Professional MBA for an industry that has 70% of global wealth

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Indian real estate industry employs over 35 million people who shape the way we live. They make decisions that impact our lives for years to come. This makes their job challenging as well as rewarding. The interesting part is consulting and finance jobs in real estate are rewarding in monetary terms as well. These white collars jobs pave the way for a rapidly progressing career.

As you read this, more and more people are choosing real estate specific careers. This is because over a third of world’s wealth is invested in real estate. Also real estate is collateral to a huge amount of financial assets. In the vast market of real estate, professionals work across fields such as valuations, strategic consulting, research & advisory, investment banking, transactions & leasing, asset management, housing finance, etc.

The journey begins with acquiring the relevant skills and experience. These can also be picked up during the career but that will take a couple of years. Smart professionals inculcate these skills through specialised education and learning even before entering the market. There are specialised programs in real estate finance such as the M.Phil in Real Estate Finance by Cambridge University, England and M.Sc Real Estate and Property Management by University of Salford, UK.

RICS School of Built Environment, Amity University offers similar education in India. It offers BBA and MBA programs in Real Estate and Infrastructure Management. These programs educate students about the entire property lifecycle and how to manage them on different levels. RICS being a global industry body for real estate & construction present in 146 countries offers opportunity to learn directly from the industry in the form of frequent lectures by industry experts, site visits and real life case studies. Internships are also provided according to student’s interest area and placements are well supported with active support of leading employers, many of whom are RICS members. (85% of 2013-15 batch was placed within 15 days of start of placement process in December 2014 and 100% of batch was placed by May 2015. The average starting CTC was 6.7 lakhs p.a. while highest offer being Rs 13 lakh p.a) All in all, it transforms a student into a job ready professional during the course tenure.

Employers no doubt prefer candidates with a specialised degree. These candidates also claim higher pay packages and are an asset to the organisation. Be it leading global consulting firms like KPMG, PwC,  McKinsey and E&Y or international property consulting firms – like JLL, CBRE, Cushman & Wakefiled etc , or global investment banks such as JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs etc - the opportunities for high growth career in India and abroad, are manifold.  The career progress, however, is largely dependent upon one’s dedication level. If one is hard working and qualified, he/she will quickly rise up the success ladder. Many young CEOs in the industry are an indication to this fact.

Also there is no dearth of job opportunities. According to National Housing Bank (NHB) report, real estate comes fourth in terms of employment generation in India. The industry is growing rapidly day by day and so is the demand of specialised real estate professionals. The recent report of JLL hiring 1000 new professionals in this year within India explains this.

Here is a brief explanation of the kind of specialised jobs in real estate: 

Investment management
Real estate investment managers analyse real estate markets, conduct due diligence and work out best scenarios for real estate project development and investment.

Investment banking
Globally, many investment banks have groups dedicated to real estate, particularly the repackaging of mortgages into securities and principal investing in real estate.

Valuation, appraisal or credit management
Valuation professionals usually work for banks or for valuation firms and will normally value properties using different approaches. At times, they also take decisions on whether to extend credit to a borrower.

Advisory and consulting
Real estate advisors help investors select the right property and keep check on financial performance of the investment.

Corporate real estate and facilities management 
Corporate real estate professionals manage vast property portfolios held by corporates – be it acquisition or administration. Facilities managers manage major facilities, such as residential complexes or shopping centres etc. to help reduce operational costs and increase productivity of workplaces.

Leasing and sales management 
These managers specialise in representing landlords and/or tenants in the transactions of commercial real estate properties for lease.