Nomzamo Mlungu tells us about MY UNCONVENTIONAL CAREER as a Quantity Surveyor
What was your 1st career choice in the Built Environment?
I pursued a degree in Quantity Surveying at the University of Cape Town. At that time the university offered a 4 year Bachelor programme. In my second year this changed to a 3 year undergrad degree in Construction Studies and a year of BSc honours in Quantity Surveying. This would enable graduates to enter the job market sooner and garner experience in the industry. I completed both programmes in succession
What motivated you to get into your 1st career choice?
My encounter with the profession was a case of stumbling upon it by chance and being drawn to the prospect of venturing into a career which was predominantly male dominated. I saw this as a challenge for myself to do something different.
What makes your career journey unconventional?
Although I started my career as a specialist in the industry, a Quantity Surveyor my actual experience has actually been devoid of the monotony of being an expert, but my academic qualifications have been catalytic in opening up many opportunities for me.
Give us brief history of your unconventional journey and the experiences you gained along the way
Upon qualifying as a QS, I always knew that I did not want to be constrained in the traditional QS roles of either working for a consulting firm or a contractor. As with all great stories in life, my working experience did not particularly start where I desired to be. Instead I found myself in a small QS office in the heart of the Vaal Triangle being mentored by my middle aged director who threw me into the deep end from inception. In a space of just under two years, I had been exposed to more facets of QS than would have been the case in a bigger QS office.
Soon thereafter, I found myself working for one of the top 3 QS firms in the country. Even then my functions as a junior QS were not limited as I was given projects to independently manage from inception.
From there, I had a placement in one of the housing state owned entities which exposed me to the gravity of skills deficiencies evident in emerging contractors at entry level. This is where my passion for contractor development was ignited.
Not long after this role, I was presented with an opportunity to work for a bank which at the time, I considered to be the ultimate job for a QS who started off in the clayey grounds of Vanderbijlpark. I went from managing 3 or 4 projects with a team to single-handedly managing a portfolio of 50 projects.
This period happened to coincide with the 2008 recession, which followed what could easily be the biggest economic boom in the industry. The bank started instituting retrenchments. Job security became a major concern thus influencing my next career move.
Life’s road took me to one of the biggest property developers in the country with a very large landholding. Here, I learnt a lot about property development, more importantly this is where I had to develop very strong people skills.
At this point, my desire to further my studies was resuscitated, partly because I felt that there was a ceiling I had reached in my career and also I wanted to develop my strategic acumen. This led to my enrollment on the MBA programme offered by my alma mater. The depth of the experience renders it hard to encapsulate it in words but the MBA opened up aspects of me which I was oblivious to. Nonetheless it did not take me away from the industry as my research took me to familiar territory, housing to be specific.
What is your current role and what are you learning from it?
In my quest to effect transformation in the industry and address developmental challenges, I have now joined the public sector to be at the coalface of delivery. Life has conspired to place me in space that seemingly integrates all the knowledge learnt from my previous roles. It feels like a convergence of all the experience gained. One would almost think that I was deliberate in my career planning. I’m now managing the social housing programme at one of the metros in the country and am contributing towards shifting the narrative in the provision of affordable housing.
Looking back what has been key learning points in your unconventional career?
From having had such a diverse working experience, there have been some key learning points.
- I have developed a wide industry network. In fact it is these networks that have been instrumental in a lot of the career moves I made.
- I have come to understand the importance of not burning bridges with each working experience.
- More importantly, my journey exposed me to aspects of the industry that I am most passionate about where I would like to make an impact.
- I have morphed from being a specialist to being a generalist in the industry. It is a territory that comes with its disadvantages in an industry that is populated with many professional disciplines and consequently values specialization. Nonetheless I remain hopeful that there remains a place in the industry for an unconventional Quantity Surveyor like myself.
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