Rural surveyor Job Information | National Careers Service

Job profiles

Rural surveyor

Hours

Variable
Starting salary

£20,000 + per year

Rural surveyors (also known as agricultural surveyors) manage farms and rural estates. They also value property and assets, advise clients on legal and tax issues, and plan and develop land use. If you've got an analytical mind and project management skills, this job could suit you well.

To be good at this job you should also have IT skills. You would need knowledge of the economics of land management.

You would normally need a degree or professional qualification accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to become a rural surveyor. If your first degree is not in surveying you would need to complete an accredited postgraduate qualification.

The work

As a rural surveyor, your work would involve:

the day-to-day running of the estate
maintaining the accounts
producing financial forecasts
dealing with grant and subsidy applications
negotiating land access, for example with utility or mining and quarrying companies.

You might carry out valuations for clients, covering property, machinery, crops and livestock. Valuations are usually done for sale, insurance, taxation or compensation purposes. You would then arrange auctions of farm property, including the marketing and publicity, and conduct the auction on the day.

In some roles you would create computer maps of the landscape, using geographical information systems (GIS), satellite imaging and precision measuring instruments. Organisations would then use these maps to decide how best to develop the land for other uses, such as leisure, conservation areas, specialised food production or biofuel crops.

Hours

Your core working hours would usually be 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. However, a lot of your time would be spent visiting clients on farms or estates, which could mean early starts and late finishes. Auctions may also take place at weekends to maximise attendance.

You would be expected to travel in this job, as clients may be spread over a wide area.

Income

Graduate salaries can be between £20,000 and £25,000 a year. Experienced rural surveyors can earn between £26,000 and £38,000. Chartered rural surveyors can earn over £40,000 a year.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

Suitable first degrees include:

surveying
business studies
economics
land management
maths.

With a non-accredited degree, you could take an accredited postgraduate qualification in surveying. You could do this through an employer's graduate traineeship, or through full-time study.

You can search for accredited qualifications on the RICS Courses website.

RICS Accredited Courses

You could also qualify as an agricultural surveyor by taking a degree or postgraduate course at one of three colleges recommended by the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV). The colleges are Reading University, The Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester and Harper Adams University College in Shropshire. For more information visit the CAAV website.

Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV)

If you are working in property or construction, you could consider a distance learning postgraduate conversion course with the College of Estate Management (CEM). For more information see the CEM website.

College of Estate Management (CEM)

Experience of working on the land, for example in farming or conservation, could give you an advantage when looking for work. A driving licence could also be useful.

You can find more information about rural surveying as a career, details of degree subjects and course providers on the RICS website.

Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (RICS)

Training and development

You should continue to update your knowledge and skills throughout your career. You would normally do this by working towards chartered status with the RICS or the Chartered Institute of Building's (CIOB) Faculty for Architecture and Surveying.

To qualify for chartered status through the RICS, you must complete the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) while you are working. You need at least two years' experience and you will have to attend an interview with a panel of assessors.

To apply for CIOB chartered status, you would need an accredited honours degree and two years' relevant work experience.

You could consider joining the CAAV, which offers a variety of membership options depending on your level of experience. They also offer examinations covering areas such as agricultural policy and EU regulations, diversification, environmental issues, tenancy law, taxation and dispute resolution. Contact the CAAV for more details.

Skills and knowledge

To be a rural surveyor you should have:

good analytical skills
good IT skills, particularly for mapping projects
the ability to assess the economics of different land uses, crops and animal breeds
excellent communication skills for dealing with people at all levels
a diplomatic approach and good negotiating skills
good project management skills
a good understanding of commercial and environmental issues in the rural economy
a sound knowledge of UK and EU agricultural and land-use regulations.

