Sonal Halai

"I am organised which is a great skill to have for being a Quantity Surveyor because every day is different and you need to be able to manage your time to make sure all the tasks are completed to the best of your ability and completed on time. I am also a visual learner so working in the construction industry is great because I'm able to go to the construction site and see my projects being built right in front of my eyes. Key skills that you need for this job are being analytical and good communications skills. I need to understand the design for the building and make sure costs for all the items that are needed to build the project are included and reported to the client. I also have to communicate the costs to different types of clients who can come from any industry where a building is required. I also get bored easily and love to learn different things. Working in construction is great to keep my interest as there are so many different buildings you can work on and explore. "

"My job is to manage the cost of a construction project on behalf of my client. This means I get involved with the design of the project right from the beginning when the architect and engineers are drawing the plans. I attend regular meetings to provide advise on the cost and make sure that our client can afford to pay for all the costs involved with constructing their building. I also then have to monitor the cost once the construction works have started by going to site and updating my client regularly on how much work has been completed, how much they need to pay for the works and if there are any changes to the cost due to discoveries or changes on site. The starting salary for the job is approximately £25,000 and goes up to £80,000 at Director level. I like the variety in my job! I get to work on different types of buildings from television studios to luxurious homes to prisons, and every day is different. "

"As part of my Chemistry degree, I completed a dissertation on Polymer Photovoltaics, which is another name for flexible solar cells. I then went on to do an internship at a company that installed and managed a portfolio of solar panels on many homes and school buildings. After completing this internship and carrying out some research I decided that I wanted to work in the Built Environment in a job that involved working in an office sometimes and exploring different buildings at other times. This would provide me with both a routine and adventure in my working week! I wrote letters to many Construction Consultancies in London, and was very grateful when one company replied and offered me a position to be a non-cognate Assistant Quantity Surveyor (A non-cognate is someone that does not have a construction related degree). With the support of this company, I then enrolled onto a distance learning Masters course and completed my MSc in Quantity Surveying over a 2-year period whilst gaining real-life experience at work and getting paid! "

"When I'm not working, I love to travel and explore the different cultures around the world. I also like to do yoga, dance and read. "

"Every day is different for me. My work is project based so at any given time I could be working on 1-4 projects, and they could all be at different stages of the construction project cycle; designing the project, tendering to select a contractor to build the project, or construction on site. I usually start by checking my emails for any urgent actions. If my project is at design stage, then I will have design workshops to attend with the architect, structural engineer and services engineer. Here we discuss the drawings/layouts of the buildings and I provide advise on the cost. When a full set of drawings is completed by the designers, I use a computer software to measure each of the different parts of the buildings e.g. areas of floors, walls, roof, windows etc.. and I prepare a full estimate of the cost for the client so that they know how much their building is likely to cost before the construction starts. If the construction of my project has started on site, once or twice a month I get dressed in my Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which includes a hard hat, Hi-Vis jacket, steel capped boots, googles and gloves and I complete a valuation of the progress of works on site. This involves walking around the construction site, taking photos, making notes of the works completed and what is still left to do, and then making a cost assessment of the works completed so that the client knows how much to pay the contractor for their work that month."

"A levels in Maths, Chemistry, Biology and GeographyMSci in Chemistry with Study AbroadMSc in Quantity SurveyingMRICS, Member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors "