A real estate career may not be the first choice for the career aspirants of India, but fortunately, it is one of the most promising sectors of the Indian economy. With the ever debated gap between the industry and the academia and with the aspirants frustrated with limited opportunities, the real estate industry is looking for quality talents than ever before. While the graduates looking for careers in IT, Banking, Finance, and Marketing, real estate career as an opportunity is not seriously aspired by many and not seen as a viable career option. 

Although real estate careers may not be considered seriously by career aspirants, the real estate industry is poised to grow to 180 Billion USD with substantial career opportunities in the sector by 2022. The realty industry has a current shortfall of 4 million core industry professionals, with the skill deficit estimated to reach 75 million by 2022. The government policies and the Mission “Housing for All” include construction of 25 million homes, 40 million dwelling units, and 98 smart cities, which has necessarily proposed an enhanced growth of the sector to a considerable extent.

Thus, in the wake of such colossal expansion, there is a need for skilled manpower in both real estate as well as the infrastructure sector. Along with the government’s boost for affordable housing and for all the emerging sectors, there are promises of the debut of REIT coming in a big way in the nation where large corporations would be involved? Today in India, with the regulatory vigilance increasing along with competition, the gained scale of realty companies has propitiated the investment of private equity funds along with larger brands entering the sector. 

These changes and prospects have helped the companies to adopt a more professional outlook with lucrative incentive structures making it attractive to build a career in real estate. 

Prospects and jobs in the real estate industry

For new graduates looking for freshers’ jobs and jobs in real estate companies, there are a number of opportunities available. Like all other industries, the realty industry too has sales, marketing, finance, corporate strategy, HRD, and all other support functions. Although jobs in the real estate companies vary according to the size, nature of the market, and the specific functioning of these companies and the segment they belong to, there are always the core functions and support functions. The core functions are civil engineering, electrical engineering, architecture, landscape design, facilities management, and the like which are directly related to real estate development.

For civil engineering graduates and architects, the realty sector is the ideal avocation, and the jobs offered by the industry or the offered jobs in real estate companies are in line with their qualifications. There are other professions like interior decorators, surveyors, landscape designers, and a few others who are mainly employed by the real estate industry and are particularly considered as real estate jobs. Apart from these, this industry also needs lawyers, digital marketers, graphic artists, 3D animation artists, and many other professionals. As the industry is growing, there is an increasing need for higher quality manpower in all fields and functions.

Although all kinds of professionals are needed, when it comes to real estate careers, a fresher has multiple career choices in the industry in the professions like real estate business management, sales and marketing, customer service, legal, and few others. Apart from these, there are professions that are specific to the industry like the professionals for leasing and mortgage, housing finance, land acquisition, and sundry, which are only consumed by the real estate industry. Professionals from any field or real estate agents can also take up these professions for which there may not be any specialized courses, but they are in ample demand. The conventional professionals required by the real estate industry can help one in building a career in real estate, but the real estate jobs specifically needed for the industry demand exposure to bloom into a full-fledged professional. No wonder, such professionals would be one of the most sought after as the industry is growing at a meteoric speed.

Although many professionals required by the realty industry are in common for all industries, real estate has its own nuances, and experience in real estate is undoubtedly a plus. The prospects of the aspirants looking for a real estate career is certainly high as estimates predict that by 2022 the industry would be worth of 180 billion USD. The industry is already falling short of 4 million core professionals, which is estimated to rise to 75 million by 2022 as per the predictions from reliable sources.

Career Options 

As already discussed, the real estate industry requires lots of conventional professionals like sales, marketing, finance, and a few others, just like all other industry does. Although such real estate careers require specialized training pertaining to the industry, and one needs to know the rules of the game, the core skills of the professionals are all the same. A career in real estate sales or real estate marketing can be highly recommendable to people looking to start a career as it can be the right introduction to the aspirants to enter into the industry. Although the professionals like Land Acquisition Officers or Landscape Designers may seem too technical, a career in real estate finance or sales can equip one with the understanding of the real estate industry, its functioning and legal aspects of the sector.