Quantity Surveyor Wage

hblock21

Not sure if I'm in the correct thread or even if boards allows this question!

I'm a quantity Surveyor, working full-time for the past 3.5 years in a PQS office. I work in a very small practice (but very very busy, loads of work), just the boss and myself. The problem is I have no idea how much I should be earning (actually I've never really known from the beginning). The firm is based in the Midlands.

If there are any QS's out there can you please give me an idea what you think I should be earning. You can pm me if you don't want it public.

The reason I'm asking is I'm becoming very agitated and feel like it's time to move on but I also what to know has the boss been taking the piss out of me regards money these last 3.5 years.

I'm on € 27,560 gross.

Thanks

sinnerboy

€25k would be a graduate salary . If you are 3.5 years on from graduate then maybe €30 k .

However ....

In this climate if you are earning constantly you really are not doing so bad . Perhaps you need to move on for other reasons .

kkelliher

As a quantity surveyor with over 12 years experience running my own company I would advise you to stay where you are and be happy with your lot. There is little or no work in Ireland for quanity surveyors at present and if you leave you will more than likly have to emigrate.

about 5 years ago someone in your position would have been looking for 35-40k and more as there was a sever shortage in QS's but today there is simply no work so 27k is better that 10k on the dole.

You could always have a chat with your employer and you might be suprised if your worth it to him you might be able to arrange some sort of solution

Tefral

Id stay where you are!!

Theres no work about for people to get into companies, they are making do with what they have.

Im a QS with a fairly large Firm, I started off out of college 3 years ago with more than you are on now..

Im working a three day week so earning considerably less now..

To put things into perspective, only 1 of my mates who i went to college with is in full time employment in QS'ing in Ireland, The rest are on 3 day weeks or out of the country.

hblock21

Thanks for the response so far.

I'd just like to say first that there are other factors that are making be think about moving, not just the money. I just wanted to get peoples opinions on if they thought I was 5k, 10k below what I should be getting after 3.5 years.

I plan to say something to the boss because we're busier now than 3 years ago (I know, we buckle the trend!), I see invoices going out every month with many zeros and I just feel like he's taking the biscuit with what I'm being paid.

(I don't plan on looking for another qs job in Ireland, if I do take the step, I'm looking abroad)

sinnerboy

hblock21 wrote: »

(other factors that are making be think about moving, not just the money. ..... I don't plan on looking for another qs job in Ireland, if I do take the step, I'm looking abroad)

If you are young and restless just leave on good terms . Go to Oz or Canada and have a blast . But make sure you burn no bridges .

If you squeeze more €€€ now and leave in 6 months ....not good .

archtech

hblock21 wrote: »

TI plan to say something to the boss because we're busier now than 3 years ago (I know, we buckle the trend!), I see invoices going out every month with many zeros and I just feel like he's taking the biscuit with what I'm being paid.

Never mind the invoices, its the cheques that arrive in the door that really matter and pay the bills (and your wages).How many of the invoices are paid in full each month, how many partially paid and how many not at all paid.

There's many a QS or other construction professional who would gladly take 27,500 a year at the moment with 10/15/20 years experience.

hblock21

sinnerboy wrote: »

If you are young and restless just leave on good terms . Go to Oz or Canada and have a blast . But make sure you burn no bridges .

If you squeeze more €€€ now and leave in 6 months ....not good .

Yes I'm young but I'm not the person to squander money down in Oz !

Very good advice about looking for more money and then leaving in 6 months, I'll take that on board. I definitely would not like to leave on bad terms.

Mellor

hblock21 wrote: »

Yes I'm young but I'm not the person to squander money down in Oz !

One man's squander...

brendansmith

I started off on 25K in 2005 and did 2 years in Ireland after which I was on 32/33K

I then left for OZ and I am now in NZ, I would be delighted to come home and work for 20K give how fukked the situation is there.
Stay where you are and get the experience I would say, its not all about the money. Give it another year and see how you are feeling then.

As someone else said, invoices are all well and good but there are alot of cnuts in the construction industry who dont pay.

