Jerry was a Chartered Quantity Surveyor

"A Chartered Quantity Surveyor is a highly trained professional offering expert advice on construction costs. They are essential for life cycle costing, cost planning, procurement and tendering, contract administration and commercial management."

Which sounds as dull as ditchwater but there are 2 Quantity Surveyor jokes. There were also several interesting moments in his working life:

In the late 1960's Jerry worked for the Poulson group of companies in Pontefract, Yorkshire. That job came to an end when John Poulson became mired in bankruptcy, bribery and corruption scandal which was dramatised in the BBC series 'Our Friends in the North'  Dad's planned memoir of his time remained unwritten.

In the late 1970s & early 1980s Dad was a lecturer at Salford Technical College. When Nicholas (the eldest) followed in Jerry's footsteps to train as a Quantity Surveyor many of his University interviews started with the same question, "Are you Jerry Duckett's son?".

In the late 1980's Jerry was employed in the demolition of Beckton Gas Works in East London.  Work was temporarily suspended when the site was used as a location for the film 'Full Metal Jacket'.  This was the closest Jerry ever got to a military career.

Towards the end of his career, Jerry also had occasion to travel to Albania for work.  He was terrified by their roads, delighted by their tomatoes and laid low by the local brandy.

Joke 1

A mathematician, a statistician and a Quantity Surveyor all apply for the same job. The interviewer calls each of them in turn and asks the same question "What does two plus two equal?"

The mathematician replies "Four, exactly."

The statistician answers "On average, four - give or take ten percent, but on average, four."

The Quantity Surveyor says "Well, what number did you have in mind?"

Joke 2 (this one was Dad's favourite)

At one minute: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZUU31kHrnw