QS change of career

cman101

Hi all not sure if in the right area,... but the story is im a quantity surveyor with a honours degree and roughly 4 years work experience PQS side. Since the construction industry is on a downturn i feel i need to get out and change my career.

Im currently working for a qs and i know ye will all say im lucky to have a job but i feel like its going no where and need to get out!!

So my question is i want to change but dont want to go back and do 4 years college all over again as im 25 and wouldnt have the money or patience to start again.

Is there a add on course or some way i can change career. I have heard of people changing over to an accountant but i dunno about this.

Any help much appreciated.

sinnerboy

I'm 49 now , Architectural Technician and this is my 3rd recession. I have experienced periods of unemployment and been so busy sometimes I bumped into myself on the stairs. I can't imagine doing anything else though as I do love my work. Don't let the temporary state of the economy cause you to devalue your education and training in your own eyes.

So if you actually like what you do don't change , things will turn around. If you have no real ties or commitments - travel. Take a break. A blank period on your CV for this period will not reflect badly in future years.

No6

Well I'm only 41 and this is my first real recession, the last one dos'nt count as I was still in college, I am an Architetural Technologist too and I love my job but am self employed and after four years of declining work to almost nothing, I am moving to Australia in a few months to become a Building Surveyor (Building Control Officer), I will miss the design side of things but I'll cope. I do have to do a bit more study to become registed over there but I'm getting used to study having spent this year doing a PGDip in Energy Management. While you are still employed do a masters in something that will allow you move sideways to an areas you might be more interested in (and with work in it too!!)

farmerval

I was a Q S too, a late goer to college, I only qualified in 2007 just in time for the bust, got a year and a half experience, but after scratching around for a while I'm now a procurement manager in a transport/logistics company. It's very similar to QS'ing, any of the Tech stuff is a pain, but otherwise it's fine and very much the same as being a QS

SmileyPaul

I believe DIT is starting a part time course in september for architectural technology. I would suggest doing smaller part time courses which will benefit the QS side of things while you still work.

that way you give neither up completely

IrishLad2012

cman101 wrote: »

Hi all not sure if in the right area,...

I must be mad,I have applied to go back an study QS as a mature student.I have done the whole Oz thing and want to go back out as a QS.Do you think there is any future in QS in Ireland?

woody1

sorry to hi-jack thread..kind of..
no6 what did you think of the pgdip in energy management i was going to do it a few years ago but i couldnt afford the fees,
still cant, but im curious as to how you found it, given that you have the same background. arch tech.
where did you do it..
is it relevant to our side of things, do you think theres likely to be any work out of it, did you do it online.(.thru sligo it )how did you find that
back to the point
my first working recession, i was in school for the 80s , i havent worked as a technician for 2 years now, apart from very occasional contract stuff..
i have a part time job which doesnt require any brain power or logical thought / problem solving , just inputting numbers into a machine... its a bit depressing how little im using my brain in comparison to before, which is why the idea of doing some kind of a course has come back to me, but anything decent is so expensive..
id be tempted to do the hibernia college primary teaching thing. except my diploma from bolton street is not a high enough level qualification to get in, id need to get a degree first.. and of course the cost..
sorry thats a bit of a ramble..
in terms of advice , by all means study something if you have an interest in it, your more likely to do well at it, and once your qualified i suppose you always have an option to go abroad,
personally i cant see the construction industry in this country bouncing back for a long time .. so i wouldnt be holding out a lot of hope of getting work here in the short term anyway ..

No6

Hi Woody, its tough going at the moment, exam on saturday, but I have enjoyed it. I did it in one year which makes it cheaper but you do need to have a lot of time to spend at it. I am doing it online from sligo it and it grand, lectures are recorded so if you miss one through work or whatever you can catch up in your own time. It was more to broaden my skillset rather than because it is relevant as an AT, I have been self employed for years and was looking for new areas to work in to generate an income.

woody1

that was why i was looking at it at the time ( broaden skillset, generate income ) as well as thinking it might be somewhat relevant , i did the epa perc test course a few years ago for the same reason,
and it worked well for a good while, even after a lot of the a.t. stuff dried up, but it has pretty much dried up for now as well..
your off to australia now but do you think the energy management would have brought any income in for you ..

No6

I'd say it would have, I was already offered a windfarm fesibility study. I might try and get that done before I go!!:D

Captain Bligh

<SNIP>



Mod edit: You can make your point without the profanities. Warning given.