Mickeyie05

hey just to butt in this conversation... i started with a qs firm over here in london...in the interview i was asked how much would i be looking for.. i said around 25-26k...i got given 20k....... im working with the firm since late august and considering asking for an increase to what i orginially asked for.... what should a graduate qs start on???.... I work for a contractor by the way

SteakandKidney

Wages in London are not the best compared to what they were like in Ireland back 4-5 years ago. The one thing I would say is I know trainees who are on between 18-21K depending on their level of college work done. 20K seems a little small considering you are qualified but I would not be expecting any more than maybe 23K. If I were you I would stick out with the firm for at least a year, it always looks better when trying to get another position. What type of construction do the firm mostly do?

Mickeyie05

we are a main contractor in top 50 in the uk

Mellor

You aren't going to get a raise.
Had you of said 30, they would of given you maybe 22/23k

Basically, the person being hired will (or should) say the top of his range if given the option.
The employer will pay them less than their top end price. It's just the current market.

If I was in ireland now, i'd prob be paid less than my graduate salary. Which was good as graduates go, but its depressing all the same.
when i return the current weak euro will makes my australian salary very high, which is probably a good thing in terms of future jobs..

fat__tony

It's the not the worst wage to be honest considering the current grim state of the construction industry in Ireland.

If you feel you need to move on ,then overseas is your only option. I'd highly recommend Canada, the industry here is fairly buoyant.

Mickeyie05

I was considering asking after 8mths working tere or would that be too soon?? also how often should you normally get a salary review any way??

Mellor

In the good times, every 6 months or 12 months. But that's not going to happen now.

By all means ask if you think it won't offend or cause problems, you might get it, but don't expect it.

Mickeyie05

I think i will ask in april after i have been tere 8 months... my arguement would be that i asked for 26k in the interview and id expect thats as half my monthly pay is gone after rent and travel. Id also say i have been offered three jobs since commencing one them being with a global company and that i have stayed loyal to them and i expect the loyalty back plus they work the bollox off me too as my project manager has said to me ive been severely thrown in the deep end but so im not failing. Another point is that i am commencing my chartership in may and im paying for that out of my own pocket.

imitation

I think early on, your most valuable earning will be the experience, most employers stick 5 years on to there job advertisements. 8 months in is an odd time to ask, is there a review around this point ? Most employers wouldn't consider a year a very long time for somebody working for them.

Mickeyie05

What do you mean stick 5years on the advertisement? There is no set time for your annual review so if you don't ask they won't come looking to give you one. WHAT would your advise be

Mellor

Yo seem to be under the impression that you are entitled to a raise.
Foolish if so, imo

Mickeyie05

No Im not saying that at all I'm saying its not financially viable to live on that in London.

imitation

Mickeyie05 wrote: »

What do you mean stick 5years on the advertisement? There is no set time for your annual review so if you don't ask they won't come looking to give you one. WHAT would your advise be

What I mean by 5 years experience is, if you go look up job positions you can almost always see "5 years experience" tacked on as a requirement. Experience will be your most valuable earning for the first few years.

Reviews wise, its possible not to get a date fixed in stone for the next review (Dependent on the employer really I guess). I would consider myself 8 months a kind of odd time, unless theres a specific reason such as contract etc.

If I was in that situation I would probably keep going to the year mark and carefully ask for the possibilities of a raise, if everything else about the work and work environment was ok.

Mellor

It's more viable than the dole, I live in an expensive city too, while I'd like more money, I prob need more money, I am aware how much worse off I could be

gtrizy

Anyone like to update the graduate wages in the current market?

I'm in my third year and plan on doing the fourth to get a level 8 so I can eventually become chartered, so how are things looking for graduates now?

kkelliher

your chances of getting a job have much improved but wages are flat and will be 20-30k at best starting. get as much experience as you can early on.

Gumbo

kkelliher wrote: »

your chances of getting a job have much improved but wages are flat and will be 20-30k at best starting. get as much experience as you can early on.

And get the level 8. You will be thankful in later life

Tefral

gtrizy wrote: »

Anyone like to update the graduate wages in the current market?

I'm in my third year and plan on doing the fourth to get a level 8 so I can eventually become chartered, so how are things looking for graduates now?

Get yourself s LinkedIn profile if you haven't got one. I'm not a grad but I'm getting pestered by recruiters on there for jobs in Dublin.

