Hi my name is Helena Saunderson and I work as a rural Chartered Surveyor for Fisher German. I’m here to give you the lowdown on rural surveying, how to get qualified and what the job actually involves. But first to get into the swing of things I’ll give you a brief background on who I am and how I came to be we I am today.

Well, my surveying career began in 2006 when after completing an English degree at Exeter University and a short stint in sales in London I decided that life in the smoke wasn’t for me and I returned to my routes in the Midlands where a serious rethink on career opportunities had to take place. I had always been interested in property and liked the idea of becoming a surveyor. Being a country girl at heart and not wanting to spend all day behind a desk was also a reason for following the rural route however not being from a farming family meant that I would have a lot to learn over the coming years – but more on that in later posts.

So having decided on my ambition I was lucky enough to be offered a job at Fisher German where I started predominantly in property agency and expanded from there. Of course having an English degree is not the most helpful for someone wanting to sit the APC so I began a Postgraduate Diploma in Surveying through The College of Estate Management which lasted for a little over 2 years. At the same time I began working towards my APC along the rural pathway and am pleased to say that after a lot of hard work I finally achieved my goal passing my diploma with Merit and achieving MRICS status in May 2009. My last hurdle is to pass my CAAV exams which I am due to sit in November 2009.

I hope that’s given you a good background to who I am. Over the coming weeks and months I’ll be giving you an insight into how to get into surveying with a focus on the College of Estate Management route, the APC process and revision tips, what types of work can a rural surveyor expect to be involved in and my preparation for the CAAV exams.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this and I look forward to providing you with some, hopefully, useful information in the future.

Helena