RGU graduate and established professional in the Energy industry, Sam Munro shares his experience studying Quantity Surveying and what his career looks like now.
Tell us a bit more about you
My name is Sam Munro and I have recently become an Associate in Cost Management within Turner & Townsend’s Energy & Natural Resources sector based in our Aberdeen office.
I moved to Aberdeen from a small town in the Highlands called Grantown-on-Spey in 2013 to begin my journey into the professional industry at Robert Gordon University. After 10 years living in the city, I have been fortunate to be given great opportunities to develop my skills and experience through the range of projects I have worked on with both my previous company Doig+Smith and now Turner & Townsend, who I joined as a Senior Cost Manager in April 2022.
Why did you choose to study Quantity Surveying at RGU?
By chance, I actually come from a family of Quantity Surveyors, which is actually more exciting than it sounds with the variation the profession brings. My dad is a Chartered Quantity Surveyor, as is my oldest brother who also studied at RGU, and my second brother is an Architect turned Project Manager. Thankfully, my sister is a vet nurse which improves the conversation at family events.
So having had an insight into the industry and good memories visiting Aberdeen when I was younger, I was always interested in following a similar path as well as getting the full Woolmanhill Halls experience. However, it wouldn’t be true if I said being a big Aberdeen FC fan wasn’t also a factor!
Adding these factors to RGU and the Scott Sutherland School being well renowned as one of the UK’s leading places to study Quantity Surveying with its links to multiple sectors in the area, made the choice a very straight forward one.
What were some of the highlights of your degree?
The student placement in third year is without doubt what has given me the grounding in my career to go on and achieve what I have so far.
RGU do a great job of setting students up for the professional world with this and it actually led to me staying on with Doig+Smith for 7 years following initial employment as a student in 2015.
Can you tell us a bit about your career? What does a typical day look like?
Having graduated in 2017, my next focus was achieving my Chartership with the RICS which, despite the complications of COVID-19, I successfully attained in 2020 to become a Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
In terms of projects, I was fortunate enough to work on the £400m Aberdeen South Harbour development for 7 years from 2015. This provided the best experience and learning curve someone at that stage in my career could ask for whilst working with a great project team, which definitely helped us through some of the tough moments.
Having moved to Turner & Townsend, my key project over the last 2 years has been the Aberdeen Hydrogen Hub. This is a joint venture between Aberdeen City Council and bp to develop and produce green hydrogen in the city where we have provided cost management services and specialist procurement support.
However, the best thing about Quantity Surveying is simply the variation in what we do, both in projects and in the people that you deal with across multiple sectors and industries. Don’t under estimate how far reaching you can make your career if you go looking.
Any tips for future students?
Never let a good opportunity pass you by.
Sam Munro
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