Beginning an annual series that will chart their burgeoning careers in property, four first-year real estate students from leading universities share their experiences so far, what led them to choose this area of study and their aspirations – both for themselves and for the wider industry.
FRANCHEZKA CUNANAN – UNIVERSITY OF READING
Why did you choose to study real estate?
Initially, I was only interested in the architecture of buildings. However, as the years progressed, so did my knowledge of structures.
When I started secondary school, my family had to move and, of course, we had to go and view some houses. This was when I became fascinated with the building itself, and how it came together. But it wasn’t until the sixth form, when I attended the Pathways to Property summer school, that I knew more about the industry.
I have always known that real estate is not just about being an estate agent or a construction worker; however, in the summer school, I learnt more about different job roles and the different pathways to having a career in property.
What are you hoping a career in real estate will offer you?
I hope that it will offer me more transferable skills. As it is such a social career, I feel that I will become better at building relationships – not just at work but in all aspects of life.
I also hope that it will offer me the chance to travel the world. Real estate is a career that can be pursued anywhere in the world, which could potentially give me the opportunity of understanding more about the international real estate market.
One term in, has the course met expectations – or even exceeded them?
I never really knew what to expect, except that I would be given assignments and that I needed to attend lectures. But I never knew that I would be attending alumni events with Pathways to Property. Attending these events really boosted my confidence in myself. I have also developed deep friendships. They are not only with people doing my course, but with students on other courses too, such as pharmacy, chemistry and law. Though most of my friends are in architecture – we often joke about starting a company with each other.
So, in some ways, it has met my expectations and in others it has exceeded them.
How do you see your career progressing?
After university, I am going to pursue a graduate scheme in a property firm such as Berkeley Group or Savills. This is the usual pathway for real estate graduates as it can potentially give you chartered status at the end of the scheme.
After this, I am planning to move to Japan to work within their real estate industry. But I will also be moving to other countries such as the USA or my home country of the Philippines; hence, I see my career progressing towards working within the international market.
What do you see as the major challenges/areas of growth in the industry over the coming years?
Major challenges would be equality, sustainability and technological evolution. But these points are just some of the many challenges that the industry faces.
One thing I have learnt about growth is that advanced technology can have positive effects on the industry. It could help build houses faster and make them more efficient when operational, or it could help investment.
What are your hopes and aspirations for the industry?
Equality is a big issue, and I hope that more women pursue a career in real estate. It is not just “a man’s job”, as there are so many different types of career within real estate, such as being a sustainability consultant, a development executive or a quantity surveyor.
There is always something for everyone in the real estate industry.
What changes do you hope your generation will bring?
I hope that our generation will bring more equality to the industry. As there have been so many movements during the past decade alone, I feel that once our generation starts their careers, there will be less bias in the workplace.
I also hope that the idea of real estate being more of a man’s job will disappear.
JAKE EDWARDS – UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND
Why did you choose to study real estate?
Architectural creativity has played a key theme in my education so far, studying the built environment at GCSE and A level. I took this further, commencing a degree in architecture at Oxford Brookes before deciding to swap over to real estate at the University of the West of England. What really excites and motivates me about going down this route is the ability to channel my creativity into real estate, combined with gaining knowledge and skills in business, economics and law.
I live in Cornwall, between Rock and Polzeath – a fascinating place geographically, but also as a built environment. I have been massively influenced through growing up there, with relentless development of luxury homes and statement buildings. Most of my friends’ parents are involved in real estate. I was inspired to find out more, and the main thing that excites me is the number of directions I could explore with creativity.
What are you hoping a career in real estate will offer you?
At this stage I am keeping an open mind, focusing more on extending my knowledge and skill set. Because the industry seems so diverse, I hope to work in an environment that will enable me to continue with my passions and allow for travel through dynamic, cultural real estate projects. The idea of working in an area of real estate that will make a significant difference environmentally really excites me.
Hopefully, a career in real estate will offer me unconventional opportunities, as I am always trying to come up with innovative, creative business ideas and dreams.
One term in, has the course met your expectations/exceeded them?
I did not initially build up any expectations. Having taken two years between college and university to travel and explore, it has taken me a while to settle in and get back into the groove.
However, I am enjoying getting stuck into the course and have been pleasantly surprised by the interesting content and new-to-me topics, with unexpected opportunities such as this EG feature!
