Career change proves wise move for Northumbria graduate

Peter Lewis ran an international packaging company for 16 years and had been in the trade for 25 years, but signed up to the MSc Surveying and Construction (Building Surveying) programme because he wanted to tackle a new challenge.

The 54-year-old, who graduated with distinction from the distance-learning course, has also been awarded Student of the Year for his efforts.

Peter, who lives near Richmond, North Yorkshire, has now set up Lewis Surveying Associates along with his brother Paul and daughter Jennifer, 27, who is also studying for a degree in Building Surveying at Northumbria University. His youngest daughter, Josie, 23, who graduated from Northumbria University earlier this year with a degree in Graphic Design, also helps out with the family business by designing leaflets and brochures.

Peter said: “I’d always had it in my mind that I would have a change of career. I had got to the point that I needed a new challenge. I’d had 25 great years in the packaging business and decided that I wanted to do something completely different.

“I decided on surveying because I had so enjoyed restoring my own grade-2 listed manor house in North Yorkshire. My brother was already a chartered surveyor so we decided that we would go into business together. I looked around for which courses were available and chose Northumbria because the distance-learning suited me.”

The MSc Surveying and Construction distance-learning programme, run by the School of the Built Environment, is a challenging degree, which helps students to develop analytical problem-solving skills as well as the technical understanding and professional approach required for building surveying. It provides the starting point to a career as a Chartered Surveyor.

Peter said that he found Northumbria’s eLearning Portal – a virtual learning environment that facilitates communication between tutors and students and the delivery of learning resources and materials – helpful and easy to use.

He said: “I very much enjoyed my course. It was exciting to be back in education after 30 years away from examinations. It was demanding but that was part of the challenge.

“The tutors were always there to help, both by email or telephone. I always found that they were contactable, particularly providing great support while I was working on my final work-based project, which is a major component of the course.”

Kevin Thomas, Subject Director of Building Surveying, said: “Peter has performed exceptionally well across the programme and thoroughly deserves to be awarded with a distinction and to receive the accolade of Student of the Year.”