Building it in Poland

MY TY: Stephen Lee(16) of Belvedere College put on his hard hat and tried his hand at being a property developer in Poland

'I WENT TO Poland to look at their property market. My dad and his partner are involved in a number of different projects over there. I always thought it would be pretty interesting. So I went over last October for one week. We went to two cities, Poznan and Lodz, to look at residential property developments.

"It was great to see how the whole thing works - the planning and acquiring of sites, right up to the commissioning of jobs and sale of developments. I found it really interesting to see the way everything comes together in the end after all the planning. It's exciting to see the finished product.

"The property market is quite different in Poland to here. The economy is growing rapidly there. People are earning more and wages are increasing so there is a huge demand for properties.

"There are no specifically relevant subjects in school for a career in overseas property, but business and economics - and I suppose languages - are all of use.

"You learn a lot about working life in any organisation. I saw some similarities and some differences between work and school. At work everyone is equal. I suppose you could say that at the very top is the CEO, like a headmaster, but there is a lot more respect between everyone and people are trusted. There's not as much conflict as there is in school.

"At this point I do still want a career in property but that could change by the time I fill out the CAO forms. There are few college courses directly relating to it so a good degree, maybe in something like law, is a good idea to start with. I have no interest in becoming a lawyer, but it's a good degree.

"But TY students should take their work experience seriously. It's the only chance you'll get to try a career out before you get into college. I was lucky to have the chance to go abroad. But I also did a week working in the O2 human resources department in Dublin. It wasn't for me but I did learn a lot about how to deal with people in a working environment. Working in any business is good experience, even if you don't enjoy it all the time. Try and rack your brains for something you really like and go for it."