Becoming an award-winning surveying Mum

Being a Mum is a full-time job in itself, so when looking at your career it can seem daunting how you can balance work and home life.

We hear from two award winning surveyors about how they managed to successfully juggle being a Mum with not only working as surveying professionals and passing their APC but excelling as true role models.

Zoe King MRICS, Quantity Surveyor of the Year 2017

Many of my family and friends say that I made a brave decision to train as a Chartered Surveyor, but like any young mum I wanted the best for my son. At that time, 10 years ago, our future looked extremely uncertain, so I started searching for a career that offered excitement, stability, flexibility and job satisfaction. Surveying, and in particular quantity surveying, appealed immediately.

It was tough at first, especially during a time where my son was settling in to school, I was also settling in to a new career and studying part-time at university. Although I took to the industry right from the start, the reality was that in the beginning I had to work longer hours, further away from home and for far less money than my previous role. However, I had the belief that the effort that I was investing, and the precious time I was missing with my son would eventually prove to be worth sacrificing, to provide a more stable future for my growing family, and that has proved to be true.

Surveying has given me so much I feel it is my duty to help others follow a similar path. I hope I can help to inspire future generations to consider a career in surveying regardless of their individual circumstances, as it really offers many unique and remarkable opportunities. I am now an APC supervisor in order to help internal candidates, and I am also an APC mentor so that I can help those in the wider industry too.

Helena Tibbitts MRICS, Valuation Surveyor of the Year 2017

People often say I became a surveyor the hard way by studying via a distance learning course while working and bringing up a young family. But to me it was just hard work and a love for my work which has ultimately paid off.

Initially I joined Fisher German as a secretary, not really knowing what to expect. But I quickly fell in love with the work and wanted to learn more and more about the art and science of valuation. I therefore studied for a surveying degree while working in the industry, which enabled me to successfully pass both the APC.

It seems incredible now that when I was at school I had no idea that surveying even existed as a career. That oversight is something I am now trying to address by visiting schools and universities to talk to young people about the many opportunities that exist in this varied and exciting profession.

I hope that my unconventional, yet ultimately successful, route into the profession will inspire others – especially those who haven't ever considered surveying as a career.

Recruiting good quality candidates from diverse backgrounds has become incredibly important for our industry. I want to show bright youngsters, whatever their circumstances, that surveying is a vibrant and accessible career choice.