Gumbo

cronin_j wrote: »

Get yourself s LinkedIn profile if you haven't got one. I'm not a grad but I'm getting pestered by recruiters on there for jobs in Dublin.

As soon as I updated my LinkedIn profile to my current job, I've been getting the same. But for the UK. Building control in the UK seems to be on a massive recruitment drive.

Tefral

kceire wrote: »

As soon as I updated my LinkedIn profile to my current job, I've been getting the same. But for the UK. Building control in the UK seems to be on a massive recruitment drive.

I'm getting the same for London. I was a QS there's for a bit and they are sending me stuff the whole time. Salary seems to be good. Wouldn't go back though unless I had to

IrishLad2012

gtrizy wrote: »

Anyone like to update the graduate wages in the current market?

I'm in my third year and plan on doing the fourth to get a level 8 so I can eventually become chartered, so how are things looking for graduates now?

I know lads who graduated last May. Just give you a rough idea of what they started on.

1)Dublin wage is €30k a year,top 5 contractor
2)Galway wage is €28k a year,top 5 contractor
3)London wage is £30k a year

This is what the 3 lads I know are getting now, they all went different routes.Sisk does a graduate program in the UK and the starting wage is £30k sterling.

kkelliher

IrishLad2012 wrote: »

I know lads who graduated last May. Just give you a rough idea of what they started on.

1)Dublin wage is €30k a year,top 5 contractor
2)Galway wage is €28k a year,top 5 contractor
3)London wage is £30k a year

This is what the 3 lads I know are getting now, they all went different routes.Sisk does a graduate program in the UK and the starting wage is £30k sterling.

These are pretty good starting points given €45k appears to be the salary on offer to most intermediate and senior surveyors in the market at present with very few positions on offer in excess of this.

gtrizy

IrishLad2012 wrote: »

I know lads who graduated last May. Just give you a rough idea of what they started on.

1)Dublin wage is €30k a year,top 5 contractor
2)Galway wage is €28k a year,top 5 contractor
3)London wage is £30k a year

This is what the 3 lads I know are getting now, they all went different routes.Sisk does a graduate program in the UK and the starting wage is £30k sterling.

Forgive my lack of knowledge on taxes but are those figures before or after tax? If before tax, how much will be left after the deduction?

IrishLad2012

gtrizy wrote: »

Forgive my lack of knowledge on taxes but are those figures before or after tax? If before tax, how much will be left after the deduction?

That is before tax, not sure what they would end up with after tax.

IrishLad2012

kkelliher wrote: »

These are pretty good starting points given €45k appears to be the salary on offer to most intermediate and senior surveyors in the market at present with very few positions on offer in excess of this.

Yes the wages for graduates is improving, at the moment there is a serious shortage of QS's studying. I have seen a few senior positions advertised for €50-€60k. The next thing that will have to improve is the rates

galwaytt

gtrizy wrote: »

Forgive my lack of knowledge on taxes but are those figures before or after tax? If before tax, how much will be left after the deduction?

That's down to your personal tax circumstances, but if you want a rule of thumb, you lose about 30% of gross salary in taxes.

kkelliher

IrishLad2012 wrote: »

Yes the wages for graduates is improving, at the moment there is a serious shortage of QS's studying. I have seen a few senior positions advertised for €50-€60k. The next thing that will have to improve is the rates

good owl advertising...........

kieran.

gtrizy wrote: »

Forgive my lack of knowledge on taxes but are those figures before or after tax? If before tax, how much will be left after the deduction?

Approx €2,100 net per month !

Golf4GolfGti

Bump!

How are graduate salaries looking today for QS's? Also can anyone clarify the difference between a graduate QS role and a Junior QS role and the differences in salary expectations today. I have seen these roles advertised interchangeably and with matching job descriptions. Attending the Grads summer fair in RDS. What other industries can a graduate QS typically apply for?

Thanks in advance.

IrishLad2012

Golf4GolfGti wrote: »

Bump!

How are graduate salaries looking today for QS's? Also can anyone clarify the difference between a graduate QS role and a Junior QS role and the differences in salary expectations today. I have seen these roles advertised interchangeably and with matching job descriptions. Attending the Grads summer fair in RDS. What other industries can a graduate QS typically apply for?