Maths has always been a strong point for me, and I am finding it refreshing to revisit the subject within a commercial property appraisal module. Valuations and learning investment techniques has caught my attention as an area that I cannot wait to explore further throughout my degree.
Earlier this year I worked on site as a labourer, with the focus on gaining knowledge around contemporary construction – and to fund a surfing trip to Indonesia! It is encouraging to see that the course at UWE has an awesome crossover into industry application.
How do you see your career progressing?
I do not like to look too far into the future, so it is hard to see how my career will progress. However, with my work ethic, I hope my degree gives me a very diverse range of opportunities.
With a proficient ability in maths, I could see myself progressing in an investment direction, specifically commercial and international investment. This, coupled with excelling in areas dedicated to environmental sustainability, is an idea which I am committed to evolving.
Overall, I am seriously intrigued to see in what directions the degree progresses, and what opportunities are available throughout my time studying and beyond.
What do you see as the major challenges/areas of growth in the industry over the coming years?
One of the major challenges will be how the industry copes with increased natural disasters as a result of drastic climate change. I think it will be very interesting to see how land use changes with new priorities and how efficiently we utilise our resources. With most cities in the world being over-populated, it presents exciting opportunities for people like myself to come up with solutions in terms of sustainable, effective and efficient land use.
I feel that the industrial sector has the greatest potential for clean economic growth. With the advancement of low-carbon technologies, I believe that completely new industries and markets will be created, and current markets will be transformed with a more resource-efficient economy.
Over the next few years, I am looking forward to gaining knowledge about the challenges and areas of growth in the industry, and to start brainstorming ideas for future solutions.
What are your hopes and aspirations for the industry?
Currently, my biggest hope is that the industry will be sympathetic to the challenges facing the world, responding appropriately to environmental impacts and the challenges of climate change.
As my knowledge grows and I gain experience in the industry, I hope to have a better understanding of what I hope the industry to be and how I can contribute to changing it for the better – socially, sustainably and economically.
What changes do you hope your generation will bring?
With every square inch of land being developed, I hope my generation will bring new and inventive ways of using land and existing real estate to tackle local, regional and national problems.
I can see AI, technology and data being used to challenge conventional solutions for meeting residential, commercial and industrial needs through clean energy development. However, I think that technology is going to widen inequality around the world and is something that my generation will have to manage when providing industry solutions.
Something I would love to explore with a team/company is the expansion of “ocean real estate”, with aims to provide residential solutions for rising sea levels, as well as sustainable commercial and industrial ocean clean-up techniques.
LOUISE LAWRENCE – SAVILLS AND UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ESTATE MANAGEMENT
Why did you choose to study real estate?
My career pathway didn’t start with real estate – from the age of 11, I was sure I wanted to go into the legal profession. When the time came, however, I decided I didn’t want to focus solely on law and so opted to do a law degree with a conversion course to property law.
I knew I didn’t want to follow the traditional university pathway, and I quite liked the idea of an apprenticeship. Then, in May 2019, I came across an apprenticeship opportunity with Savills. This would provide me with a full-time job and the opportunity to obtain a degree in real estate management at the same time. I realised this would give me the chance to start my career in real estate while studying for a university degree online.
What are you hoping a career in real estate will offer you?
I’m hoping that a career in real estate will fulfil my passion for property and enable me to explore the variety of pathways and options available to me. As a multi-disciplined business, I think that Savills is an ideal place to explore these options and support me on my career journey. I have learnt so much already in a short space of time, although I know that there is much more to come.
One term in, has the course met your expectations/exceeded them?
I didn’t know what to expect. I knew it would be quite a change from secondary school, where, although we had our freedom, our learning was very structured.
Studying online is different in terms of structure, as everything is available to you all at once. I like the fact I can take things at my own pace, although I find that I have to be pretty strict with myself to keep up to date with all the work and reading, alongside full-time work. The course has armed me with background knowledge that I have been able to transfer into my role at Savills, and vice versa.
How do you see your career progressing?
Thanks to my colleagues, I learn new skills and see my career progressing each and every day. I’m looking forward to passing my degree and APC to become a qualified chartered surveyor. Once I have that foundation, I hope to progress over the years with Savills and develop new client relations too.
What do you see as the major challenges/areas of growth in the industry over the coming years?
