What the people behind surveying are really telling us

Confidence is built through exposure, not theory

Nobody I’ve spoken to felt confident at the start. Confidence doesn’t come from knowing everything. It comes from being put in real situations early, learning how to handle people as well as buildings.

Sonya Swaley , Building Surveyor Apprentice and RICS Matrics Apprentice of the Year, described it simply:

“It’s crazy how over the past few years you really feel the shift in confidence and how you act.”

That shift happens when people are trusted with responsibility, backed by support, and allowed to grow into the role.

We still struggle to explain what surveyors do

This theme comes up again and again, and it matters more than we probably admit.

Sonya put it bluntly:

“My best friend still doesn’t know what I do. Every time I see her she asks, ‘what do you do again?’”

Joe Nelson MSc, MCIAT, C.Build E MCABE , working in retrofit and energy, echoed the same issue from another angle:

“People don’t think about surveyors until something goes wrong. Then they suddenly realise how important the role is.”

When a profession is hard to explain, it’s harder to attract new people into it, harder for the public to value it, and harder to protect its long-term future.

Experience changes how you understand risk

Across all the episodes, experience shapes judgement. Not just technical knowledge, but how risk is assessed, explained, and managed.

Peter Monk MRPSA CSRT CSSW CSDV , Independent Damp and Timber Surveyor, summed it up clearly:

“You only really understand defects once you’ve seen them over and over again in the real world.”

Layla Davey MRICS , Infrastructure Surveyor working in rail, reinforced this from a safety-critical perspective:

“A lot of the job is understanding the consequences of decisions, not just whether something meets guidance.”

This is why mentoring, shadowing, and time served still matter so much. Judgement cannot be rushed.

Community is no longer optional

The strongest careers I’ve heard about are not built in isolation. Networks, events, peer groups, and informal conversations consistently show up as accelerators.

Sonya reflected on this from an apprenticeship perspective:

“Getting outside of the work environment and speaking to other apprentices, it’s nice to connect and share experiences.”

Joe Nelson added:

“Some of my biggest learning moments came from conversations, not courses.”

Community is no longer a nice extra. It’s becoming part of how surveying careers actually work.

Communication is where professionalism really shows

Technical competence is expected. Communication is what clients remember.

One moment that stuck with me was Sonya describing a tense site conversation:

“You tackle it with kindness and you tackle it with facts. And it completely defused the situation.”

Peter Monk made a similar point from a client-facing angle:

“Most of the job is explaining what’s happening in a way clients can actually understand.”

How surveyors communicate risk often matters just as much as the risk itself.

Where opportunity is clearly emerging

Certain areas keep resurfacing for a reason.

Joe Nelson framed the importance of retrofit and energy like this:

“Energy efficiency isn’t just technical. It affects how people live in their homes every day.”

Peter Monk highlighted older buildings and defects work:

“Older buildings will always throw up new problems. That’s where judgement really counts.”

These are not niche interests. They’re areas where responsibility, regulation, and demand are converging.

The profession is changing, whether we like it or not

There’s also a shared realism about change. Technology, business models, and client expectations are shifting around surveying.

Richard Sexton , Surveying Firm Director, put it plainly:

“Technology isn’t replacing surveyors, but it is changing how firms operate and what clients expect.”

Surveying isn’t disappearing. It’s being reshaped.

Momentum is building

Earlier this month, This Is Surveying passed over 1,000 podcast downloads and is closing in on 1,000 YouTube views, despite only launching late last year.

For me, that matters less as a number and more as a signal. There’s a clear appetite for honest, human conversations about surveying and the people behind it.

Final thought

Through these podcast episodes, through The Surveying Room community, and through the wider Surveyors UK platform, what I’m really trying to do is highlight the people behind the profession.

Surveying isn’t just technical guidance, standards, or reports. It’s the stories, the successes, the pressure, the judgement calls, and the very real challenges faced by the people doing the work every day.

These conversations are showing a profession that is far more diverse, demanding, and impactful than it’s often given credit for. One that adds real value to our built and natural environment, often quietly, and often without recognition.

I want to help make that visible.

That’s exactly why The Surveying Room exists. It’s a space to continue these conversations beyond a podcast episode or a LinkedIn post. A place to share experience, ask questions, and learn from others across the profession, regardless of role or career stage.

If these themes resonate with you, I’d encourage you to join the community and be part of the conversation.

With a growing bank of recorded episodes and a waitlist of guests keen to take part, I’m hoping to move This Is Surveying to weekly guest episodes soon. I’m genuinely enjoying these conversations, and there are many more stories worth telling.

To listen: – 🎧 Listen

To watch: – ▶️ YouTube