The RICS Podcast, hosted by Demi Yianni MRICS, recently featured an insightful discussion with Kirsten Hald MRICS, Senior Surveyor and Registered Valuer at Colliers, and Maria Wiedner MRICS, CEO of Cambridge Finance. This episode shed light on how professionals from regulated fields transition into surveying, offering valuable perspectives on career paths, industry challenges, and key skills necessary for success.
Diverse Journeys into Surveying
Kirsten Hald’s career path was far from traditional. With a background in German, Russian, and politics, she initially pursued teaching through the Teach First program before moving into marketing and professional services. Eventually, she found her way into valuation surveying, focusing on residential properties. Her journey highlights the accessibility of the surveying profession to individuals from various fields.
Maria Wiedner’s journey, on the other hand, began with business and finance education across multiple countries, including Brazil, Finland, France, and Austria. Her work at the United Nations and later with the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) introduced her to property indices, sparking her interest in real estate finance and leading her into surveying. Maria’s transition underscores the analytical and financial parallels between real estate and other asset classes.
Perceptions and Realities of Surveying
Both Kirsten and Maria admitted to having limited knowledge about surveying before entering the profession. Kirsten initially associated it with older professionals inspecting buildings, while Maria believed it was more closely related to estate agency work. Their experiences highlight a widespread lack of awareness about the diversity within surveying, contributing to the profession’s struggle with attracting diverse talent.
Choosing Surveying Over Previous Careers
Kirsten transitioned out of teaching due to its high mental demands and lack of support. Surveying provided her with a better work-life balance, a collaborative work environment, and opportunities for professional growth. She appreciated the supportive industry culture compared to the confrontational nature of teaching.
For Maria, surveying presented a fulfilling opportunity to merge her financial expertise with the real estate sector. She identified a knowledge gap in real estate finance, particularly in areas like discounted cash flow (DCF) valuation, risk modelling, and investment analysis. Her passion for advancing financial literacy in property valuation became a driving force in her career.
The Broad Scope of Surveying
The podcast highlighted the vast range of roles within surveying. Kirsten focuses on valuing residential properties, including new developments, flats, and student accommodations, while Maria specializes in financial modelling and advising investors on acquisitions and portfolio management. The breadth of surveying roles makes it difficult to define a single, uniform job description, further contributing to the profession’s identity challenge.
Communicating Surveying to Outsiders
Both Kirsten and Maria noted the difficulty of explaining their roles to family and friends. While Kirsten’s work involves on-site valuations, Maria’s role is largely desk-based financial modelling. Many people mistakenly assume surveyors are either estate agents or property inspectors, underscoring the need for increased public awareness about the profession’s diversity.
Transferable Skills from Previous Careers
Kirsten emphasized the importance of communication, stakeholder engagement, emotional intelligence, and time management—skills she honed in teaching. These abilities proved invaluable in managing client relationships and complex reporting in surveying.
Maria, on the other hand, highlighted her quantitative skills and Excel proficiency from the financial sector. Her expertise in financial modelling, international experience, and cultural adaptability have been crucial when advising global clients. She stressed the need for improved financial literacy within property valuation, as many professionals in the field lack this expertise.
Lessons from Other Regulated Professions
Kirsten observed that the teaching profession has made significant strides in mental health awareness, benefiting both staff and students. She suggested that the surveying industry could adopt similar initiatives, despite progress from organizations like RICS and LionHeart.
Maria emphasized the importance of diversity in surveying. Her work with Real Estate Women aims to address the underrepresentation of women and minorities in the field. She advocated for improved recruitment processes and greater representation to foster a more inclusive profession.
Essential Traits for Success in Surveying
Both guests agreed that a successful surveyor must possess a blend of technical and soft skills. Financial literacy and Excel proficiency are essential, but so are empathy, adaptability, and respect for others’ time. Effective communication with diverse stakeholders—from investors to engineers—is a key differentiator for professionals in the field.
Conclusion
This podcast episode underscored surveying’s openness to professionals from diverse backgrounds. Transferable skills from teaching, finance, and other fields enrich the profession, making it more dynamic and accessible. Enhanced financial understanding, greater diversity, and improved mental health awareness will further strengthen the industry. Ultimately, surveyors act as decision-making enablers, blending technical expertise with interpersonal skills to help clients navigate the complexities of the built environment.
Find the link below to find the podcast:
https://www.rics.org/news-insights/rics-podcasts/be-inspired
