Eight surveying firms feature in ‘The 2006 Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies To Work For’ list, released earlier this month. Three of the companies, Faithful and Gould, Drivers Jonas and King Sturge are in the top 20.

Rob Tovey, Director of Education and Training at RICS said:
‘Property companies are finally realising that rewarding staff creates a positive working atmosphere boosting productivity and encouraging loyalty. This has been reflected in the increased number of surveying firms that have been included on the Times best company index.’*

A recent report by the Royal Bank of Scotland ranked surveyors as the fourth most-satisfied UK graduate professionals. It seems the lifestyle or work/life balance of the modern surveyor is becoming the envy of his or her lawyer and accountant equivalents.

The increase in job satisfaction, as well as the property boom, has made surveying an attractive option. More students are opting for degrees in surveying and course subscriptions have increased by 61% over the last two years. There are now 399 university courses accredited by RICS around the world.  

MacDonald & Company in with a bullet
RICS' preferred recruitment partners, Macdonald & Company debuted into the Top 100 in 20th place.  MacDonald & Company produce the annual RICS Salary Survey - further details on them as employers can be found in their press release, available to download from this page.

*The number of surveying firms included in ‘The 2006 Sunday Times Top 100 Best Companies To Work for’ has  increased fourfold over two years.

 Types of surveyor:

• Arts & antiques surveyors – responsible for valuing and auctioning valuable works of art.
• Commercial property surveyors – work on property portfolios for multi-national corporations. 
• Construction surveyors, building surveyors & project managers – advise on constructing buildings (ranging from individual buildings to large regeneration projects).
• Dispute resolution surveyor – resolves disputes including arbitration, adjudication and mediation.
• Environmental surveyors – develop and preserve environmental assets and aspects of land and property. 
• Geomatics surveyors – work with the natural, social and economic geography of the natural and built environments. 
• Marine / hydrographic surveyors – map the sea bed to search for oil & gas.
• Minerals and waste surveyors – work in the minerals extractive industries, quarries and the waste/remediation sectors.
• Planning and development surveyors – Engaged in the conception and delivery of development schemes.
• Quantity surveyors – consultant on construction.
• Residential property surveyor – manage, advise and facilitate people buying and selling homes.
• Rural surveyors – concerned with every aspect of rural life from conservation to planning, agriculture and asset management to livestock auctioneers and valuers.
• Valuation surveyors – value property