Becoming a QS in your 30’s Am I Too Late? Switching to QS at 30+
You’re scrolling through LinkedIn and—boom—my face appears again.
And you’re probably thinking: “Jaysis, why does this lad never stop posting?”
Trust me, I ask myself the same thing.
But here I am, 12 months into my own restart.
Back in Belfast.
Rebuilding something big after a decade overseas.
And what I’ve realised is this:
Most of the people reaching out to me aren’t that different from me.
I get messages from people in their 30s and 40s who feel stuck.
In dead-end jobs.
Flat.
Unfulfilled.
Souls draining away Monday to Friday.
And they all ask the same question:
“Mick… how do I get into QSing? Am I too old at 32?”
The fear of starting over is real.
Especially when you have responsibilities now — a mortgage, kids, bills, a life that costs money.
You look at Quantity Surveying — technical, regulated, structured — and think:
“I’ve missed the boat.”
Let me put that to bed right now:
No, you haven’t.
In fact, your age can be your advantage, not your obstacle.
Making the switch isn’t easy.
You’ll take a financial hit.
You’ll swallow some pride.
You’ll go backwards temporarily.
But the experience you’ve built over the last decade?
That’s commercial power a graduate won’t have until 2030.
Here’s the unfiltered truth.
1.Communication is the real driver
A QS isn’t just a number-cruncher.
They’re the commercial personal trainer of a project — managing fear, expectation, ego and chaos.
A graduate knows how to process an invoice.
You can manage a client who’s losing their mind because the budget’s blown.
And here’s the real kicker:
If you have good communication skills and you’ve built experience managing clients, then you’re already ahead of 80% of entry-level QSs.
Because that confidence, that calmness, that ability to de-escalate?
Those are commercial superpowers in this industry.
You already know:
Managing Noise:
You know how to block out the chaos and stay on the commercial critical path. No hand-holding required.
Negotiation:
You’ve dealt with suppliers, managers, customers, clients — you know how to hold a conversation without hiding behind corporate jargon.
P&L Awareness:
You understand how small decisions impact a company’s profit. That alone puts you miles ahead of someone who’s never worked outside a university assignment.
A director said to me recently:
“When we hire a mid-career switcher, we’re buying maturity and risk management. They’ve already learned the life lessons that take a grad five years.”
He’s right.
- Technical can be taught - the soft skills cant
Let’s be honest — most people switching into QS at 30+ don’t know what a provisional sum is, what a BOQ looks like, or how procurement works on a construction project.
And that’s perfectly fine.
You’re not expected to walk in with technical mastery.
What you do bring is far more valuable:
Transferable context.
If you’ve worked in finance, admin, planning, customer service, supply chain, retail management, sales, or anything that involved pressure, people, deadlines, or budgets — you’re already ahead.
You understand:
How businesses actually run How decisions impact money How to communicate clearly How to deal with conflict How to organise your workload How to manage expectations
These are the things that trip graduates up.
The technical skills can be taught.
Discipline, maturity, communication, and commercial awareness?
They can’t.
That’s why mid-career switchers regularly outperform younger candidates in training and early progression.
Combine adult discipline with structured QS learning, and you become dangerous — in a good way.
- Estimating - The sneaky back door to QSing
A Trainee QS salary can be a shock to the system.
So you take the side door: Estimating.
Lower barrier.
Solidly aligned skills.
And a brilliant launchpad into Cost Management.
Measurement Muscle:
Reading drawings. Quantifying. Understanding the anatomy of a building.
This is the backbone of every QS career.
Real-World Costing:
You’ll deal with suppliers, materials, pricing shifts, negotiations…
This is commercial awareness no textbook can give you.
Where to start?
Subcontractors (M&E, Groundworks).
Wholesalers.
Commercial divisions of suppliers.
Think Screwfix in the UK, Bunnings in Australia.
Prove your commercial value there.
Then make the lateral move into a contractor or consultancy.
- The ’Learn & Earn’ Plan: Get Qualified Without Blowing Up Your Life
You’re not 19.
You can’t live on noodles and vibes.
You need a strategy that works for adults with responsibilities.
The plan is simple:
Work full-time.
Study part-time.
Qualify without going broke.
Work Full-Time:
Take a Trainee QS role or an Estimating role with a company that supports professional development.
You’re earning, learning, and gaining project experience from Day 1.
Study Part-Time:
Enrol in a part-time RICS-accredited degree course.
Two evenings a week.
One weekend module per month.
Totally manageable.
The ROI:
Your salary covers your life.
Your employer may support your studies.
Your course runs in the background — slowly stacking the credits you need.
You avoid student debt.
You gain practical experience while you qualify.
The Timeline:
5–6 years:
Degree Qualified + Hands On Experience = Highly Employable
At the end?
You’re a QS working towards chartership with real commercial mileage and zero financial chaos.
- The Hardest Part: The Financial Reality
Let’s be blunt.
The Pay Cut:
It’s coming.
It’s unavoidable.
It’s the price of admission.
The Discipline:
You will sacrifice.
You will budget.
You will choose long-term gain over short-term comfort.
But the long-term earning power of a Chartered QS makes the early pain absolutely worth it.
Final Verdict: Your Maturity Is Your Cheat Code
If you’re in your thirties and ready to grind — construction will welcome you with open arms.
You’re not late.
You’re not behind.
You’re not starting from scratch.
You’re starting from experience.
A few years of pressure for decades of progression.
That’s the trade.
And it’s worth it.
Written by Mick Donaghy
Quantity Surveying Recruitment Expert
www.gedonexecutive.com
