The current crisis has made everyone realize the importance of a home. It is the only safe place that has kept everyone protected in this pandemic. A home is perhaps the most valued commodity in today’s time. Hence, the demand for homes is slowly seeing a rise already.

Until sometime back, real estate was not the most preferred go-to career option for the young people and much of the cynicism stemmed from the sector being perceived as unstructured and unprofessional. With the introduction of reforms like RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority), sector has slowly evolved as one managed by professionals with greater transparency and accountability. However, the recent pandemic has brought the cynicism back. People are now skeptical about the sector’s growth and unsure if they should make a career choice in this sector.

Today, there is no sector that is untouched by the COVID pandemic and real estate is facing the heat too. Home buyers are reluctant to make a big investment and want to save money for the unforeseen. On the brighter side, the current crisis has made everyone realize the importance of a home. It is the only safe place that has kept everyone protected in this pandemic. A home is perhaps the most valued commodity in today’s time. Hence, the demand for homes is slowly seeing a rise already.

The government under the flagship Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) is working towards launching several affordable housing projects. This has infused the sector with refreshed investor sentiment. As per experts, real estate is expected to contribute 13% to India’s GDP by 2025. Hence, while there is a temporary slump, the real estate sector promises huge prospects and it’s a great time to be a part of its growth story.  

As the second largest employer in the country, real estate is one of the few sectors which offers a plethora of career options; right from an engineer and architect, to an interior designer and sales executive, there is room for everyone. This is something which makes the real estate sector very promising. In fact, a large population of the unskilled workforce in India is also employed in the real estate sector. 

So, what does real estate have to offer as a career to today’s generation?

• With several new projects in pipeline, civil engineers can look forward to a satisfying career here. It’s a profile which requires a unique blend of technical expertise and creativity and there are multiple job roles with excellent pay potential available. Also, it’s a challenging role which allows you to work away from a typical cubicle set up as you get to work outdoors! However, civil engineers have to work on remote locations with stretched working hours and there are some health hazards which one may encounter while working on a construction site.  
• Likewise, there is immense scope on the technology side as well, with organizations using Virtual Realty (VR) to take customers through virtual walkthrough of the property. Companies like Housing.com are using machine learning and technology to make home search easy for their customers.  Robotics and Cognitive Automation are being deployed instead of labor, to speed up the construction of properties. So, real estate sector promises to be great career option for software engineers who want to create new products. Today, there is a huge demand of skilled software engineers and the role promises great learning coupled with excellent pay package and fast track growth. However, software engineers do face the challenge of never-ending learning curve as they need to keep themselves updated with the latest technology. If one doesn’t keep abreast with new technology, they may not progress in the career in this highly competitive role. Also, real estate is yet to transform itself fully as a tech-enabled sector. While this is work in progress, some restless engineers may find it difficult to match their pace with the sector. 
• You can also make your career as a sales consultant or property advisor where the role requires you to align the home buying choices of customers with the market, advise them on the best possible options by accompanying them on site visits, thereby making their home buying journey easier. So, if you are someone who loves challenges, has the passion & drive to do sales then you can make a successful career in the sector. It is not mandatory for one to have a specific degree in real estate to transition as a consultant; however, slowly there are exclusive courses which are being offered now to groom people who want to make a career in the sector. One of the many perks of working as a consultant is the opportunity to earn big, as incentives in the real estate space are disproportionately higher than other sectors. This is coupled with flexible work hours and the pride in helping someone realize their dream of owning a home. However, the role can be a little taxing as selling a house is no mean feat and one has to pursue customers diligently over a period of time as decision to buy a home is never an easy one and time taken to materialize a deal can be very long in some cases. Also, weekends for a real estate consultant means work! 
• If you are an architect who likes to create designs for new construction projects or if you are an interior designer who finds passion in refurbishing spaces then real estate could be your preferred career choice too. Being an architect or interior designer is a rewarding career choice for creative people and are roles where there is wide scope for creativity. However, the growth path in these roles is slow and the pay structure may not be very appealing compared to the number of hours one invests at work. Also, these roles demand patience as there is a lot of rework involved in the designs basis client needs.
• The sector also offers ample opportunities in the domain of Finance, HR, Marketing, Legal and other such specialized disciplines, thus, Management graduates, law graduates, CA, ICWA, etc. can expect an enriching career here

While making a career choice, it’s very important to understand the impact you can bring with your work and I strongly feel that there is a great sense of pride associated with a profession in real estate as you are part of one of the most important decisions of a customer’s life and you help realize their dream of buying a home. 

Real estate segment is slowly seeing signs of revival. Lower interest rates on home loans, attractive deals from developers and the rise of affordable housing projects is helping the sector find its feet again. I see a bright future for the sector and people can look forward to a stable career in the sector.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house