Civil engineering technician to quantity surveyor
A civil engineering technician already meets 46% of what the quantity surveyor role asks for. The move turns on 8 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.6/ 100
1 How much of what a quantity surveyor is expected to do is already part of a civil engineering technician’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the quantity surveyor role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A quantity surveyor role treats 11 of its required skills as things a civil engineering technician already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on construction materials
- building codes
- calculate needs for construction supplies
- construction industry
- control of expenses
- cost management
What stands in the way is 8 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 15 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A quantity surveyor role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a civil engineering technician background worth leading with.
- already held monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects information skills
- already held construction industry engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held oversee construction project management skills
- already held urban planning law business, administration and law
- already held quantity surveying engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held building codes engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 15 carried skills, including the 11 the quantity surveyor role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn communicate with construction crews required
- still to learn identify customer objectives required
- still to learn manage contracts required
- still to learn order construction supplies required
- optional, not held advise architects optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held coordinate construction activities optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- still to learn finish project within budget required
- still to learn perform cost accounting activities required
- optional, not held carry out tendering optional
- optional, not held monitor contractor performance optional
- still to learn prepare construction documents required
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held audit contractors optional
- optional, not held estimate profitability optional
- optional, not held monitor construction site optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- still to learn building construction principles required
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
- optional, not held check construction compliance optional
- optional, not held follow the statutory obligations optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a quantity surveyor role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 communicate with construction crews practise this
- 02 identify customer objectives practise this
- 03 building construction principles study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 15 skills that carry over
- already held advise on construction materials skill
- already held building codes knowledge
- already held calculate needs for construction supplies skill
- already held construction industry knowledge
- already held control of expenses skill
- already held cost management knowledge
- already held keep records of work progress skill
- already held manage budgets skill
- already held oversee construction project skill
- already held quantity surveying knowledge
- already held urban planning law knowledge
- already held civil engineering knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with construction project deadline skill
- already held monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects skill
- already held project management knowledge
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held Monte Carlo simulation optional
18 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held Monte Carlo simulation optional
- optional, not held advise architects optional
- optional, not held advise on risk management optional
- optional, not held audit contractors optional
- optional, not held carry out tendering optional
- optional, not held check construction compliance optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held communicate with customers optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held coordinate construction activities optional
- optional, not held estimate profitability optional
- optional, not held follow the statutory obligations optional
- optional, not held liaise with financiers optional
- optional, not held monitor construction site optional
- optional, not held monitor contractor performance optional
- optional, not held provide cost benefit analysis reports optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
48 held skills the quantity surveyor role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role CAD software knowledge
- not needed by the target role address problems critically skill
- not needed by the target role adjust engineering designs skill
- not needed by the target role advise on building matters skill
- not needed by the target role approve engineering design skill
- not needed by the target role assess financial viability skill
- not needed by the target role building information modelling knowledge
- not needed by the target role conduct land surveys skill
- not needed by the target role construction methods knowledge
- not needed by the target role create CAD drawings skill
- not needed by the target role define technical requirements skill
- not needed by the target role design buildings skill
- not needed by the target role design principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role design scale models skill
- not needed by the target role electrical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy efficiency knowledge
- not needed by the target role energy performance of buildings knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with safety legislation skill
- not needed by the target role ensure gambling operational standards skill
- not needed by the target role estimate duration of work skill
- not needed by the target role follow health and safety procedures in construction skill
- not needed by the target role industrial design knowledge
- not needed by the target role inspect construction supplies skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with architects skill
- not needed by the target role manage engineering project skill
- not needed by the target role manage health and safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role manage schedule of tasks skill
- not needed by the target role mathematics knowledge
- not needed by the target role mechanical engineering knowledge
- not needed by the target role obtain relevant licenses skill
- not needed by the target role operate drones in civil engineering skill
- not needed by the target role perform field research skill
- not needed by the target role prevent damage to utility infrastructure skill
- not needed by the target role promote environmental awareness skill
- not needed by the target role renewable energy knowledge
- not needed by the target role set up temporary construction site infrastructure skill
- not needed by the target role technical drawings knowledge
- not needed by the target role traffic engineering knowledge
8 further entries not listed here
6 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn building construction principles required
- optional, not held Monte Carlo simulation optional
- optional, not held civil law optional
- optional, not held contract law optional
- optional, not held quality standards optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
Other moves recorded from civil engineering technician
Common questions about this move
Can a civil engineering technician become a quantity surveyor?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A civil engineering technician already covers 46% of what a quantity surveyor is expected to do: 15 skills carry over, 11 of which the quantity surveyor role treats as required.
What skills does a civil engineering technician need to become a quantity surveyor?
8 required skills are missing, plus 18 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is communicate with construction crews.
How hard is the move from civil engineering technician to quantity surveyor?
Its learning distance is 55.6 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.