Hi all,
First post on here and I am a QS so go easy on me! (Admin feel free to move this message if I have posted it in the wrong area).
I'm a freelance QS and rather disillusioned with my career. I spent the first couple of years of my career working for a main contractor before spending the next 10 working in disputes and claims. The travel got a little bit too much for me and now I'm back working as a QS. I've had some flirtations with analysing EOT claims on Microsoft Project in the past (albeit relatively simple activities). I've also recently had some involvement in EVA in terms of cross-checking actual site progress against the budget/spend profile. Again, as a flirtation and I don't profess to be an expert at all but I did find my brief forways into planning/programming type tasks to be very interesting.
And this got me thinking....
Could planning be a viable sideways career movement?
Can the barriers to entry (cost of planning software, lack of 'at the coal face' experience as a mere QS) be overcome?
Are there any courses which anybody could recommend at least as an introduction to planning / software to see if its something that really is up my street. I've seen quite a few advertised but really unsure which is appropriate.
It would be interesting to hear people's experiences / advice. Thanks in advance.
Not a course, but lots of useful information (free to use), see: https://mosaicprojects.com.au/Planning.html
Hi John,
I think the best advice I could pass on to yourself would be to try and secure a trainee planning position with a company whilst offering some QS skills as an incentive to them. It is important to sit with an experienced planner during the early stages of your career so as to not pick up bad practices.
As a QS have you worked alongside planners? I'm sure that if you have you will already have a headstart over many people hoping to turn to planning already.
Cheers,
David
not sure what a QS is Quantity surveyor ?