Chartered Surveyors’ salaries now measure up favourably to those of accountants and architects, thanks to their RICS status and the increasing credibility of the profession.
For many people, salary is still one of the most important aspects of their job and any insight into current market trends is very welcome.
The 4 841 respondents to the 2007 RICS and Macdonald & Company salary survey – the largest of its kind — have given us such an insight, and some interesting, surprising and generally positive conclusions can be drawn from their comments on pay, benefits, bonuses and overall satisfaction.
In a nutshell, salaries have increased again this year – by an average of 2.3% since 2006 — to £45 856, excluding bonuses and other benefits.
While this doesn’t top last year’s huge 10.9% increase on the previous year (when average earnings were £40 425), some 77% of respondents this year reported a salary increase (with just 1% reporting a salary reduction).
The average increase in participants’ salaries is 6.6%, which is, as Charlie Holroyde of Macdonald & Company points out, above the national average and the line of inflation.
“This year’s survey has shown the highest recorded average salary increase across the board since the survey started some nine years ago,” confirms Holroyde.
“This is a far more relevant figure than average salary as it indicates a generic trend rather than merely reflecting the level of the various respondents who have completed the survey this year.”
The apparent depression of the growth rate may be attributed to the slightly younger mean age of this year’s participants (38 compared to 40 last year) and a slightly lower proportion employed outside the UK (9% compared to last year’s 10%).
More importantly, the majority of survey participants (73%) say that they are fairly (59%) or very (14%) satisfied with their current salary.
For the first time this year, analysis has also been conducted to show how much more Chartered Surveyors earn than non-qualified professionals – and the results are extremely positive, giving even more credence to the importance of surveyors’ chartered status.
Chartered Surveyors earn an average 8% more than non-qualified professionals of the same age.
Those who appear likely to be in the early stages of their career (aged 23 to 35) earn an average 21% more than non-qualified professionals, which indicates the huge importance of surveyors becoming chartered early on in their career.
Louis Armstrong, RICS Chief Executive, explains:
“To qualify as a Chartered Surveyor takes dedication and application.
"The rewards are justifiably higher for qualified property professionals, recognising their enhanced status and their high standards of professionalism and integrity.
"The exceptional salary for those aged 23 to 35 shows that chartered surveying is competitive with other professions and will continue to attract first class individuals,”
Alexandra Houghton, a senior surveyor at Drivers Jonas, says there is no doubt about the importance of her chartered status:
“The RICS chartered status is extremely important to me as a surveyor. Going through the APC is an essential part of learning the subject area, and becoming chartered gives me more credibility as a professional.’’
There is also a financial advantage to the internationally recognised RICS qualification.
Working overseas as a property professional can reap high rewards. For the 9% of this year’s survey participants who work mainly outside the UK, the average salary is £60 362 (up 5% on last year’s average £57 485).
This means that those outside the UK are earning 36% more than those within the UK.
However, before you pack your bags and passport, it is worth noting that these professionals tend to be more senior than those within the UK (78% senior positions compared to 71% in the UK), so this is likely to have an impact on reported salary differences.
Developing potential
Whilst the evidence highlights the direct correlation between being RICS qualified and higher earnings, there is a feeling in the industry that those who want to move into the upper echelons of the profession need to take the initiative themselves and seek out further personal development.
Nick Beard, a surveyor for 36 years, recognises this development need and has recently moved into the world of corporate coaching.
A non-practising Fellow of RICS, he retired from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2004 to begin marketing his services in coaching ”effective personal development” to surveyors:
"The general climate of the RICS journals is, quite properly, strongly focussed on professional developments, practice, policy, recruitment, competence and membership,
"My purpose is to suggest that there is a vital factor to company and professional performance which is being overlooked.
"Chartered Surveyors are expensive to train and to employ. It is important to ensure that their performance meets its promise and potential, and that employers can motivate and retain trained staff.”
Beard says the link between developing this potential and earning a higher salary is clear:
“Appropriate personal development coaching can make you more personally effective and help you spot the opportunities available.
"Assuming your employer involves you in your own development choices you can become more aware of your own capabilities and take proper responsibility for your job and career choices.
"You will be better equipped to move up the ladder. If your employer cannot meet these needs, the coaching will have given you the personal confidence to sell yourself to other companies and progress your career.”
The benefits of this kind of coaching are recognised in research carried out by the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development (The Case for Coaching – making evidence-based decisions on coaching, Jessica Jarvis, David A Lane and Annette Fillery-Travis).
The 2006 study states that:
‘Employees’ job performance are the result of their ability, their motivation to engage with their work, and the opportunity to deploy their ideas, abilities and knowledge effectively.’
Employees who lack this motivation and opportunity, however well equipped they appear on the surface, may ultimately fail to realise their full potential.
RICS is also aware of the motivation amongst the profession to further themselves and is currently exploring modular based training packages to fill the current gaps.
Unsurprisingly, the survey revealed that there is a direct correlation between salary and age: the older the respondent, the higher the salary.
Yet while respondents aged 46 to 55 earn the highest average salaries (£58 310), the oldest respondents earn slightly less at £56 424.
