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Teresa Leung

BEING IN THE SAME industry for 20 years is not easy. Finding  new challenges  over such a long time within that field is even harder.

But K.K. Chiu,  executive director at DTZ Debenham Tie Leung,  is an example of how a surveyor  can find  fun and opportunity on the one hand, yet stay focused on one area throughout a 20-year career.

Mr Chiu completed his studies in surveying in the mid-1980s at Hong Kong Polytechnic. Like many other  graduates, he started his career in surveying  straight away.

'I have never switched to other industries. We surveyors seldom change fields,' said Mr Chiu.

Trained  in estate surveying, he has  never thought of switching to other areas  such as quantity surveying, building surveying  or land surveying.

Estate surveying  comprises areas such as estate valuation, property and facility management, agency, research and consultancy. It is  this diversity that keeps him interested.

There are also different areas  within valuation such as general estate valuation and statutory valuation.

Statutory valuation includes planning applications that involve changing the use of properties, land resumption advisory and lease modification.

Mr Chiu's work takes him to out-of-the-ordinary places such as  container terminals, funeral homes and slaughterhouses.

'In order to carry out my job, I have to understand the operation of such places. If I  was not a surveyor, I don't think I would have the opportunity to go to these places and see how they operate.'

As executive director, Mr Chiu spends most of his time overseeing administration of the Hong Kong and China offices and business development.

In addition, he takes care of valuation advisory.

He believes surveyors must be hard working and honest.

'Clients want to know the real valuation. Thus surveyors must be honest in their valuation and let them know what clients should expect.'

Equally important is being sharp-minded.

'Surveyors might give you the impression that they are  focused and have a high level of concentration when working. When it involves expert witnesses in court,  a surveyor has to be sharp-minded too when he or she has to respond to lawyers' inquiries,' Mr Chiu said.

Language skills is an area in which surveyors need to improve. 'These days, we have fewer opportunities in Hong Kong to use English, but neither do we use Putonghua very often.'

Mr Chiu advised surveying students and young surveyors to work on their Putonghua and English. This is not only because China is a colossal market, but also because if they go to work on the mainland, surveyors need to compete with local counterparts who are now more competent in English.

Starting a career in surveying is not difficult.

In Hong Kong, both the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) offer degree programmes in the subject. While PolyU's  programme covers various areas of surveying, HKU offers a general degree in the subject, said Mr Chiu.

City University also  offers an associate degree in surveying, but it takes longer to qualify with this option.

Graduates from accredited degree programmes can do the Assessment of Professional Competence from the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors after two years of working in a surveying firm.

A trainee doing estate surveying has valuation as  a compulsory area, and  also needs to choose two  areas from property management, planning and development and agency.

Those who have an associate degree need to have five years of  experience before they can  do the same.

While Hong Kong's economy is starting to pick up again, Mr Chiu sees more opportunities for surveyors in the China market. But he advised graduates and young surveyors to have realistic expectations.

'People from Hong Kong might think they are smarter than their mainland counterparts, but mainlanders are smart and hard working too. And as I mentioned, they are also improving their language capabilities,' he said.

Those interested in working in China  must take note of the different operations of the market there, including  different examinations and licensing schemes for surveyors.

Surveyors  in China also   work longer hours.

'This is because transport in China is different. Expect to spend more time travelling from  one location to another,' he said.

For those who stay in Hong Kong, there is a lot to learn.  For instance, the way surveyors do estate valuation has changed.

'Surveyors before might just need to simply get the current value estimation of a property, but now we need to do valuation in a more holistic way and take into account the property's future use.'

This is necessary because it has an impact on the return on investment, Mr Chiu said.

'We need to know about the vicinity. In the case of a container terminal, we look to see if there is any logistics facility nearby.  This can affect the valuation.'

It is important for surveyors to continue learning and to take note of the latest trends after they finish their professional examinations.

'Only those who do that will survive, because it is a changing world,' Mr Chiu said.

QUALITIES CHECK LIST

Hardworking

Honest

Sharp-minded

Willing to learn

Language skills in English and Putonghua

SALARIES

Director

$38,000 - $77,000

7 to 8 years' experience  from  entry level

Associate director

$23,000 - $38,000

5 to 6 years' experience  from  entry level

Manager

$15,000 - $20,000

At least 3 years' experience from  entry level

Entry level (assistant valuer)

$8,500- $9,000



A question of values