A student success story: How a career in the built environment can take you across the world

張貼於： 2025-01-22

– a Q&A with Oiman Yu MRICS

“I had no idea what surveying was… I didn’t really have any knowledge about this industry, aside from architecture and engineering.”

Average read time: 5 mins

If you want an example of how your career in the built environment can take you around the world, there are few better examples than Oiman Yu.

Eight years ago, a conversation in Australia, 5,000km away from her home in Hong Kong, served as Oiman’s introduction to the construction industry. In 2024, she’s another 10,000km away, working as a Senior MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) Cost Manager for Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) in the UK.

“I wanted a career, not a job,” she told us.

“I first heard about quantity surveying when I was visiting Australia. I wanted to see the world, so I’d saved up some money and had been there for a year and a half on a working holiday.”

However, a chance conversation with a Quantity Surveyor that was also from Hong Kong was the beginning of Oiman’s journey into quantity surveying and the built environment.

“She was much more experienced than I in her professional life. She told me that, if I didn’t know where I wanted to go in my career, I should look into quantity surveying.”

I had no idea what surveying was.

Like many, Oiman wasn’t made aware of the opportunities available in the built environment when she was growing up.

“I had no idea what surveying was,” she told us. “I didn’t really have any knowledge about this industry, aside from architecture and engineering. Construction is often not recognised as a ‘professional’ career in Hong Kong.”

While she initially studied economics, she found securing a role in the field difficult, and instead worked jobs in sales, merchandising and training.

However, she knew this wasn’t what she wanted for her career. After being exposed to surveying through her friend in Australia, she explored her options.

“Quantity surveying is in high demand in Hong Kong, so they’re keen to train people for the profession, regardless of their background. There are plenty of short-term courses that can give you basic knowledge and guarantee you a job in the industry.”

“I didn’t enjoy quantity surveying immediately,” she admits, “but compared to economics, it’s much more logical and you get to see how a building visibly progresses, which I think is fascinating.”

People told me I needed chartership to progress in my career.

After her first few years in the industry, Oiman wanted to further develop and progress her skills, and was encouraged by others to pursue chartership.

“I was told that UCEM was the best way to get a degree and professional chartership… what sealed my decision was the distance learning model, which meant I could study in my own time and it wouldn’t impact my day-to-day responsibilities.”

“There’s definitely a lot of scepticism about online and distance learning in Hong Kong, but for me, it made things so much more flexible and manageable.”

Oiman began studying the BSc (Hons) Quantity Surveying programme with UCEM. Despite the institution being predominantly based in the UK (with offices in Hong Kong), she found they had the capabilities and support required for international students. During her studies, she made use of UCEM’s services twice to help clarify queries and issues.

“UCEM offered a translator if you weren’t confident in the language, which was fantastic. Although I didn’t make use of it, it was very supportive and generous.”

Moving to the UK while I studied was crazy.

Oiman moved to the UK halfway through her studies, thanks to a generous visa offered by the country and driven by her support of Tottenham Hotspur FC.

“Moving to the UK while I studied was crazy,” she admits. “There wasn’t a lot of time to think about or choose where I was living, or what job I took. Luckily, I was fortunate to get an offer quickly.”

She landed a role at a consultancy in London, who were supportive of her learning journey and allowed her to continue her studies.

Since then, Oiman has graduated from UCEM and completed her Assessment of Professional Competence (APC), officially making her a Chartered Quantity Surveyor. In her role as a Senior MEP Cost Manager, she’s involved in a variety of projects, from high-rise buildings to data centres and heritage sites.

“MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) has a much more specific focus than general quantity surveying, and while my studies didn’t cover this specialism, they’ve been very useful for my role. It built up a very good foundation of knowledge for things like law, measurements, contracts, etc.”

There are so many opportunities to choose from in this industry.

Like her friend from Australia, Oiman is a vocal advocate for a career in quantity surveying and the construction industry.

“It’s very satisfying to see all of the paper drawings and 2D designs come to life on a building site.

“Working in construction isn’t just a ‘dirty’ job the way so many people see it. There are so many opportunities to choose from. You’re not just restricted to one type of building – you can work on commercial buildings, residential projects, hospitals… there’s so much variety.”

Looking ahead, Oiman is keen to continue progressing her career and further specialising as an MEP. One day, she’d love to become a Director.

As for where her career will take her, Oiman hasn’t ruled out traveling even further away from Hong Kong and Australia and gaining more international experience.

“I’m keen to stay in the UK, although one day, it would be great to have the chance to work in the USA and see how things are different there.”

Quantity surveying is in exciting profession. It’s always in high demand, and experience in this field can give you career prospects around the world. To find out more about UCEM’s quantity surveying programme and distance learning model, visit the pages below:

工料測量學(榮譽)理學士
工料測量學理碩士
Distance Learning Model
7 questions people ask about online learning