Liz Cunningham studied property agency and marketing at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester and now works as a land manager for new homes builder Miller Homes.
Updated: 05 Sept 2025
Thinking of studying for a degree in the field of property, land management, or even construction? Not sure where your degree could take you and what kind of job you could end up doing?
Whatuni spoke to Liz Cunningham, who studied property agency and marketing at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester, to find out where her degree took her…
When I was deciding what course to study, I knew I wanted to do something vocational so that I could enter work as soon as I graduated. I initially considered geography, but I wanted to have more career opportunities available to me, rather than having to do a conversion course, so opted for a degree accredited by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
I never liked the idea of a role that would mean I had to sit behind a desk for five days a week and knew that a property-related degree would open up a lot of different routes. The industry interested me as I loved to watch programmes like Grand Designs, and had a general interest in the built environment.
There was never a dull moment at university – while it was in a rural location, there was always something going on. One of the best things about my course was that there was support to help you locate work experience, so I used this as much as I could. The Royal Agricultural University was smaller and more personal than other organisations, so this meant I was able to have greater access to the lecturers for career advice and course support.
After graduation, I initially started as a graduate surveyor, working on a mix of residential and commercial properties as well as development land. This gave me a broad understanding of the property market as a whole, but it also began my interest in the development land side of work. Once I qualified as a chartered surveyor, I was keen to become more specialised.
At Miller Homes, my week usually starts with a quick catch-up meeting, where all the teams gather together to discuss our upcoming and ongoing land opportunities. After this, my typical tasks include reading through contracts, meeting with lawyers and planners, drafting packs for our board to review land opportunities, and handling the handover process after land purchases.
What I love about my role is that it’s a good mix of office and on-site work. I now find myself out and about several times a week looking at new land opportunities in various locations across the east of Scotland.
Good organisation and communication skills are essential for this role as you will have to write a lot of reports and manage a team as well as build good working relationships with various stakeholders to complete a project. Every land deal is different, and you need to be willing to learn from each.
A career in the land sector usually begins as an assistant/graduate land buyer and then progresses to land buyer, onto land manager, senior land manager, associate director and finally director.
Construction is traditionally perceived as a male-dominated industry, but it is slowly changing with a lot of women now coming into the land sector. I am seeing an increasing number of women at networking events from a number of firms and feel it is important to keep females in the industry visible to break the perception of a ‘male-only’ workforce. From my experience being a woman has never felt like a disadvantage in this industry.
Don’t be afraid to go for it – if you have a genuine interest in the industry nothing should hold you back. As a woman, you should be willing to be visible, so you encourage the younger generation to take up a construction-based role too. The industry is changing in such a positive way, and the land sector especially is seeing more and more females join the ranks.
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*Interview with Liz arranged by Tank PR.