PQSC Quantity Surveyor Registration study plan
PQSC Quantity Surveyor Registration · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Construction and infrastructure economics
Map the Domain 1 syllabus into cost-planning, measurement, procurement, and lifecycle-cost subtopics, and rank them by your current confidence
Build a formula and definition sheet covering elemental cost planning, functional unit rates, and approximate estimating methods
Work through 15 cost-estimation calculations by hand and record every error with its cause
Draft a one-page glossary of cost and economics terms you cannot yet define from memory
Your checkpoint
A dated 8-week Domain 1 topic tracker plus a 25-line formula sheet, both reviewed against your error log
Construction and infrastructure economics
Apply measurement and quantification rules to at least three worked take-off examples
Explain how design variables and buildability decisions shift capital and whole-life cost
Compare three procurement routes on risk allocation, price certainty, and cash flow
Compute simple and compound escalation, discounting, and net present value for a project cash flow
Your checkpoint
Three completed take-offs with a written commentary on the cost consequences of each design choice
Construction and infrastructure economics
Analyse cost data to derive rates, adjust for location and time, and justify index selection
Prepare a tender price build-up that separates preliminaries, measured work, risk, and margin
Interpret standard contract payment and variation mechanisms in cost terms
Explain how inflation, interest rates, and market capacity affect tender prices
Your checkpoint
A full tender price build-up for a small project, with each adjustment annotated by source and reasoning
Construction and infrastructure economics
Solve 20 mixed calculation problems under timed conditions covering estimation, escalation, and valuation
Diagnose recurring calculation errors and rewrite the affected formula-sheet entries
Summarise whole-life costing and value-engineering techniques with one applied example each
Explain the main cost implications of sustainability and carbon requirements on a project budget
Your checkpoint
A timed 20-question calculation paper scored and corrected, with a revised formula sheet
Ethics and professional standards
Map the Domain 2 syllabus into conduct, competence, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, and reporting duties
Write out the core ethical obligations of a quantity surveyor and the reasoning behind each
Analyse five short conflict-of-interest scenarios and state the correct action and its justification
Identify the boundaries of professional competence and the duty to refer work onward
Your checkpoint
A scenario response log of five cases, each with chosen action, rule relied on, and counter-argument considered
Ethics and professional standards
Apply confidentiality, data-handling, and record-keeping duties to realistic work situations
Distinguish accurate certification and valuation from pressure to overstate or understate
Explain whistleblowing and escalation routes when an instruction appears improper
Draft professional correspondence declining an improper request without breaching duty to the client
Your checkpoint
Two drafted letters, one declining an improper valuation instruction and one escalating a suspected irregularity
Construction and infrastructure economics & Ethics and professional standards
Integrate ethics into cost scenarios where commercial pressure conflicts with accurate reporting
Answer 30 mixed-domain multiple-choice questions under exam timing and log every wrong answer by domain
Rehearse written explanations linking a decision to both its cost effect and its ethical basis
Review your weakest three subtopics from both domains and close each gap with a written summary
Your checkpoint
A scored 30-question mixed mock with a gap-closure note for each of the three weakest subtopics
Construction and infrastructure economics & Ethics and professional standards
Sit two full-length timed mocks and record score, pace, and domain split for each
Re-derive every formula and ethical principle you missed rather than rereading notes
Practise concise structured answers for scenario questions within time limits
Finalise a one-page pre-exam sheet of formulas, duties, and decision rules
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock papers with a final one-page revision sheet and a written readiness judgement
Milestones
Week 2: You can complete a take-off and a procurement-route comparison unaided and explain each cost consequence in writing
Week 4: You score at least 65% on the timed Domain 1 calculation paper and can name the cause of every error
Week 6: You can resolve any conflict-of-interest scenario by citing the duty, the action, and the escalation route without notes
Week 7: You score at least 70% on the mixed 30-question mock with no domain below 60%
Week 8: Both full mocks are completed within time at 75% or above, with a written readiness judgement supporting exam booking