Surveying employers hire graduates every year, from the large national practices with formal schemes to small local firms that take on one trainee when they have the work. Demand for surveyors is steady, but the best graduate roles still go early and to applicants who have done their homework.
This guide covers graduate schemes and when to apply, why an RICS-accredited degree matters, the routes in if your degree is in another subject, how placements help, and how the APC fits around your first job.
Where graduate surveying roles are
- Surveying and property consultancies. Building surveying, quantity surveying, commercial property, valuation and project management, from national firms to small practices.
- Contractors. Trainee and assistant quantity surveyor roles are especially common, along with site and project roles.
- Public bodies and housing associations. Councils, housing associations and other public bodies hire trainee building surveyors, asset managers and building control surveyors.
- Specialist firms. Rural practices and land agents, geomatics firms, residential surveyors and valuers.
Titles vary: Graduate Surveyor, Trainee Surveyor, Assistant Surveyor and APC Surveyor are all common. Our guide to surveying job titles explains what each one usually means.
Graduate schemes and timing
Larger practices and contractors run formal graduate schemes, usually with a September start. Applications typically open in the autumn of the year before, around September and October, and many close by the end of the year or as soon as they have enough strong applicants. If you are in your final year, start applying early in the autumn term, not after your exams.
Some schemes rotate graduates around several teams before they choose a discipline. Others hire straight into one team. Both can work well: ask how the scheme supports the APC and how you'll get the range of experience your pathway needs.
Smaller firms and public bodies tend to hire when they need someone, at any time of year. A well-written speculative email to a named partner or director, with your CV attached, is worth sending.
Why an RICS-accredited degree matters
An RICS-accredited degree is the most direct route to chartership. With one, you can start the APC's structured training as soon as you begin work, usually a minimum of 24 months (400 days of experience) before your final assessment. Many employers list an accredited degree as essential for graduate roles, especially on formal schemes.
Check the RICS website to confirm your course is accredited, and for which pathways. Accreditation can change, so check the year you started, not just the course name.
If your degree isn't accredited
Plenty of surveyors start with a degree in another subject. The main routes are:
- A conversion master's. An RICS-accredited postgraduate course, usually one year full time or two years part time. Many employers will hire you as a trainee and pay for it while you work.
- A degree apprenticeship. The Chartered Surveyor degree apprenticeship combines paid work with an accredited degree. See our guide to surveying apprenticeships.
- Experience first. With enough relevant experience, RICS has other routes to chartership, such as the preliminary review route, and AssocRICS as a step on the way.
When you apply, say clearly which route you plan to take. Employers are more open to non-accredited graduates who have a plan.
Placements and work experience
Placements make a real difference. A sandwich year or summer placement gives you examples to talk about, references, and often a job offer at the end. Many larger firms run summer placements and use them to fill their graduate schemes, so apply for those in your second year.
If you can't get a formal placement, other experience helps too:
- Shadowing a surveyor for a few days.
- Part-time work at an estate agent, letting agent or property manager.
- Site work with a contractor or builder.
- Admin or technical work in a surveying practice or housing association.
- Going to RICS and university property events, where firms often meet students.
What to put first
Keep your CV to two pages and put the essentials at the top:
- Your degree, whether it is RICS-accredited, your expected or final result, and your dissertation title if it's relevant.
- Placements and work experience, with what you actually did.
- The discipline and APC pathway you're aiming for.
- A full driving licence, which many surveying roles need for site visits.
- Software you've used, such as CAD, measurement or estimating tools.
Our surveyor CV guide and cover letter guide go into more detail.
Interviews and assessment centres
Larger schemes often use online tests, a video interview and an assessment centre with group exercises. Smaller firms usually hold a simple interview. Expect questions on why surveying and why this discipline, a time you worked in a team or met a deadline, and simple technical questions about your course. Read about the firm's recent projects before you go. Our guide to surveying interview questions has more.
Starting the APC
Once you start work, you'll enrol for the APC on a pathway that matches your job, with a supervisor for day-to-day guidance and a counsellor, who must be a chartered surveyor, to oversee your progress. You log your experience and CPD as you go. Start keeping notes on your projects from your first week: it makes the written submission far easier later.
When you're offered a role, ask what APC support is included: counsellors, study groups, mock interviews and whether the firm pays fees. Our guide to the RICS APC explains each stage.
What graduate surveyors earn
Graduate and trainee surveyors typically earn £25,000 to £35,000. Pay rises with experience and especially with chartership: a qualified Surveyor typically earns £31,000 to £46,000. Our surveying salary guide has the figures by level.
Practical next steps
- In your second year, apply for summer placements.
- In your final year, start applying for graduate schemes in September.
- Check your degree's RICS accreditation and pathways.
- Tailor each application to the discipline and the employer.
- Apply widely. Your first role is a starting point, and many surveyors change discipline or employer once they are chartered.
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