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The Past, Present, and Future of Quantity Surveying: Understanding How the World Has Changed
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Where the World Used to Be
In the past, the career path for a Quantity Surveyor, like many other professions, was straightforward and predictable. Here’s how it worked:
- Limited Competition: There wasn’t much competition for jobs. Once you got a job, you could expect to work your way up within the same company.
- Loyalty to One Company: Most people worked for one company throughout their career. They were loyal, and in return, the company took care of them. You received a lot of training, and you weren’t just another number in the system. The company invested in your growth, promising promotions and delivering them.
- Retirement at 60: People would retire around the age of 60, making space for younger employees to be promoted. It was like an elevator—people at the top would leave, allowing others to move up.
- Stability: The working world was stable, and competition was only between humans. There was no software or AI to worry about. If you worked hard and gained experience, you were almost guaranteed to move up the ladder.
Where the World Is Today
Today, the working world has changed drastically. For Quantity Surveyors and other professionals, here’s the reality:
- Increased Competition: The job market is highly competitive. The cost of living has skyrocketed, so many people can’t afford to retire at 60. This means that older employees stay in their jobs longer, blocking promotions for younger employees. It’s like the elevator has stopped in the middle, with no room for anyone to move up.
- Promotion Bottleneck: With older employees staying put, there’s a jam in promotions. Younger workers in their 40s struggle to advance because those above them aren’t leaving, and this affects even the newest employees. Promotions and pay raises are becoming more difficult to achieve.
- Focus on Value: Today, it’s not enough to just be in the job for a long time. You need to develop valuable knowledge and skills. The way to get promoted now is by becoming so good at what you do that your company can’t ignore you. Results and performance are what matter, not just time served.
- Shifting Beliefs: Many people still hold onto old beliefs, thinking that age, experience, and time spent working automatically lead to promotions. But the truth is that in today’s world, results and performance are what get rewarded. You can’t rely on just getting older or having more years of experience to move up. You need to deliver real results.
Where the World Is Going
Looking ahead, the future of work, especially for Quantity Surveyors, is going to be even more challenging:
- Fierce Competition: Competition will only get tougher. You won’t just be competing against other humans—you’ll be up against AI, software, and remote workers from other countries like Asia. The job market will become like a football league where all the lower divisions disappear, leaving only the top league. Everyone will be competing for fewer spots, making it harder to stand out.
- AI and Automation: Already, Quantity Surveying software is being developed to take over more than 70% of the tasks that Quantity Surveyors do today. This means either many QS jobs will disappear, or everyone will need to upskill and retrain. Low-value tasks, like administrative work, will be done by AI, leaving only the high-value, complex tasks for humans.
- Survival of the Fittest: In the future, only the most adaptable and skilled professionals will survive. The COVID-19 pandemic showed us that those who were healthiest and fittest were less affected. The same will happen in careers—those who are on autopilot and not actively improving themselves will struggle.
- Adaptability: As Charles Darwin said, "It is not the strongest nor the most intelligent of species that survives, but the one that is most adaptable to change." The future will be about adapting to the new world, focusing on high-value work, and learning new skills that computers can’t easily take over.
- No Shortcuts: Social media has created the illusion that success comes quickly and easily, but this is far from the truth. The people who are really succeeding have been working hard for years, even if it looks like they’ve achieved everything overnight. There are no shortcuts—real success requires time, effort, and dedication.
- Entitlement vs. Ambition: The younger generation often expects things to be handed to them, a mindset influenced by social media. But there’s a big difference between entitlement and ambition. Entitlement is waiting for someone else to close the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Ambition is working hard yourself to close that gap.
- Taking Responsibility: The working world is no longer like school or university, where information is handed to you. In your career, no one is going to tell you what to do or what skills to learn. You have to take responsibility for your own growth and development.
- Becoming Valuable: To thrive in the future, you need to focus on becoming so valuable that your company can’t ignore you. This means continually learning, adapting, and improving your skills.
Conclusion
The world of Quantity Surveying has changed a lot, and it will continue to change. In the past, loyalty, experience, and time on the job were enough to get promotions and pay raises. Today, and in the future, what matters most are your skills, performance, and the value you bring to your company. By understanding these changes and adapting to them, you can ensure that you’re not left behind in the new world of work.
……….
The next question is…
How can you control your career, manage projects efficiently, and become a highly valuable Quantity Surveyor?
This is where Construction Mastery becomes your ultimate solution
Construction Mastery is a digital tool for forward thinking Quantity Surveyors!
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Project Management
Run projects faster and smarter all in one centralised location
Productivity Management
Streamline your workflow and double your performance
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