Chartered Quantity Surveyor in USA
Mar 30th 2010 | 4:05 am
#1
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Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 26
Chartered Quantity Surveyor in USA
Can anyone tell me if it is possible to get a job as a QS - Cost Engineer in USA from UK? Anyone made the move in this field? Cant find much info on this. Thanks in advance
Mar 30th 2010 | 4:57 am
#2
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 90
From: Upper East Side, New York City
Re: Chartered Quantity Surveyor in USA
Yes - I've been here just over 2 years. I started with Faithful and Gould, got laid off last March due to the economic downturn and fortunately managed to get a position with Gardiner and Theobald in their New York office. Now is probably not the best time to be looking but things are starting to improve as some of the big players are getting a bit more confident and there is a new niche market in distressed properties.
I got my initial position with F&G through one of the London recruitment agencies, TED - last time I looked they did have a few US positions. The main QS companies are F&G, G&T, DLE, VJ Associates, Rider Hunt etc - there are also Contractors and CMs like Turner, Structuretone, Bovis LendLease and Tishman - but they are less likely to recruit Brits due to the visa issues. You can post your resume on the Career Centre at the RICS Americas website. I obtained an E2 visa which was pretty straightforward as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor is one of those positions which the officials at the US Embassy are fairly happy to accept has no direct US equivalent. I did have to return to London to get it re-issued with G&T as the Employer. Hope this helps and good luck.
I got my initial position with F&G through one of the London recruitment agencies, TED - last time I looked they did have a few US positions. The main QS companies are F&G, G&T, DLE, VJ Associates, Rider Hunt etc - there are also Contractors and CMs like Turner, Structuretone, Bovis LendLease and Tishman - but they are less likely to recruit Brits due to the visa issues. You can post your resume on the Career Centre at the RICS Americas website. I obtained an E2 visa which was pretty straightforward as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor is one of those positions which the officials at the US Embassy are fairly happy to accept has no direct US equivalent. I did have to return to London to get it re-issued with G&T as the Employer. Hope this helps and good luck.
Mar 31st 2010 | 4:39 am
#3
Just Joined
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 3
Re: Chartered Quantity Surveyor in USA
Hi
I moved to the US 4 years ago with Faithful+Gould on an E2 visa (treaty investor) which was fairly straightforward to get and is a great visa as it lasts 5 years and is renewable indefinately. When I researched visas before coming here, F+G were the only company that I found that would take me on without a green card.
I wouldn't imagine that you would find it anything but difficult to find a job over here right now - unless you have very special experience to offer. I think it will be at least another year before companies do any serious recruiting - although there are positions available from time to time.
In the US they have estimators rather than QSs and the way of working is very different. Project managers here do some work that a QS would do such as progress payments and bidding.
You should check all the major QS websites for job postings but I don't think there is much. Construction unemployment in the US is at 25% (it is the worst affected industry) and some markets are worse than others, e.g. Nevada, Florida, Arizona are all particularly bad while Washington DC is much better.
Good luck!
I moved to the US 4 years ago with Faithful+Gould on an E2 visa (treaty investor) which was fairly straightforward to get and is a great visa as it lasts 5 years and is renewable indefinately. When I researched visas before coming here, F+G were the only company that I found that would take me on without a green card.
I wouldn't imagine that you would find it anything but difficult to find a job over here right now - unless you have very special experience to offer. I think it will be at least another year before companies do any serious recruiting - although there are positions available from time to time.
In the US they have estimators rather than QSs and the way of working is very different. Project managers here do some work that a QS would do such as progress payments and bidding.
You should check all the major QS websites for job postings but I don't think there is much. Construction unemployment in the US is at 25% (it is the worst affected industry) and some markets are worse than others, e.g. Nevada, Florida, Arizona are all particularly bad while Washington DC is much better.
Good luck!
