Every quantity surveyor has bad weeks: a valuation that won't reconcile, a project manager who commits to things you'll spend a month unpicking, a client who won't close a final account. A bad week is not a reason to move. Some signals are worth taking seriously, though, and these are the five we would act on ourselves.
1. You have stopped learning
Strong QS careers are built on range: different procurement routes, contract forms and project scales. If you have run the same package type on the same form of contract for two years, and next year's work looks the same as this year's, you have probably stopped developing even if the job still feels busy.
2. The promotion keeps being postponed
Being told "next year" once is normal, because budgets and structures are real constraints. Being told "next year" three years in a row usually means the structure above you is not going to change. If you are already doing a senior's job without the title or the salary, the wider market will usually recognise that faster than your current employer.
3. Your salary has fallen behind
Construction salaries move in steps, and employers rarely re-benchmark people who don't ask. If it has been a few years since you tested your value, you may be below the current market rate for your experience. The gap grows over time, because your pension and future rises are all based on today's number.
We regularly speak to surveyors who are well below the market rate for their experience, simply because they have never checked.
4. Commercial has no voice in the business
You can tell a lot about an employer from when the QS is brought into decisions: before they are made, or after. If the commercial team exists mainly to record decisions already taken, and risk warnings are routinely ignored, the problem sits with the business and is unlikely to change soon.
5. You're staying mainly because leaving feels awkward
Loyalty to a good team is a real reason to stay. Avoiding an awkward resignation conversation is not. If most of your reasons for staying come down to it being easier, it is worth at least finding out what else is available before you decide.
When staying is the right call
There are also bad reasons to move. Try not to leave in the middle of a project you will be proud of finishing, be wary of a small pay rise at a weaker business, and think twice before moving to get away from one person who may leave anyway. A good move should take you towards something better: more scope, better projects or a stronger platform for the next stage of your career.
If you are not sure which of these applies to you, talk to us. There is no pressure and no obligation, just an honest opinion from people who have made these decisions themselves.