Thanks in advance.

Its all depends on a few things, firstly from PQS's are getting paid better this year. You can expect to get between €28-30k, a contractors QS is more likely to get between €26-28k. It should probably be more than this but this is what I have being seeing the last few weeks.

Very little difference between a Graduate and Junior, a Graduate is usually someone straight out of college where as a for the first 2 year of your career you would be considered a Junior QS.

Tefral

IrishLad2012 wrote: »

Its all depends on a few things, firstly from PQS's are getting paid better this year. You can expect to get between €28-30k, a contractors QS is more likely to get between €26-28k. It should probably be more than this but this is what I have being seeing the last few weeks.

Very little difference between a Graduate and Junior, a Graduate is usually someone straight out of college where as a for the first 2 year of your career you would be considered a Junior QS.

I would say its the exact opposite. You're far more likely to get a higher wage from a contractor than a PQS office. The Fees still arent there for PQS offices yet. There appears to be a chronic shortage of Mech, Elec surveyors and also lads with 5-10 years experience. So if you are in the bracket expect more.

briman1983

Just giving this tread a bump...

Whats everyone making

Grads, Junior's, anyone who gained jobs 3 years ago care to give feedback on where they are at now.

jonerkinsella

I'm considering doing the QS degree in WIT this year .

I have asked people I know related to the construction industry and I have been told that QS' are very hard to get at the mo .

Hows the wages at this time for a graduate ?

Thanks for your time .

Dudda

jonerkinsella wrote: »

I'm considering doing the QS degree in WIT this year .

I have asked people I know related to the construction industry and I have been told that QS' are very hard to get at the mo .

Hows the wages at this time for a graduate ?

Thanks for your time .

If you plan on studying something I'd be thinking far more about the course, career and long term rather than what I'll make the first year out of college. Things could be vastly different by the time you graduate so you have to ask questions about the career and if it's for you regardless of the money.

jonerkinsella

Dudda wrote: »

If you plan on studying something I'd be thinking far more about the course, career and long term rather than what I'll make the first year out of college. Things could be vastly different by the time you graduate so you have to ask questions about the career and if it's for you regardless of the money.

I did .
I am asking what the wage expectations are .

gtrizy

jonerkinsella wrote: »

I'm considering doing the QS degree in WIT this year .

I have asked people I know related to the construction industry and I have been told that QS' are very hard to get at the mo .

Hows the wages at this time for a graduate ?

Thanks for your time .

Average starting off about 26-28k throughout the country. 30-32k in Dublin if you're lucky.

Tefral

Most QS' start off at 25k now, after a year of good work under your belt you'll jump to 30k.

Average around the country is €50k in dublin you can add €10k for senior level (8-10+ years)

kkelliher

I'd strongly advise anyone going down this route to look at the part time option in DIT or elsewhere. More and more clients and QS practices need QS's ready to go with the qualifications and experience. Doing a course part time gives you a lot of experience whilst also getting the qualification. It is a hard slog but its worthwhile and you will come out the other end in a far greater place than those straight out of the full time course. It also gets you in the door of a workplace today and earning as who knows what way the industry will be in 3-5 years. You could very easily come out of college in 4 years time in a recession or at least very close to the next one.

Tefral

kkelliher wrote: »

I'd strongly advise anyone going down this route to look at the part time option in DIT or elsewhere. More and more clients and QS practices need QS's ready to go with the qualifications and experience. Doing a course part time gives you a lot of experience whilst also getting the qualification. It is a hard slog but its worthwhile and you will come out the other end in a far greater place than those straight out of the full time course. It also gets you in the door of a workplace today and earning as who knows what way the industry will be in 3-5 years. You could very easily come out of college in 4 years time in a recession or at least very close to the next one.

Might I even go one further and say, get in with a Mechanical or Electrical company and then do this course. M&E QS's get much more and there are so few of us you make yourself more recession proof.

Kevhog1988

Qs wage seem to be rising massively in the past few months?

BryanF

theemigrant wrote: »

Qs wage seem to be rising massively in the past few months?

What is this question based on?