Over 30 years ago, while studying for my undergraduate degree in real estate, everyone asked - why I needed a university degree for a real estate career? Most people assumed being in real estate was being an estate agent selling houses. However, that degree opened up the world, and I am an MAI Appraiser / Chartered Valuation Surveyor by practice and I have had a great career living and working around the USA, Fiji, Australia, the UK, and now in Dubai. In addition, that degree gave me opportunities for valuation consulting assignments in over a dozen countries, including exotic locales from Alaska to Bora Bora.

However, the stereotype that real estate is ‘selling houses’ is one of the highest hurdles I face when talking with secondary students and their parents about the many other exciting real estate careers.