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How's the building industry in the US at the moment? and do you have such a position as Quantity Surveyors? (she's like a senior or managing QS), I'm just thinking out loud so to speak as I'm currently weighing up all our options, cheers for any and all input anyone might have.

Ms t works a large for a drywall company here in Az that does both residential and commercial work.
Business is down at least 50 %.
They have had to lay off more than half of their employees and she has had to take a rather large pay cut. ( mainly in Directors fees and extra perks she receives almost 20 grand a year )
Things are slooooooowwwly starting to get better.
Not sure what you mean by QS but we do have Building Inspectors.
We are going down this week end to do the inspection on our Condo with a company we are paying to do an inspection on the Condo, which is required when getting a loan to purchase.

Boner,
Not an expert in that field by any means, but I have a few friends in real estate. From what I am hearing, new construction is and is expected to continue to be slow for quite some time. When the economy took a shit, it left many many tracks of houses and commercial buildings sitting new and vacant. Most of these continue to be unused and reports suggest that they are only now just beginning to sell. I would guess that with the number of presently built properties and the prices at which they are available, new construction is few and far between. Don't know if this helps at all, but figured I would try. Perhaps you can elaborate as to the duties of a Quantity Surveyor. My brother-in-law is a project manager in construction so perhaps I can inquire with him.

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos004.htm

THis is web site of the Bureau of Labor Sats for US - might be a good resource

also if your industry has professional association/organizations - if they have a branch in US they might be able to help with questions you have

good luck !!

Boner, is that qualification compatiable with the needed worker list for Canada?

http://www.canadavisa.com/new-instructi ... tions.html

If so then that's a good opportunity to get over there, if not then are they are on this list?

http://www.canadavisa.com/immigration-e ... tions.html

Or is it on the eligible occupations list?

Boner, each state has their own laws/code/zoning requirements. In each state you can have multiple jurisdictions, but that is being replaced as more and more adopt the international building code. We, here in rual PA had no code untill just a few years ago.

Willjay wrote:Boner, each state has their own laws/code/zoning requirements. In each state you can have multiple jurisdictions, but that is being replaced as more and more adopt the international building code. We, here in rual PA had no code untill just a few years ago.

hehehe...was in nanticoke pa last week...no codes there yet

Cheers folks, this is the best description I could find to what she does: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_j ... iption.jsp

Her experiance is in commercial building more so than residential (I dont think she's ever done any residential work at all).

Sounds like you'll want to look for "project estimator" as a job description.

Boner wrote:How's the building industry in the US at the moment? and do you have such a position as Quantity Surveyors? (she's like a senior or managing QS), I'm just thinking out loud so to speak as I'm currently weighing up all our options, cheers for any and all input anyone might have.

Boner, I had to sound like a TWIT, but what does a Quantity Surveyor do? I have a friend who is a surveyor ... in fact he only recently ended a prolonged period of unemployment. I think the employment outlook varies greatly by region. My friend is from the Raliegh NC area. He eventually found work in the Chesapeake Bay area, but also turned down work around New Orleans on account of his son.

Folks I ran into last year in the Dam from Brazil told me the economy there is very good. Dubai is a bust.

My own personal preference if the US is your preference is stick to large metropolitan area's, the immediate coasts or northern states ... mid and deep south US is becoming a very alien environment

No worries ed, this is a better explanation than I could give: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_j ... iption.jsp

It's all ifs, buts and maybes atm but I really want out of the UK and if Cali legalises then it's something we really need to consider which is why I'm thinking of the US.

Cheers again folks, much appreciated.

A quantity surveyor is a project manager. If you are going to look in CA you better familiarize your self with seismic load conditions.

USBONGLORD wrote:

Willjay wrote:Boner, each state has their own laws/code/zoning requirements. In each state you can have multiple jurisdictions, but that is being replaced as more and more adopt the international building code. We, here in rual PA had no code untill just a few years ago.

hehehe...was in nanticoke pa last week...no codes there yet

should of stopped by and said high you were a stone throw away, the code is only for new construction, but Nanticoke has there own rules

Boner wrote:No worries ed, this is a better explanation than I could give: http://www.prospects.ac.uk/p/types_of_j ... iption.jsp

It's all ifs, buts and maybes atm but I really want out of the UK and if Cali legalises then it's something we really need to consider which is why I'm thinking of the US.

Cheers again folks, much appreciated.

In that case, why not B.C.? They have readily available super weed, for all practical purposes decriminalized, and immigration between Canada and U.K. may be easier due to the Commonwealth?

Boner, whether or not BC would appeal to you, the Canadian occupation name might more closly resemble the American one, so this stuff, below, might help. (I have no idea if the site is any good.)

http://www.cicic.ca/

The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC) assists persons who wish to obtain an assessment of their educational, professional, and occupational credentials by referring them to the appropriate organizations.

The CICIC does not itself grant equivalencies or assess credentials, nor does it intervene on behalf of individuals or in appeals. Their web site provides links to a number of Canadian organizations that provide equivalency assessments. As well, you may contact the CICIC at:

Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials
95 St. Clair Avenue West, Suite 1106
Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1N6
Tel: 416-962-9725
Fax: 416-962-2800
E-mail: info@cicic.ca

Cheers!