'The people who are making the big money are the guys doing the deals'

James Hanby/Graduate surveyor CBRE: For a young graduate, James Hanby (left) has a few professions under his belt. But a chance meeting on holiday with his future boss led him to his niche as a surveyor with commercial property multi-national CBRE.

Working in its development land department, James is involved in selling sites on behalf of clients, most of them zoned for residential development.

"Organisation is very important and it's one thing they're very serious about here. There's so much work involved and you need to be really on top of what's happening. Follow-up is vital. If you say you're going to ring or have a report on a certain day, then you do." He graduated from UCD with a commerce degree and his first job was in insurance. He then worked as a sales representative for Dublin radio station 98FM. After a year of travel and some time in Anglo Irish Bank, he wanted a job with more hands-on experience.

Busy days can see a 7.30am start with a 7pm finish. The company has a strong "work hard play hard" policy with large offices complete with pool table and a reputation as a good employer.

Do his friends think he is coining it on the back of the boom? "The people who are making the big money are the guys who are doing the deals. They're the ones who are taking the risk. You're not going to earn big money straight away. You need to learn your role and everybody's ambition is different."