Job Description

This job is part of our sustainability series:  > See more sustainable job ideas > Find out more about sustainable careers

A Rural Surveyor will manage an estate to ensure that it complies with the law, relating to land, tenancy, environment, planning, buying and selling. They will also advise on estate management, forestry and woodland, conservation and agricultural matters and will advise if non-agricultural land can be sold for other uses such as leisure or other businesses.

Entry Requirements

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

You can qualify as a rural surveyor by doing a degree apprenticeship in surveying.

You'll usually need 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and A levels, or equivalent, for a higher or degree apprenticeship.

Click here to search for an apprenticeship.

University

You'll usually need a relevant degree or postgraduate qualification, accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Relevant subjects include:

• geographic information science
• rural estate and land management
• land use and environmental management
• rural business management

You can also take a degree or postgraduate course approved by the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers.

You may be able to do a postgraduate conversion course if your first degree is not related to surveying.

You'll usually need:

• 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
• a degree in any subject for a postgraduate course

Click here to search for a suitable course.

Other Routes

You could get a postgraduate qualification through a graduate trainee scheme.

You could also get a graduate diploma in surveying by distance learning, with the University College of Estate Management, if you're working for a surveying practice.

Career tips

Experience of working on the land, for example in farming or conservation, could give you an advantage when looking for work.

You can join the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers for professional development training, industry news and networking opportunities.

Career Path and Progression

With experience, you could specialise in a particular area of rural surveying, like valuations.

You could move into a senior management position, partnership in a private practice or self-employment as a consultant.

Related careers you may be interested in:

• Ecologist
• Estates officer
• Land and property valuer and auctioneer
• Land surveyor
• Minerals surveyor

Required Skills

• The ability to communicate effectively at all levels
• Good management skills
• A keen interest in conservation and agriculture matters
• The ability to identify and resolve problems
• Good IT skills
• Good analytical skills
• Excellent negotiating skills

Salary Range

£20,000 to £45,000