Introducing our new blogger

10th April 2006

I have been working for Carillion (formerly for Mowlem) for almost two years and am in the final run of a two year part time MSc Quantity Surveying course at London South Bank University.

Although at 18 it did not really cross my mind to be a quantity surveyor, looking back I am not too surprised at how things have panned out in the last two years. I graduated from the London School of Economics in 2003 with a BA History degree. I did not have a specific end job in mind and purely chose to study history because it is such an interesting subject and I feel it has equipped me with many fundamental skills, especially research and analysis of information and formulating your own opinion in writing. I do find that when I tell people I have a degree in history they often respond with 'I wish I had studied that' because it is a subject that many people enjoy. It certainly made coursework easier because I could pick up a book and read it from cover to cover because it is so intriguing.

When I finished the degree I started working with my father, who is a building surveyor. When I was growing up my father would often take me and my brother to his work and show us the projects he had worked on. So I grew up knowing what the building process was about and appreciating the process behind buildings, whether it be a simple office block or something spectacular like the Emirates Stadium (yes, a Gooner I'm afraid!)

I remember being taken along to see a tower block getting demolished and coming back a few years later to see its replacement. So when I started working with my father I sort of knew what to expect but it surprised me how much I actually enjoyed it. I would visit sites with him, climb the high scaffold and go down into damp basements and take notes and write up the reports at the end of the day. It is this mixture of site life and the office environment that I like best about the job.

When I went for interviews I was aware that in some cases the non-cognate route was treated with some scepticism. A particular interviewer asked me if their company would be treated as a ‘testing ground'. There is no response that you can really give to that - surely it must be the same for everyone going for a new job or new company, you can't tell until you have been there for a while.

But I have found, in general, that my non-cognate background has been viewed as a positive. Going into interviews I didn't have to 'apologise' for my non-cognate degree, I was able to explain how it had benefited me and equipped me with useful skills. And studying part time shows employees that you are serious about the profession. You don't undertake a two year course lightly, after all the years of various study already put in. Certainly, on my course, all the people are dedicated and put the hours in. After all we have chosen this career and have made that decision and are committed.

It is hard, working four days a week at uni from 9 until 7 one day a week and fitting in coursework and revision, and I am undertaking my APC diary at the same time. But, saying that, the course has flown by. My university day is my favourite day of the week and there will definitely be tears shed when the course ends in the summer. Although I say it will be finished, there is still the small matter of a dissertation to complete.

So if I am asked if I am happy with my choice of career I can honestly say yes. As for the future, I am just really taking it a week/month at a time at the moment. My short term goals are obviously to successfully attain my Masters degree and to be become a chartered surveyor. All that will be achieved (fingers crossed) in 2007. Not bad for three years work!