Whether you’re already working in the surveying industry and you want to take the next step up in your journey to becoming a chartered surveyor, or you’re looking to make a career change and enter the profession, a surveying conversion course could be the perfect route to take.
What Is A Conversion Course?
Conversion courses are postgraduate programmes that allow you to pursue a career that your undergraduate degree or previous work experience may not have prepared you for. They are also a helpful route if you’re already working in the surveying industry — for example as a trainee quantity, building or real estate surveyor — but you don’t have the formal educational background that’s needed to back-up your on-the-job knowledge. As many employers in the UK expect candidates to hold a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited degree, undertaking an affiliated postgraduate conversion course (or an equivalent qualification) is a helpful next step in your career, no matter your background.
Here are three reasons why our Surveying MSc conversion course will teach you all you need to succeed in surveying:
1) You’ll Have The Freedom To Choose Your Specialist Route
Here at Northumbria, we offer our students the option of three pathways - Quantity, Building or Real Estate Surveying. Whatever journey you choose, you’ll begin the course by studying three core modules that have been designed to give you an in depth knowledge of the key concepts and frameworks every surveyor needs to succeed - Economics and the Business Environment, Law and Professional Practice and Sustainable Construction Technology.
After this, you’ll go on to develop your specialist knowledge:
With the Real Estate pathway, you’ll focus on property development, commercial property management and more.
With the Quantity Surveying pathway, you’ll develop your practical understanding and gain exposure to every element of the profession - from writing specifications to tendering, managing contracts and the procurement process, construction law and dispute resolution.
Students on our Building Surveying pathway will specialise in the design, development, repair and maintenance of buildings — honing their ability to diagnose defects, refurbish existing buildings, manage facilities and more.
No matter which path you choose, you’ll develop the hard-skills needed to progress on the career journey which plays to your passions and strengths. Find out more about what roles could be open to you upon graduation from the course here.
2) You’ll Fast Track Towards Chartered Surveyor Status
Becoming a chartered surveyor demonstrates to your colleagues, clients and prospective employees that you work to the highest industry standards. It could also pave the way to an increased salary, with qualified professionals earning a base salary that is 21% higher than their unqualified counterparts. All of our Surveying conversion pathways are accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the professional body that awards chartered surveyor status. To become chartered, you must complete the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) and, if you’re new to surveying or have less than five years’ experience within it, having a RICS accredited degree could fast-track your journey considerably.
3) You’ll Develop The CV-Friendly Soft Skills You Need To Help You Outperform Your Competitors
Soft skills — such as communication, teamwork and decision making — are more in demand by major employers than ever before, with 57 percent of senior leaders agreeing that they’re more important than hard skills. When it comes to taking the next step up or kick-starting your career, being able to demonstrate excellent soft skills can help to differentiate you from the competition during interview. Over the duration of your Surveying MSc, you’ll harness industry specific vocabulary and wider communication skills. You’ll benefit from the unique experience of being able to share your knowledge and experiences with fellow students all over the world too. You’ll learn all you need to operate as a decisive leader and prove to yourself —and to future employers — that you have the ability to manage your time effectively and the self-motivation to achieve your goals. Discover more about the soft skills you’ll learn on the course.
Our Surveying MSc conversion pathways are taught online and part-time, meaning that you can retrain without causing any disruption to your current commitments. Developed and delivered by tutors from our Department of Architecture and Built Environment (ranked in top 10 in Building and Town Planning Guardian 2021 rankings), they have been designed in conjunction with industry, professional institutions and research networks to ensure that they are highly relevant.
