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Does family background matter for becoming a quantity surveyor?

16 September 2026 Pegasus Radio · Lionel Dore

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Having a parent in quantity surveying creates an obvious advantage—Lionel Dore's father was a QS at Davis Belfield and Everest, which made his entry straightforward—but the profession is now genuinely open to anyone willing to pursue it. Family connections help, but they are no longer a prerequisite.

Dore's own journey illustrates this path well. He began working at Davis Belfield and Everest around age nine, giving him an insider's view of the profession long before formal training. Yet what began as family advantage evolved into genuine expertise: he eventually became a partner at Davis Langdon and Acom, a position he never anticipated when he first started. The role shifted him from following his father's footsteps to carving his own trajectory entirely.

What makes Dore's perspective relevant today is his honest admission that the barriers to entry have lowered considerably. While family connections might historically have accelerated hiring or provided inside knowledge, the industry now actively seeks talent from diverse backgrounds. His career spans from London through Dubai, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and ultimately to Orlando, demonstrating that geography and family lineage matter far less than capability and determination.

The construction and professional services sector relies on recommendations and personal networks, which means knowing someone in the field can still unlock opportunities—but referrals work when the candidate is competent, not because of a surname alone. Dore's later moves into roofing, property development, and infrastructure projects abroad show how transferable quantity surveying skills are, and how the profession rewards capability regardless of how someone enters it.

"You're going to get very few jobs through putting a CV into a job application—they want recommendations from the people you'll likely be working with."

This statement captures the real gatekeeping mechanism in quantity surveying: it is not pedigree but professional credibility and referral networks that open doors. A graduate with no family connection can absolutely build those networks through university placements, junior roles, and proven performance. What Dore's example shows is that whether you arrive through family introduction or raw ambition, the actual demands of the job are identical.

The broader implication is clear: family background is a head start, not a requirement. Anyone genuinely interested in quantity surveying can enter the field, though they may need to be more proactive in building networks and demonstrating competence. Dore's own unexpected leap to partnership status, starting from a family connection as a nine-year-old, proves that the profession rewards those who commit to excellence, regardless of their starting point.

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