How do you get into property?

Here, we’ll find out more about two different pathways into property – namely accredited degrees and apprenticeships.

Accredited degree

One of the main ‘gateways’ into property as a career is provided by a professionally accredited university programme.  Joe Doak, Associate Professor in Urban Planning and Development, says admissions will be relevant for anyone considering applying for an undergraduate degree in real estate and you can find a list of RICS and RTPI accredited universities and courses. These include the University of Reading courses at the Henley Business School:

• BSc Real Estate
• BSc Investment and Finance in Property
• BSc Real Estate with MSc/Diploma in Urban Planning and Development

Joe also highlights the career opportunities from undertaking an accredited degree and explains why this is therefore a key focus of an annual Summer School hosted at the University of Reading each year.

Joe mentions undertaking some relevant preparatory reading, so it is worth checking out the property sections of the quality daily newspapers and seeking out property magazines like The Estates Gazette, Property Week and similar publications in other countries. A useful general overview of real estate is provided by the latest edition of Reed, R. and Sims, S. Property Development, London: Routledge.

Apprenticeships

Full-time university study is one, well established, routeway into a property career, but there are others. One of these, available in the UK and other countries, is practice-based apprenticeship schemes. These are run by major companies and involve a combination of work and part-time study.

Apprenticeships offer the advantages of working whilst you study and getting paid for it. You can find out more by going to the Property Needs You Resource Centre and filtering by ‘apprenticeships’.