Started with: QCF Level 3 qualification in utility mapping and surveying

Working as: Utilities Surveyor, Catify

How did you get into surveying?

I got into surveying through word of mouth. I would never have known surveying was a thing before I started here, and I also didn’t know how much of a pivotal behind the scenes role surveyors play on massive construction sites across the country. 

I started in 2022 and trained on site for a couple of years with experienced surveyors at Catify. You are only as good as your colleagues on site. After gaining the required experience I went on to take a Level 3 Certificate in utility mapping and surveying. This was training alongside working in my role.  My next step will be to take part in the Level 5 qualification. 

What does a utility surveyor do?

A utility is something like an electricity or gas supply. So as a utilities surveyor, I use lots of different methods and tools to locate underground utilities to prevent strikes. A strike is when someone’s digging, and they hit a utility – so that could be a pipe, for example.

There are around 60,000 strikes each year and that costs the economy 2.5 billion pounds, so it’s important that we try and prevent them!

What does a typical day and week look like for you?

I work in shifts, so I can work both days and nights. On a typical day, I start by meeting a client on-site, discussing what’s been agreed with the project manager and doing a site walk. I’ll then check my method statements, which are detailed documents that cover health and safety. They’re like road maps that guide you through the job, pointing out any hazards.

Next, I check my desktop utility record searches, which show where the utilities are underground, and check any drawings to get an idea of what’s on-site. I’m trying to prove the drawings I’m given are accurate, and looking for any ‘unknowns’ that might be missing from them.

One of the ways we do this is through GPR, or ground penetrating radar. It’s a locating method that sends radio waves through the ground. We want to find utilities like the gas main, but we need to watch out for things like rocks that might get in the way. From that, we get lots of images, and try to match it up to the drawings. Then the client takes our drawings, and digs down to find the fault.

I’m always out and about in my job – there’s no desk work. If we need to look at emails or drawings, we just use our phones.

What’s the best thing about your job?

You get to travel a lot with this job. I’ve been in the valleys, and up to Glasgow; places I wouldn’t have been able to go to otherwise. I’ve seen some really impressive sites – I got to work on HS2, the high speed railway; and Heathrow Airport, working on the runway with planes coming by. It’s stuff you probably wouldn’t see unless you were in this line of work.

What advice do you have for young people who want to do what you do?

You can come into surveying as a trainee. I got this job with no surveying experience. So look out for trainee jobs and apprenticeships. Then, you can do a surveying course once you’re in the job.

When you start, the best thing you can do is ask lots and lots of questions. My colleagues have always loved it when I ask questions – the last thing they want is someone who’s not interested! You have to really learn as you go in this job, and put the work in. If you do that, you’ll find it really rewarding.

Started with: Survey School 2 year course

Working as: Senior Engineering Leader, TfL Land Survey

How did your interest in surveying as a career develop?

This was a happy accident. It was actually my mum who spotted a job advert in the local paper for something called an Assistant Land Surveyor (no experience necessary) – after applying with no knowledge whatsoever I was surprised to find myself in gainful employment alongside a fantastic team, undertaking surveys up and down the country. The balance between site and office suited me well, as did the technical side of the job, and knowing that the surveys I produced were fundamental in the design of a new road or infrastructure project instilled a sense of pride in the work I was doing.

What has your journey been to your current role?

I began my career as an assistant Surveyor at Atkins in Essex, during which time I attended the TSA Survey School, became a Junior Surveyor, and then a Surveyor. I later joined Laing O’Rourke as a Senior Civil Engineering Surveyor, which lead to me becoming lead Surveyor for their newly formed monitoring department, working on some exciting projects including Crossrail (Elizabeth Line) and the Thames Tideway Tunnel. Following this, I joined the Hinkley Point C project as a Principal Surveyor, managing survey works on the construction of two nuclear reactors.

Five years of commuting back and forth between Somerset and London was plenty for me, and after finding an opportunity to join the survey team at Transport for London, I took on a new challenge much closer to home – which brings me to the present day.

What is your role at TfL?

I’m a Senior Engineering Leader in the Land Survey Team at Transport for London. I oversee survey work from conception to delivery for all stages of a project, from the surveys required for improving the network, through to final as built surveys at completion. We do much more besides, but this is a relatively new role, and I am discovering more every day.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your time at The Survey School?

It took a while to realise the purpose of learning how to do all the jobs that we did in our day job, only manually with only a calculator to help with the computations. We’d never have to actually do that in our jobs, of course, but I cannot express how useful it’s been in terms of solving problems in the field, and gaining a deeper understanding of why we do things the way we do them. I was definitely one of those people who’d convinced themselves that maths was a scary subject, and something I just wasn’t good at, but it was incredibly useful to learn the practical applications of these concepts. It’s helped me all through my career.

What is it about your role that you enjoy and value most?

The most rewarding parts of my role has always been the ability to see your input, however small, on much larger projects, although as my career took me towards more supervisory and management roles, I have found a great deal of satisfaction from mentoring and supporting others through their own career journeys. This has “grown legs” over the past few years since taking a more active role in mentorship with the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES), and helping to set up the CICES Approved Development Scheme in TfL.

How would you describe your career in 3 words?

Varied, Rewarding, Worthwhile

How do you encourage others to get involved in the surveying profession?

I am always ready to engage with people new to, or interested in the industry, and have volunteered at several apprenticeship events over the past few years to try and spread the word amongst those who might not have considered surveying before.

What has been your proudest career moment to date?

After winning my award for “Best Assignment” at The Survey School, you mean? I would have to say gaining membership of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors was a career high, among many personal highlights.

Started with: Survey School 2 year course

Working as: Director, MK Surveys

How did your interest in surveying as a career develop?

By pure chance! After the engineering company I was doing an apprenticeship with went into liquidation, I saw an advert in the local newspaper about a Trainee Land Surveyor position. The idea of working outdoors was what appealed to me initially and then, when I started, I enjoyed the variation of the work and being able to travel and see so many different places.

How did your career progress?

I started with MK Surveys as a Trainee Surveyor and completed a year in the field gaining experience before starting on the two year block course at the Survey School. After completing the TSA course, I then went on the do a BSc (Hons) degree in Civil Engineering Surveying at UEL part-time whilst working as a surveyor, undertaking land and building surveys mostly. I then gained CICES membership before moving into a managerial role and a few years later gained RICS membership too before becoming a Director.

What is a key memory from your time spent studying at The Survey School?

Learning the principles of Tachometry and plotting points of detail by hand. Also enjoying social events with like-minded people that I am still in contact with today.

What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your time at The Survey School?

The mathematics that makes sense of the observations.

What is it about your role that you enjoy and value most?

Directing innovation at MK Surveys, travelling to different places and meeting different people, as well as overseeing training and the development of our amazing staff.

How would you describe your career in 3 words?

Interesting, technical, rewarding.

How do you encourage others to get involved in the surveying profession?

Visiting young people in education settings, having a presence at job and career fairs and overseeing work experience placements.

If you could give your younger self career advice now, what would it be?

Network as much as possible, visit trade shows, maintain an awareness of various application areas and relevant technology trends.

What has been your most memorable project to work on?

Completing a high accuracy survey of a race circuit in India. It was extremely challenging for many reasons and quite an adventure!

What has been your proudest career moment to date?

Achieving a first class honours degree in Civil Engineering Surveying whilst studying parttime at UEL