Quantity surveyor to building inspector
A quantity surveyor already meets 19% of what the building inspector role asks for. The move turns on 14 required skills not yet in the profile.
76.9/ 100
1 How much of what a building inspector is expected to do is already part of a quantity surveyor’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 building inspector role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A building inspector role treats 4 of its required skills as things a quantity surveyor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- building codes
- check construction compliance
- civil engineering
- urban planning law
What stands in the way is 14 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 6 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A building inspector role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a quantity surveyor background worth leading with.
- already held monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects information skills
- already held check construction compliance assisting and caring
- already held urban planning law business, administration and law
- already held advise architects communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held building codes engineering, manufacturing and construction
- already held civil engineering engineering, manufacturing and construction
All 6 carried skills, including the 4 the building inspector role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 30 missing skills fall into 6 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 green building practices required
- still to learn construction methods required
- still to learn energy conservation required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- optional, not held surveying methods optional
- optional, not held topography optional
- optional, not held building materials industry optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held energy performance of buildings optional
- optional, not held surveying optional
- still to learn communicate problems to senior colleagues required
- still to learn liaise with local authorities required
- still to learn write inspection reports required
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held inform on workplace safety standards optional
- optional, not held negotiate with stakeholders optional
- still to learn architecture regulations required
- still to learn construction legal systems required
- still to learn quality assurance procedures required
- still to learn inspect building systems required
- still to learn read standard blueprints required
- optional, not held issue permits optional
- optional, not held conduct land surveys optional
- optional, not held perform field research optional
- optional, not held manage construction archive optional
- optional, not held review construction projects optional
- still to learn manage health and safety standards required
- still to learn use safety equipment in construction required
- optional, not held conduct fire safety inspections optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a building inspector role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 architecture regulations study this
- 02 green building practices study this
- 03 communicate problems to senior colleagues practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 6 skills that carry over
- already held building codes knowledge
- already held check construction compliance skill
- already held civil engineering knowledge
- already held urban planning law knowledge
- already held advise architects skill
- already held monitor parameters' compliance in construction projects skill
16 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held issue permits optional
- optional, not held conduct land surveys optional
- optional, not held perform field research optional
- optional, not held surveying methods optional
- optional, not held topography optional
- optional, not held building materials industry optional
- optional, not held conduct fire safety inspections optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held energy performance of buildings optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
- optional, not held inform on workplace safety standards optional
- optional, not held manage construction archive optional
- optional, not held negotiate with stakeholders optional
- optional, not held review construction projects optional
- optional, not held surveying optional
35 held skills the building inspector role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role Monte Carlo simulation knowledge
- not needed by the target role advise on construction materials skill
- not needed by the target role advise on risk management skill
- not needed by the target role audit contractors skill
- not needed by the target role building construction principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role calculate needs for construction supplies skill
- not needed by the target role carry out tendering skill
- not needed by the target role civil law knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with construction crews skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with customers skill
- not needed by the target role construction industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role contract law knowledge
- not needed by the target role control of expenses skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate construction activities skill
- not needed by the target role cost management knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure compliance with construction project deadline skill
- not needed by the target role estimate profitability skill
- not needed by the target role finish project within budget skill
- not needed by the target role follow the statutory obligations skill
- not needed by the target role identify customer objectives skill
- not needed by the target role keep records of work progress skill
- not needed by the target role liaise with financiers skill
- not needed by the target role manage budgets skill
- not needed by the target role manage contracts skill
- not needed by the target role monitor construction site skill
- not needed by the target role monitor contractor performance skill
- not needed by the target role order construction supplies skill
- not needed by the target role oversee construction project skill
- not needed by the target role perform cost accounting activities skill
- not needed by the target role prepare construction documents skill
- not needed by the target role project management knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide cost benefit analysis reports skill
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role quantity surveying knowledge
- not needed by the target role real estate market knowledge
14 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 architecture regulations required
- still to learn green building practices required
- still to learn construction legal systems required
- still to learn construction methods required
- still to learn energy conservation required
- still to learn engineering principles required
- still to learn quality assurance procedures required
- optional, not held surveying methods optional
- optional, not held topography optional
- optional, not held building materials industry optional
- optional, not held electricity optional
- optional, not held energy performance of buildings optional
- optional, not held fire safety regulations optional
- optional, not held surveying optional
Other moves recorded from quantity surveyor
- construction general contractor 57% covered · moderate
- construction manager 43% covered · substantial
- property developer 33% covered · substantial
- installation engineer 25% covered · substantial
- contract engineer 25% covered · substantial
- construction general supervisor 24% covered · career change
- cost analyst 24% covered · substantial
- civil engineering technician 22% covered · career change
Common questions about this move
Can a quantity surveyor become a building inspector?
Yes, and it is a career change move. A quantity surveyor already covers 19% of what a building inspector is expected to do: 6 skills carry over, 4 of which the building inspector role treats as required.
What skills does a quantity surveyor need to become a building inspector?
14 required skills are missing, plus 16 optional ones. They fall into 6 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is architecture regulations.
How hard is the move from quantity surveyor to building inspector?
Its learning distance is 76.9 out of 100, which is the career change 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.