More information

College of Estate Management (Opens new window)
Whiteknights
Reading
Berkshire
RG6 6AW
Tel: 0800 019 9697
www.cem.ac.uk

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (Opens new window)
Parliament Square
London
SW1P 3AD
Tel: 0207 334 3875
www.rics.org

Asset Skills (Opens new window)
2 The Courtyard
48 New North Road
Exeter
Devon
EX4 4EP
Tel: 01392 423399
Careers Advice: careers@assetskills.org
www.assetskills.org

Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (Opens new window)
Market Chambers
35 Market Place
Coleford
Gloucestershire
GL16 8AA
Tel: 01594 832979
www.caav.org.uk

Opportunities

You could find work with surveying practices, local authorities, conservation bodies, private landowners or farmers.

Diversification is becoming increasingly important in rural areas, and rural surveyors play a crucial role in diversification by advising on the re-development of land for other uses.

With experience, you could specialise in a particular area of rural surveying (such as valuations), or move into senior management positions, partnership in private practice or self-employment as a consultant.

You may find the following sites useful for job vacancies and general reading (links open in a new window):

Job profiles are based on the latest information supplied to us by industry bodies, such as Sector Skills Councils. Please be aware that with the introduction of the Qualifications and Credit Framework there has been, and will continue to be, changes to vocational qualifications. For more information, please check with industry bodies directly.

We do not accept responsibility for the content of external sites.

Related industry information

Industry summary

The property and planning industry is part of the facilities management, housing, cleaning and support services, and parking sector, represented by Asset Skills Sector Skills Council. The sector workforce, which has continued to grow since 1998, represents 3% of the total UK workforce.

The property and planning industry covers both the private and public sectors and includes: acquiring, planning, surveying and valuing of commercial and residential property; plus valuing, selling, letting and managing of commercial and residential property.

Key facts:

The property and planning industry includes key areas of commercial and residential sales and lettings and property management.
There are 155,300 people working in the property industry in 37,200 companies.
There are significantly more full‐time than part‐time employees in the industry.
96% of all housing and property organisations have 10 or less employees.

Jobs in the industry include: estate agent; letting agent; surveyor; town planner; auctioneer; residential property or block manager; domestic energy assessor; and emerging jobs such as commercial energy assessor, housing energy adviser and community energy adviser.

National and regional data

The following provides a breakdown of the number of property sector employees in each of the Nations and English regions.

Region	Number of employees	Regional key characteristics
East Midlands	9,400	Nearly half (46%) of the property sector workforce in the East Midlands is aged over 50. A higher than average proportion is employed on a part‐time basis (43%)
East Of England	13,100	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in the East of England is male (53%) and employed on a full‐ time basis (85%)
London	29,500	London is the largest employer of the property sector in England (19%). A significant proportion of employment is full‐time (81%), and a large proportion of the workforce is black and ethnic minorities (17%)
North East	6,300	The North East employs the smallest proportion of the property sector workforce across the English regions (4%)
North West	14,400	The North West employs 9% of the property sector workforce in England. A significant proportion of the workforce is female (61%)
South East	26,500	After London, the South East region is the second highest employer of the property sector (17%)
South West	15,200	The South West employs a significantly higher proportion of males (51%) compared to the workforce across England. 98% of the workforce is white
West Midlands	15,100	The West Midlands accounts for 10% of the property sector workforce in England.
Yorkshire & The Humber	11,000	Compared with other English regions, a significant proportion of the workforce is female (64%) and the majority is white (98%)
Northern Ireland	*	A significant proportion of the property sector workforce in Northern Ireland is female (66%) and the majority (58%) of the workforce is aged between 20‐29 years
Scotland	9,400	Scotland employs 6% of the total UK property sector workforce. Women make up 60% of employees, 98% of the workforce is white, with the majority employed on a full‐time basis (81%)
Wales	4,600	Wales employs 3% of the total UK property sector workforce. The majority, (60%) of the workforce is female and 99% of the workforce is white. Compared to the UK, high proportions are employed on a part‐time basis (36%)

Source: Annual Population Survey, Housing and Property Labour Market Intelligence Update, Asset Skills, 2008
* Due to a low sample base this figure is excluded.