Throughout most of my life, I was focused on becoming a professional tennis player. In my home country, most athletes focus on either becoming pros or abandoning their careers and begin working. Up until this decade, the idea of pursuing an athletic career to get into a university was not a process most people thought of because of the lack of athletic teams and intercollegiate athletic organizations in Poland. This career path has only become popular with the increase in american coaches and recruiters becoming interested in international athletes. Not many people that I know, who are older than me and play tennis have chosen to go to a university in America and pursue their tennis career alongside a good education. Therefore I hadn’t seen collegiate athletics as a viable option up until I began practicing in Florida and was suddenly surrounded by players whose only goal was to become good enough to play on a college team.
While attending a tennis academy in Miami, I became aware of the option to play tennis at a university and the benefits that come alongside it. After discussing this with my family I knew that taking on college athletics is the path for me. One of the biggest benefits of this decision is that I could pursue doing what I love at a professional level while also being at a top school with a great academic program which would earn me a degree. As time passed before my first year here at Rice, I realized that academics would not be of secondary importance or be a “backup” in case of injury, rather it would help me become a better and more educated person while allowing me to perfect myself and learn from some of the best coaches in college athletics such as Efe Ustundag, who has been named the C-USA Men’s Tennis coach of the year, the second year in a row, per San Antonio Express-News (www.chron.com).
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Even though I am still hoping to attempt becoming a professional tennis player after finishing my years of eligibility here at Rice, this summer I found out that I am also interested in real estate development. My father is a real estate developer himself and while joining him at work I found an unexpected interest in the field. While spending the entire day with him I learned a lot about how to brainstorm ideas, find new business opportunities, and manage ongoing investments. The main objectives of a real estate developer are to purchase land/property, manage and ready it for improvement, and oversee the future steps, which could range from construction to remodeling. Apart from my interest in this field, according to Forbes, it is also one of the best ways to become a millionaire in the field of real estate (Forbes Magazine,www.forbes.com). Before considering whether becoming a real estate developer is a good and fruitful career path, I need to ask myself whether there will be job opportunities at the time I would be looking for a job. After going over the statistics provided by the United States Department of Labor, the future of real estate development looks very promising. The current growth in job opportunities is estimated to be 7 percent in the next decade, which is “above average”, with the average growth rate of other occupations at 5 percent (Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov). The next step of becoming a real estate developer would be to ask myself and identify the key values and skills required to pursue this career.
As previously stated, to succeed, I must identify what is needed to accomplish my goal. I believe that three main aspects will allow me to become a more educated person and will help me in becoming a developer: education, internships, and networking. Apart from these specific areas, I will need to develop a variety of skills that will be useful as a developer and most importantly, as a leader.
The first factor which is very important in becoming a real estate developer is education. Without formal education, the process of becoming a developer would be nearly impossible. The main objective of completing my education is to become a better and more educated person as well as to create a variety of opportunities for my future. With the education that I am receiving here at Rice, which is one of the best in the world, I will be more prepared to take on the development career path. Thanks to the prominent reputation of Rice University, the opportunities I will receive are limitless and will help me to build my career with great connections and job offers. My majors, Sport Management and Managerial Studies, will allow me to understand the structure and behavior of marketing, leadership, and sales, as well as various steps and tips for becoming a more influential businessman. I am currently a sophomore but thanks to the classes I took up until this point I have already learned a good amount about sales, facility management, and leadership. Rice offers a great variety of classes, such as Management Communications, Leading People in Organizations, and Social Entrepreneurship, which will be very useful to me in the future. I believe that these classes will help me understand the mechanics of management, the economy, sales, and marketing of my product, and how to behave as and be an effective leader.
After finishing my undergraduate studies I would attend grad school. The focus of my studies would either be Business or Entrepreneurship. These programs would enhance my knowledge of key aspects and skills required as a developer. According to Under30CEO “an entrepreneurship program will help you learn how to spot emerging trends and opportunities in the market that will sustain your business over the long term”(www.under30ceo.com). It is incredibly important to know how to manage your business, introduce a new product/idea, and be able to utilize strategic planning, all of which I would learn to utilize during grad school.
The second aspect that is necessary in becoming a real estate developer is experience. Apart from education and theory, real-life experience is a necessity, therefore internships can almost be considered mandatory. All the knowledge that I have gained at Rice and during my grad studies will be put to a test. Internships will allow me to gain experience in the work environment and will teach me most of what I will need to begin working full-time. Internships will teach me skills such as time management, self-control, and perseverance as well as simply allow me to get adjusted to hard work (www.studentbrands.co.za). The education that I acquired and the time spent shadowing my dad in his line of work will help me ease into the internship and will allow for a smoother transition while starting. Internships are also very beneficial in the long term. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (https://www.naceweb.org), around 60 percent of internships turn into a job offer. This is very beneficial because if I perform well while interning I can hope to get a return offer or better, a full-time position.
Before attempting to get internships in real estate development, I would head to Switzerland to do an internship in banking. Banking is a part of almost everything and it will prepare me if I ever decide to lead my development firm. The most important skills that I would take with me after the internship are paying attention to detail, working hard, social communication, and organizing (www.wallstreetoasis.com). My end goal in getting internship experience would be to obtain an internship at a top real estate development company in the USA. One that interests me most, is the Simon Property Group. It also happens to be ranked #3 in a list made by Forbes depicting the best and largest real estate companies in North America (www.forbes.com).
Apart from having hands-on experience thanks to internships, the connections that I will develop during my time at Rice and at grad school, as well as during my internships will help me throughout my career by allowing me to network with successful and ambitious people. Connections help with landing internships, getting new jobs, and obtaining new clients. There are many benefits of having connections. One of the most important ones is simply having friends in my area of work, which can always be positive and helpful. Another benefit from networking is the opportunities that I will receive when meeting new people. All of the development ties back to having connections. The world of business “is all about WHO you know and not about WHAT you know” (www.medium.com). If I ever need help or just need advice on what to do, the fact that I know many people means that I will have someone to talk with, who is possibly more experienced than me and can give me tips on how to develop my business as well as myself as a person.
To become a real estate developer many skills are needed to succeed. Thanks to the education I will receive at Rice as well as during grad school, I will learn many skills, that will help me become a better leader, understand how to invest and save money, how to create opportunities, and how to create interest in my product and services. The main aspects that will help me become a developer are my education, internships, and networking. Education provides the fundamental elements of business and marketing and teaches me everything in theory. Internships will prepare me for the real world and will help me understand how the world of real estate development works. Networking will help me create connections and relationships that are incredibly valuable in business. All of the knowledge and skills I will obtain throughout my undergrad and grad studies as well as during the internships will prepare me for the real world and to take on the real estate development world.
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