Raj joined Balfour Beatty in 2003 as Assistant Quantity Surveyor. At 28, he was one of the older students to join its Graduate Commercial Management Training Programme, and one of several without a construction-related degree.
Today, Raj is one of four Quantity Surveyors working on a £10 million Dining Block redevelopment in Birmingham. Ask him what a typical day is like and he’ll tell you there’s no such thing. Raj is just as likely to be checking valuations; negotiating and placing orders with new subcontractors; internal cost reporting and forecasting; determining cost/time implications of client variations; raising payments and legal notices; or poring over construction drawings, measuring quantities.
Thankfully, Balfour Beatty has a genuine commitment to training, both on the job and on company-sponsored internal and external courses. Last June, Raj successfully completed a company-sponsored NVQ Level 3 in Construction Contracting (Surveying). The following September, he started a two-and-a-half year part-time day release MSc in Quantity Surveying at London South Bank University, again sponsored by the company.
Everyone knows that the construction industry pays good salaries and benefits, but that the hours are long. As a Quantity Surveyor, you can also look forward to varying workloads; responsibility for your own subcontractors; and the satisfaction that comes from working as part of a team.
For Raj, an added bonus is that everyone at Balfour Beatty is so down to earth. “Whenever Directors visit, they always take the time to talk to the junior staff to see how we’re getting on and to ask if we’re having any problems.”
Raj’s advice to non-construction graduates considering entering the industry is simple: “Go for it. You can look forward to a challenging, but extremely rewarding career”.