The greatest challenge recently has been Brexit uncertainty, which has caused a lag in the market, affecting the number of developments being brought forward. In relation to growth, the rapidly increasing population is driving the need for a sharp increase in housing, with a mix of social and open-market tenures.
What are your hopes and aspirations for the industry?
I have high hopes for the industry. I think we will see an increasingly inclusive sector and, I hope, a broader age range. I would like to see more promotion of real estate as a career, as I feel it is not well understood among younger groups.
What changes do you hope your generation will bring?
I think there is great potential for sustainable principles to be included in developments, in terms of design and build. We are already seeing innovation here, and I think the new generation can play a positive role in driving this.
ELLA MOORE-HEMSLEY – NOTTINGHAM TRENT UNIVERSITY
Why did you choose to study real estate?
From my experience growing up, schools and colleges never completely go into the depth of the different paths and education that real estate offers. Luckily for me, property has always been a part of my family, so I have been able to see the opportunities that are available.
One of the main reasons I chose to study real estate is the fact that the sector itself represents 60% of UK wealth, meaning there are always likely to be a number of new experiences and paths to choose from. Additionally, I chose this degree as studying real estate isn’t solely about property – it also means that I can expand on my customer service skills, work towards targets, improve my sales techniques and so many other things.
What are you hoping a career in real estate will offer you?
Many opportunities to be learning something new every day. Even now, right at the beginning of my career, there are already opportunities for summer internships and work experience.
Once I have finished my degree, I am hoping that this opportunity of experience will open up even further by meeting new people, working in new areas and taking on challenging tasks. This is something that excites me about working in real estate as no two days are the same.
One term in, has the course met your expectations/exceeded them?
The course has not only met but also exceeded my expectations. In the first year of this degree, everybody in the Architecture and Design School taking a degree in property has been mixed into groups. This has meant that I have been learning not only about real estate but also construction, property investment and much more.
I’ve found this to be immensely valuable, as I’m learning about all the different aspects of real estate and the range of different roles that are involved in a project. I believe it is important to learn about and value the colleagues that you will be working alongside, and how their careers work and could influence yours.
I look forward to next year, when I will be primarily focusing on real estate; however, currently learning new presentation and business skills has been very beneficial to my progression.
How do you see your career progressing?
In the summer holidays this year, I hope to participate in a summer internship, some of which have already become available to apply for. This would be something I hope to do annually, to help me identify the sector I would like to work in. Currently, I have been looking into work experience this year in the retail sector, to learn more about this pathway.
Once I have finished my degree I would hope to be working in London in a graduate scheme position and begin taking on large projects. I would also like to have achieved an MSc in real estate, hopefully at the University of Reading’s Henley Business School, after my degree or further on in my career.
What do you see as the major challenges/areas of growth in the industry over the coming years?
Brexit over the past few years has become one of the major challenges in the industry, as property prices would suggest that people have lost their confidence in the market and what will happen in the economy. However, hopefully as we progress into the new year, people will become confident again in their investments.
Behind Brexit, I think that retail is a major challenge due to the e-commerce market. As somebody who shops online regularly, I think the online market will continue to grow as people see it as being easier than visiting the large shopping centres. Therefore, I think that retail will need to prepare for this.
The increase in leisure activities is an opportunity for the market as the retail sector begins to change. I also think that the industry will try to meet the demand for student accommodation, healthcare and rented housing.
What are your hopes and aspirations for the industry?
Growing up in a house of five women always meant that we pushed each other to excel in whatever we were doing. Being the youngest of four sisters, I have seen them grow up and become successful in their professions, and they will motivate me to do the same in my career.
Therefore, my hopes and aspirations are for more women to work in the industry and for businesses to challenge the stereotypes in the workplace. I think that women bring creativity and a different perspective to real estate. The Association of Women in Property is an association that I aspire to be a part of, as it helps to promote the success of women and motivate girls like me to choose a career in the property industry.
What changes do you hope your generation will bring?
I hope this generation will bring a strong focus on the carbon footprint within properties, both from a development and tenant perspective. When redeveloping properties, I hope those in the industry will consider local environmental factors and the resources used.
I would also like to see social media and technology continue to revolutionise real estate. With artificial intelligence becoming so prominent and smart homes getting more popular and attractive to homebuyers, sustainable housing demand will increase. I think that my generation will be able to take these already exciting new technologies to a new level in order to encourage social responsibility and a sustainable environment.
