Day-rate for a freelance surveyor??

[Tom Mabbutt]

Hi everyone,

 

I've searched previous posts to try and find this but with no joy.

 

I've got an interview to discuss the possibility of carrying out some surveying work on a freelance basis for a consultancy firm. I was just hoping to get a rough ballpark figure towards a reasonable day rate for such work prior to the meeting, although I'm aware that this is dependent on a numerous factors such as experience and qualifications.

 

I have FdSc Arb, RFS Cert., PTI on top of practical tickets. I have four years contracting experience, and one of these years was spent at a high profile estate where I carried out tree inspections and work recommendations, on top of practical arb duties, which is as far as my surveying experience goes. I'm guessing I will be working off their PI insurance too.

 

Thanks all.

 

Tom

[armybloke]

Councils pay around £15 and hour. Some companies pay by the linear mile if doing highways work - £7 was the fee last time I did anything like that

[martwizz]

I would go in at £12-14 p/h considering your lack of experience (although your FDSc should put you in a fairly good position for the job) and then try to build it up each year based on experience gained.

 

Make sure you put your best previous surveys and reports into a portfolio, if the landowner consents

[Tom Mabbutt]

Thanks guys. Martwizz, good tip with the portfolio, I'll get that sleeved and ready for the interview. Nice one.

[codlasher]

I took on a company to do 75 miles of roadside 25 metres in, all public FP's & BR's + around 20 miles of permitted routes with a riding trail in this too. The costs were 25k for a five year period.

We set up a 'triage system' with the highest risk areas being done first (Public House garden, major & busy road, etc) There were time clauses for each section of the work required.

Traffic management played a big part. A simple marking system was important too; Eg, dead-wood in subtle green/fell in bright orange. The more complex dog tagged (and marked in green) trees were kept in a file for future reference and a working copy encapsulated for use in the field. Trees that had been attended to were dotted quietly in yellow.

Pick any of these if you want for your interview!

Good luck.

 

codlasher