Occupation
Quantity surveyor
Quantity surveyors manage the money and contract side of a construction project, from early cost advice through tendering, valuations, variations, and final account. They may act for the client or for the contractor, and the two roles negotiate against each other. The work is contractual and numerical, with regular site measurement and progress assessment.
Also known as: Cost manager · Cost consultant · Commercial manager (construction) · QS
Occupation content
Part of Architecture, construction and infrastructure
What the work involves
- Prepare cost plans and bills of quantities from drawings and specifications.
- Manage the tender process and analyse returned prices against the cost plan.
- Value work completed on site at each interim payment cycle and certify or apply for payment.
- Price and negotiate variations, claims, and changes under the terms of the contract.
- Track committed and forecast cost and report the commercial position on the project.
- Agree the final account with the other party at the end of the works.
How people commonly enter
- An accredited bachelor's degree in quantity surveying or commercial management in construction.
- A degree in another subject topped up with an accredited postgraduate quantity surveying conversion.
- A college diploma or higher apprenticeship route into a trainee or assistant quantity surveyor post.
- Progression from estimating or site engineering with part-time accredited study and professional assessment.
Typical training: Bachelor's degree
Licensing: Certification common, not usually required
Typical work context
Desk based · Client sites · Team based · Hybrid office · High responsibility
Related interests
Conventional (organizing) · Enterprising (leading) · Investigative (analytical)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Architecture, construction and infrastructure.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- UK National Careers Service — Quantity surveyor · United Kingdom
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- O*NET OnLine — Cost Estimators (13-1051.00), closest US classification · United States
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- Canada Job Bank — Occupation search: quantity surveyor · Canada
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Architecture, construction and infrastructure in Canada, not a figure for Quantity surveyor. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Architecture, construction and infrastructure family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Architecture, construction and infrastructure: education pathways
Some roles in Architecture, construction and infrastructure may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Architecture, construction and infrastructure: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)