As in 2006, for those in employment (as opposed to self-employment), the respondents with greater responsibilities earn the highest salaries.
However, for the first time this year principals/owners are shown to earn more than partners/executives. The increase in principals’ average salaries since 2006 is 25% (from
£69 256 to £86 857). This can be explained partly by the spread of activities and sectors in which principals tend to engage, as they mostly work in much smaller organisations than partners/executives.
Financial services
Within the UK, those in Greater London and the South East earn the highest salaries, while those in the South West, Wales and Scotland typically earn the least.
Predictably, the City continues to boast the most high-earners and those who are employed investment/development and financial services enjoy the highest salaries, often topping the £100 000-plus mark.
However, average salaries have increased most for those employed in surveying practice/consultancy over the last year. Those respondents employed in the public sector, working for local and central government, and non-profit organisations, earn the least.
While bonuses, like salaries, vary enormously from sector to sector and geographical region, they are naturally significantly higher among higher salaried sectors: those working in investment brokerage and property finance reported average bonus figures in excess of £40 000.
While 40% of survey participants did not receive any bonus during the last 12 months (compared to 43% last year), the average bonus was £9 411.
This represents a 40% increase since 2006 (when average bonuses were £6 721) and is 21% of the average salary.
The majority of respondents also receive some form of additional benefit as part of their package (95% compared to 91% last year).
The most frequently mentioned benefits, which are enjoyed by more than 50%, are a mobile phone (61% up 3% from 2006), contributory pension (58% up 2%) and health insurance (51% up 3%).
The incidence of performance related bonuses has also increased, by 4% to 47%.
Great shame
This year women represented 18% of survey participants and are mainly employed as quantity surveyors (12%), in property asset management (10%), in valuation (10%), as estate surveyors (7%) and in general practice (6%).
On average, women’s salaries remain significantly less than their male counterparts, but the gap is narrowing — from 29% in 2005, to 25% in 2006, to 23% in 2007.
The average female salary this year stands at £36 786 compared to £47 869 for males, much to the chagrin of Jonathan Harris, Founder and Chair of RICS Raising the Ratio:
“This still doesn’t surprise me. “While I’m delighted that the gap is continuing to narrow, it’s depressing that in today’s world that there is still a differential. It would be fair enough if the jobs were different or outputs were different, but I do not believe that it is the case.
"It is a great shame and I hope the gap will close quicker as flexible working is becoming a non-gender issue.”
Encouragingly, some young women entering the profession find that these discrepancies are disappearing.
Kate Moxey, a graduate surveyor at Allsop, says:
"I have not encountered any salary discrepancies for being a woman. I am lucky enough to work for a firm that values and rewards the individual rather than basing it on gender.”
Women are also reporting slightly better salary reviews in 2007, with 77% receiving an increase (compared to 76% of men) with the average rise being slightly higher for women.
So how does surveying compare to other professions?
According to 2006 Accountancy Age/Robert Half Accounting and Finance survey, the average pay of an accountant is
£38 861, moving up to an average of £71 533 for a finance director, compared to £64 470 in 2005, which means average salaries have risen pretty much in line with inflation.
Men tend to earn more than women and, due to a rash of recent legislation, accountants’ workloads have reportedly risen exponentially in the last few years.
Meanwhile, a 2006 survey by Architects Online showed that the average salary for a partner/director was £66 375, with £38 375 the average for a project architect.
Alexandra Hougton of Drivers Jonas makes an important point when comparing the property profession to other comparable professions:
“In my experience at Drivers Jonas, earning opportunities are merit-based, both in salary and bonus terms, and this spurs individuals on to do better.
"My salary may not compare to a friend at a large corporate bank, but the lifestyle does not either.
"Surveying is a sociable and enjoyable profession to be in, and the harder you work, the better the earning opportunities are likely to be in the long term.”
Premier league
It is the perception of surveyors, though, that is still somewhat misunderstood, according to Charlie Holroyde of Macdonald & Co:
“This is due mostly to the fact that most members of the public only have dealings with a surveyor when moving house and have no knowledge of the more diverse areas of the property market that the majority of Chartered Surveyors are involved in.”
There are some interesting parallels that can be drawn between the wider economy and the growth areas in the profession.
Those professional activities where a salary increase is most commonly anticipated are environment (83%, up 16% on 2006), architecture (67%), and construction contract management (67%).
Those most pessimistic are in valuation, investment brokerage and rating (only 33%, 32% and 26% respectively anticipate an increase in activity).
Younger respondents are more optimistic than older: 63% of 18 to 22-year-olds expect pay rises, compared to 49% of those aged over 56.
On the whole, says Charlie Holroyde, the findings of this year’s salary survey reflect a positive outlook for the industry. Alexandra Houghton agrees:
“The nature of surveying work is so broad that we draw on other professionals’ skills on a daily basis.
Although we may not yet be seen as being up there with the lawyers, I think this perception is beginning to change and, increasingly, the property profession is gaining more credibility, and the gap is closing.”
This article appeared in RICS Business, April 2007.
