.

  • dasher86 on 05/03/2020 - 11:46
    +1

    Uhh. In this case if a man can do it a woman can also do it.
    You might be able to get credits from your previous degree so time to do a new degree can shorten.

  • GG57 on 05/03/2020 - 11:47
    +1

    Your chosen uni may give credits for achievements in your past degree, which may reduce the duration for the new degree.
    There are also some cadetships available apparently, as you work in the industry and study in parallel.

  • brendanm on 05/03/2020 - 12:03

    Do you have a multiple personality disorder?

  • spoonman169 on 05/03/2020 - 12:05
    -2

    If i ever need one, ill hire the best "person" at a fair price, for the job. If you are good looking then that's a bonus for me.

  • Seraphin7 on 05/03/2020 - 12:05
    +1

    whether the career will be too challenging for women

    What does this mean? That only men should take on "really" challenging careers?

    • coffeelover19 on 05/03/2020 - 13:25

      Hahaha I don't mean that. It sounds pretty unfair right!!

      • Seraphin7 on 05/03/2020 - 13:40
        +1

        Not half as unfair as it would be seen if a bloke said, "I'm concerned about my wife/partner/GF/sister/etc. because I think this career will be too challenging for women".

    • SlavOz on 09/04/2021 - 18:35

      I'm assuming it means that she is concerned about facing unique challenges in the field that men don't have to. This is true for both genders. Ie, nursing is a pretty tough gig but if both a man and a woman signed up then the man would probably find things a little harder than the woman.

      No job is too difficult for anyone but it's all about whether you want to put yourself through extra challenges every day. Being the only woman in an industry dominated by men isn't always fun, just like being the only man in an industry dominated by women.

      You spend most of your life at work so it needs to be socially stimulating. That being said, most people prefer friends of the same gender. So if all your co-workers are the opposite gender you're probably not gonna find much social connection.

  • [Deactivated] on 05/03/2020 - 12:13
    +1

    If most Quantity surveyors are middle-aged alcoholic men it could be challenging in a different kind of way.

  • EightImmortals on 05/03/2020 - 12:24
    +6

    I recommend the book 'Ethel the Aardvark goes quantity surveying'.

  • hasselbladsnapper on 05/03/2020 - 12:25
    +1

    From a user perspective a QS was almost the best part of building a new home!. It was difficult to find a good one, but when we did it saved us heaps with our build. We had quotes of 520K to 1.2 million the QS was 560k. Great to wave the document around during negotiations with builders, helps keep them honest.

    So, QS services are great, and I hope you take that step to become one, in our case he worked from home which could be an additional bonus, plus he had heaps of work from developers!!.

    • netjock on 05/03/2020 - 13:21
      +1

      Could have taken the plans to frame company, electrician, plumber, brick layer, carpenter and added it all up to get the number.

      Builders are also just consolidator of quotes and they never take the risk of making a loss.

  • pegaxs on 05/03/2020 - 12:31
    +1

    What has being a woman got to do with it? Any other irrelevant things you need us to know that won’t have any impact on your ability to do this job? Would just like to know what I’m not going to be looking for.

    In this day and age of “equality” and “wage gap”, I don’t see what your genitals have to with your ability to do almost any job, let alone this one.

    And “quantity supervisor” just sounds like an overly technical name for “stock controller”, like when people tack the word “engineer” onto the end of a mundane job to make it sound more interesting…

  • Fergy1987 on 05/03/2020 - 12:34
    +9

    No, Women are not able to survey things. Its a well known fact proven by gender science.

  • netjock on 05/03/2020 - 13:23
    +1

    If you done you research and the trade off (3-4 years of uni) then jump in. Head first.

  • ihbh on 05/03/2020 - 13:29
    +7

    I am a women

    Irrespective of your gender or career choice, good spelling and grammatical skills will assist.

  • kahn on 05/03/2020 - 14:01
    +7

    I am a women

    I read it in Borat's voice.

  • Iangh on 05/03/2020 - 16:02
    +1

    May be worth doing Master's as you already have Bachelor's, http://www.ricscourses.org/Course/#Establishment=RMIT%20Univ….

    Interviewed a female construction project manager as part of my research. She studied construction at Melbourne, started her career as a Contracts Administrator before being promoted to Project Manager. She admitted that it's unusual for a woman to be in the industry, and she did encounter men (sub-contractors) who initially felt threatened and tried to side-step her, but she thoroughly enjoyed her job and saw it as part of her job to deal with them. A pleasure to interview. I think she was about 28.

    If you don't know any, do a search for some on Linkedin and have a chat.

    • coffeelover19 on 06/03/2020 - 14:09

      Thanks a lot for sharing.

      • Icecold5000 on 07/03/2020 - 10:24

        This is not a registered profession like building surveyor so it doesn’t matter where you get your qualification from. In the UK you can do various distance conversion masters degrees which are recognised for RICS membership which is important for working overseas. UniSA do a online course and you can get into the QS unit in the first semester to test the water. If you are in property already the best bet would be to work for one of the big consultancies as part of their finance team and befriend the building consultancy team. See if you can get an internal transfer and then start studying online.

  • Sarah11 on 05/03/2020 - 23:17
    +1

    Coffeelover19, my university gave me a full academic scholarship to study computer science. They also pay the tuition for women to study a bachelor of construction management. pm me if you want the details.

    • OnTheBargainHunt on 05/04/2021 - 15:44

      @sarah11 I would be interested in such a qualification could you PM me further info please?

  • OzHunterNSW on 06/03/2020 - 09:52
    +1

    You can do whatever you like. Thoughts of it being challenging are normal nerves, at this stage. Once you become comfortable, I'm sure you would find it rewarding.

  • OBEY YOUR MASTERS on 06/03/2020 - 12:04

    It sounds like you're swapping from one rich and rewarding career to another. What is it about being a quantity surveyor that will be more rewarding than accounting? Is it really worth 4 years of no income plus however many thousands in uni fees?

  • PoKGuy on 06/03/2020 - 14:22
    +1

    Hi there,

    The short answer to your question is no, being a female in Quantity Surveying will not be an issue. It's how you apply logic, solve problems and convince others that is the main challenge in your job.

    I recommend visiting the AIQS website (Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors) to understand the pathways available to become a QS.

    Go to industry days at Unis and talk to ppl already in the industry.

    I'd completed the 4 year course you're think of and can thoroughly recommend it. Although as with all degrees, you'll love some subjects and grind through others. The most important thing is to find a job while you're studying.

    I was working from my 2nd year and had 3 years of experience when I graduated.

    Lastly, your experience and knowledge in Accounting (and Finance ?) will always be useful in the corporate world.

    Happy to talk more, just PM me.

    • coffeelover19 on 10/03/2020 - 10:44

      Thanks a lot. This is really helpful and motivating.

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