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Darren's successful career in Chartered Surveying The post:darren cochrane Trainee chartered surveyor, Sammon Surveyors The post holder: Darren Cochrane

Hundreds of young chartered surveyors are gathering in Belfast and Bangor today (Friday May 5 2006) for the international conference of RICS matrics, the arm of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for students and under-35s. Darren Cochrane (21) who is currently on a placement year with Sammon Surveyors tells Job Finder how he hopes to build a career at the leading L’Derry, Belfast and Dublin-based chartered surveying practice.

What does chartered surveying entail?darren surveying Chartered surveyors operate in all aspects of land, property and construction, making a valuable contribution to the economy and society. They advise on the design and construction of new buildings and the repair and renovation of existing buildings. They oversee construction projects from inception to completion across all industries; including water treatment works to new residential and commercial developments. The role also entails assessing and monitoring the effects of building works on the environment, real estate, auctioning, cost management, property valuation and lease reviews.

As a trainee quantity surveyor at Sammon Surveyors, currently on my placement year from University of Ulster, my role involves supporting senior surveyors on a variety of projects for a range of clients. My role is varied and involves both project management and quantity surveying.

What was your career path into the profession? After completing my A-Levels at Enniskillen High School in Double Award Business Studies and IT, I enrolled on the BSc Quantity Surveying degree course at the University of Ulster, Jordanstown. I am currently in my third year of the course which is a placement year. After completing my final year, I hope to secure a fulltime job with Sammon. I was very pleased to win the RICS Todd Majury Prize for the Best Second Year Student in All Surveying Disciplines at the University of Ulster, which will hopefully help me in my career. I received the award at the recent RICS Northern Ireland annual dinner from the international president of the organisation.

Where do you hope to be in five years time? Firstly I hope to finish my degree successfully and to secure a permanent job with Sammon Surveyors. I then hope to work my way up the ladder at the company. Through Sammon I have also enrolled for the RICS Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) and currently have the benefit of in-house seminars and training which is geared towards meeting the standard. I am working my way towards full RICS membership and hope to become ‘Chartered’ in the next two years.

What projects are you working on at Sammon Surveyors at the minute? Sammon Surveyors was founded by managing director Jim Sammon over 20 years ago and employs 24 staff. In the past few years, the company has completed numerous projects including Oakgrove Integrated school, Derry, the Radisson Hotel in Letterkenny, Health care facilities in Carndonagh and Business Parks in Drogheda.

Some of the major projects that I am currently working on include the 475 apartment residential development at Titanic Quarter, a series of schools projects in the North West and Portlaoise Shopping Centre. No two projects are the same and there is a wide variety of work as each project is at different stages. I am principally involved in value engineering techniques, cost planning and preparation of tender documents.

Other major projects completed by the company include retail parks in Drogheda, new office accommodation for IT company Northgate in Belfast and the €100 million Park West Business Park in Dublin. The firm also provided quantity surveying services for the construction of the award-winning landmark Millennium Forum in Derry, which won the RICS NI Building of the Year Award in 2004.

Would you recommend chartered surveying as a career path? Recent research by RICS reveals that a long-term shortage of quantity surveyors presents graduate surveyors with more career opportunities than ever before. For example, the research shows that 4,000 extra quantity surveyors are needed in the UK to meet government house building targets.

RICS also reveals that surveyors are the best paid graduate professionals in the UK, earning an average of £24,000 per annum three years after leaving university. Surveying also offers opportunities to travel as well as prestige, international recognition and variety. Given all of this, it is a pretty attractive career path. In addition I also gain a great deal of satisfaction from the job, as it allows me to help regenerate areas and help create buildings and projects that are of benefit to the community and the economy.

What do you like to do outside of work? I am a very keen rugby player. I play at centre for Enniskillen rugby club in Section A of the Northern Ireland Qualifying League. I am also keen on fishing and clay pigeon shooting and do both as much as I possibly can.

Why do you think membership of RICS matrics important? RICS matrics represents all RICS qualified members under the age of 35 and all other student and trainee members. It acts as a support and advice network, bringing together members at all stages of their career. RICS matrics has some 1,000 members in Northern Ireland and nearly 20,000 around the world. For me it is important to be a member of the representative body for the profession because it brings credibility and it shows that as a professional you are prepared to be accountable and to act in the public interest. It is also great for support and advice and allows you to meet and learn from other professionals in the industry. .