Lauren Sporle MRICS
Linkedin profile: www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-sporle-mrics-342a8047
Your Spotlight Questions:
1. A short introduction about yourself.
I am a Heritage Building Surveyor for Pick Everard in London. I started my MSc in Building Surveyor as a career change in 2020 with the University of the Built Environment. I joined RICS Matrics Hampshire in January 2025 and moved to the London committee in January 2026 after I started at Pick Everard in August 2025.
2. Are there any specific skills that you’ve developed over your career that have made a meaningful difference to your work, and how did you develop them?
Organisation and being methodical. I am Autistic and although not a skill, it actually helps me in my work as I enjoy being organised and methodical which is very useful if you need to look back at information during a project or hand over a project to a colleague.
3. What is one of the proudest moments or project of your career so far?
Passing my APC first time! I have three young children, and it was such a relief when I found out I had passed, because I could spend more time with them again. However, I made time during the week to study on my long train commute, so that I didn’t have to spend whole weekends revising or preparing my documents. On the days I worked from home, I would still wake up at 5 am, and use the time not spent commuting to revise but with my extra screens. This way, there were only a few weekends leading up to the interview date where I would study at the weekends.
4. How do you stay motivated and inspired in a profession that is always evolving?
Being on the London Matrics committee is great for motivation, as the networking and events means I have a regular opportunity to get to know surveyors from other companies and pathways. It motivates me to play a small part in the early career and APC journeys of others to give them a support network.
I try to plan my CPD a few months ahead, so I book a mix of Matrics CPD events and Heritage CPD in preparation for my Conservation and Restoration accreditation process in Late 2027/early 2028.
5. What advice would you have for women who are looking to move into surveying/the built environment?
The RICS membership of women is just over 20% across all pathways, however for building surveying only 8% of MRICS are women, drops to 4% for FRICS. I think it is a brilliant career for women and provides a varied workday and you constantly learn new things. I would recommend joining RICS Matrics or attending women in construction events to build your professional support network. I am also due to attend the Festival of the Girl in London in October, alongside a team of surveyors on behalf of the RICS to promote surveying careers to girls aged 7-11 years.
6. What encouragement would you give to students and the younger generation to get them interested in a career in surveying/the built environment?
I would encourage them to attend some of their local or virtual RICS Matrics events. There are so many surveying pathways to choose from, and they are so different from each other so there is likely a type of surveying for everyone.
Surveying roles provide so much variation, especially if you are working multiple projects simultaneously so I would recommend talking to a variety of surveyors to understand what their role typically consists of over a month.
Matics events are a good place to start as everyone is at an early stage in their career, it can be less intimidating to network than at conferences.
I wish I had known about building surveying sooner! I would recommend, if possible, undertaking work experience as there are so many surveying pathways and they are very different from each other. Also, not to be worried if you find your surveying pathway changes throughout your career – the core competencies are relevant for all pathways