University degrees.

Hey PC,

I was wondering if anybody out here has studied any property related degrees in university particularly anything related to property development. Would love to hear all your insights, experience and advice as to which course would be most relevant.

A bit of context; I currently work in the medical field however in the future, I intend to slowly drop my hours and get into property development full time hoping to start a property development company when it becomes appropriate. I believe knowledge is power and I am willing to do formal study to give myself that competitive edge. However, time is also a restriction of mine so if I were to invest x amount of time into a formal education, I need to ensure that the course would perfectly suit my needs.

Any insight would be great!
Private_number.

 

There are building related project management degrees out there. It's been over a decade since I looked, but RMIT had one.

It's not property development, but it's the kind of degree that many people working for development companies might have. It won't make you a property developer either, but it might allow you to gain employment where you'd be exposed to it.

 

I have completed commerce degree in property and finance but it's not as wide and deep as knowledge on this forum. Lots of models and cashflow statements but still very detailed. Most benefit was contacts from industry leaders doing in lecture presentations, monthly adhoc network seminars and work experience opportunities.

Curtin Courses Online Handbook 2018 - Property and Finance Double Major (BCom)

For myself in the Curtin degree: Finance is 10x harder than the property component. I studied about 8 hrs average for the property courses and about 80hrs each for finance to get same score. Or put it another way if you study the same amount of time for both courses and get 85 in property then I doubt you will get close to 60 in the finance unit .

 

Did you find work in that field easily after graduating? What do you do?

 

I already have an engineering degree and working in IT. Left current job last week and joined Bankwest yesterday where I can use both degrees. I really wanted a property job but would have to start back at graduate pay which I can't as I'm in the middle of a development and I need the cashflow.

Bankwest also have a property arm where they produce housing reports and work with Curtin and other property professionals so there is always an option to move sideways

 

Congrats on the new job @Big Daddy !

 

Deakin uni has some courses on real estate and property.

 

If they are the same price then go with a established uni that offers the degree online. Some companies don't regard graduates from these online universities as well as established universities with a campus. Also if Deakin ever change their name if they are taken over then there's a risk people won't recognise the name in the future

 

Today, anyone who wants to work for a major developer has a degree in property - look at any of the development management rolls, property analysts, asset managers, valuers etc and the first thing that they ask for is your degree.

To think that you can walk into a development gig on a $1b project without a bit of paper - tell them you're dreaming.

 

Thanks for all your responses everybody. It seems the property courses some of you have undertaken have stemmed from finance related degrees!

This is one I am highly interested in. More specifically, the Graduate Diploma in Property.

No doubt. My contingency plan if I do eventually get tired of working in the medical field is to use this Graduate Diploma degree and apply in the field.

 

If you go and work for yourself then you wont need a degree and the massive time and effort expended can be directed to practical pursuits and learn as you go.

There are folks on her (one answered) that would probably mentor you for a fee or a property company may take you on if you have the gift of the gab and present well to get the initial experience in an entry level position.

 

@Colin Rice thank you for your reply. However, learning as you go means you could also put yourself up to some very costly mistakes - something I wish to try avoid the best way possible. As for the massive time and effort expended on a degree, I have had to take the 'slow' route into the property game so all I have is time and effort.

The way I see it, I work 8-9 hours a day and spend the equivilant at home studying the markets, reading forums like these and reading up on anything related to property anyway. I may as well use the same amount of hours in some type of structured formal learning accredited by the API. At least this way, I know I won't miss anything and I would have applied further pressure upon myself (I work very well under pressure). I am currently in no position to develop major projects due to lack of capital, but in time I will. I hope this course (whatever it may be) would help me make some good, cost effective, efficient decisions in the future.

 

Potentially yes but with a good mentor unlikely but still possible as the PD game can be an unpredictable one at times there fore access to capital is a requirement to succeed.

All the best in your endevours.

 

I guess there is no right or wrong way to go about this. Everybody does learn differently. Regardless of having the best degree VS the best mentor, you are right, you still can lose a lot of time and money as the game can be very unpredictable.

The only issue I have with mentors is that I would need to find one that I trust which unfortunately, can be very hard to come by these days.

Thank you @Colin Rice !

 

A close friend of mine is currently doing this at UTS. Very relevant according to him and can really see the usefulness in it. He was a developer first, now has a job with a very reputable PM firm in Sydney. His experience as a developer and his foundation knowledge got him the job, the Graduate Diploma was a condition to keeping it. That said, he did already have a Property Economics degree to begin with.

 

Thank you for your reply @York. Exactly the reply I am looking for. Is he on PC too? I would love to have a conversation with him about the degree.

 

I have sent you a PM.

 

I am a university flunky. I have started about 5 degrees and never finished any of them as I suck at proving what I know. I've been fortunate to be old enough to get by without a degree though it has been held against me at one job where their large HR department decided that I was not worth as much as someone else due to a lack of degree so I was allowed to manage people who earn more than me (yes I'm still bitter about that).

Anyway - a degree is not essential or necessarily useful to be a property developer BUT it is useful if you want to go work for a large property development company or become your own company one day.

Thankfully I have no desire to grow into more than a 1-2 man band (#2 being the tea lady or a book keeper) so I will stick with the University of Life.

 

@Westminster thank you for your reply. I do intend to either work for a large property development company and/or start my own company one day. As each day goes by, I get closer and closer to actually applying and starting this course.

2x 12 week Trimesters. Course completed in 24 weeks.
20,000 word essays in total per trimester
4x exams per trimester

This sounds like it's going to be difficult. However it depends on the type of course work they are expecting. Would love to hear from more people who have actually done the Graduate Diploma in Property!

 

I have actually done a Graduate Diploma in Property pm and we can talk about it on the phone