Life After Graduation

Cooper & Hall Quantity Surveyor Bradley Everitt’s journey of professional improvement means blending all he learned at university with hands-on experience

It has been five years since I donned the gown and graduated from Northumbria University. As the saying goes, ‘time flies when you’re quantity surveying’ – and it certainly has for me. 

But the learning doesn’t stop at university. Since graduation I have continued to develop my quantity surveying skills in various forms, helping me push towards gaining professional accreditation through the RICS, which I hope will be soon. 

Day-to-day life as a Consultant Quantity Surveyor has given me the platform to develop many skills I touched on in my course modules at university. These include:

Construction Measurement – I would now say I am a proficient measurer, to both SMM7 and NRM2 methods of measurement. Covering all BCIS elements, I have gained loads of experience, across many varying projects, from arenas to large industrial units. I wish I’d had this wealth of experience when trying to get that 70% course mark in my measurement module!

Contract Practice and Procedure – I have worked on projects using both NEC and JCT standard forms of contracts, which has given me varying experience with issuing notices, dealing with compensation events/variations and submitting applications for payments/

Construction Technology – Working on lots of different projects, I have come across many methods of constructing buildings: from various substructure types to the different frame structures available. Through my regular site visits it has been beneficial to see how buildings are put together. 

These are just three of the many quantity surveying course modules that I continue to develop post-graduation. 

My advice to any aspiring quantity surveyor would be to get into work as soon as possible. The wealth of experience you will gain throughout your working week is invaluable and will help you tenfold with gaining your university degree. I have learnt so much more in my five years post-graduation that I did during my three years full-time at university (and I actually attended most of my lectures!!).

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