I majored in real estate technology and law during my bachelor’s and I minored in real estate management. I studied my master’s in the Real Estate Economics programme. I became interested in studying the real estate sector through working in the Tapiola Group's real estate unit, starting in the summer after my high school graduation and eventually alongside my economics studies in the University of Applied Sciences. I like the concreteness of the field and that it is economically very significant and broad. Experts of real estate sector are needed in many different positions.
I felt that the most useful subjects that I studied in my master's were the substance of real estate sector and common finance and business studies. The biggest and most concrete benefit came from preparing my master’s thesis, as it taught skills in writing and finding relevant information. Knowing how to conduct research and reporting are actually useful skills that are, in many places, applicable in specialist positions as well.
One of the best memories from my studies was the last course that I took during the thesis writing process, which was Esa Saarinen’s Philosophy and System Thinking. It was very different compared to all the other courses that I had been taking. The positivity and good spirit of the course were contagious.
The best times for me as a student were during my master’s studies, which I conducted as a full-time student. It was wonderful toe be able to focus only on studies, because I had done all my previous studies while working simultaneously.
After graduation, I worked for a few months as a renting specialist and after that I worked one and half year as a specialist in a National Land Survey project. After that, I started in my current position as a land surveyor in Porvoo, working with valuation proceedings.
My working days as land surveyor have a nice variety. Today I started my workday by a lake at Vihti with a mapper to get to know the real estate for preparing the coercive purchase of a reliction area. Afterwards I drove home and participated in two Skype meetings. Besides these I had time to do tasks related to preparation of proceedings and talk with a colleague on the phone.
I hope that I can deepen my knowledge in the field of land surveying. I have worked with real estate business for most of my working life. Moving to the National Land Survey through my thesis has given me a new perspective into real estate sector. I still like the concreteness of the tasks in the field and its societal impact. It is motivating to feel that you are working with things that are essential for the functioning of society.
My advice to new students in the Real Estate Economics programme is that you should get to know your fellow students as you will run into them often in working life. You should also be a bit interested about everything and try to find a connection between things that you study and real life.
