NEW YORK CITY-It was just the first week of school when GlobeSt.com's Rayna Katz caught up with Rosemary Scanlon, dean of the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate but—by several indications—the industry already was looking like a bright place for students' futures. The Dean will address one of the more important indicators of growth at RealShare New York on October 8^th when she presents information on development.

In the meantime, Scanlon had some thoughts on the matter. “New York City has recovered faster than any other part of the country,” she said. “Bank rescues by Washington, DC were largely of our banks, and the fact that tourism has kept up, cultural facilities have stayed strong, and there's been great residential development throughout the city—especially in the boroughs—makes a difference too. Once banks see this, development projects are ready to roll.”

A variety of projects underway around town, such as Hudson Yards, Atlantic Yards and the World Trade Center are “giving us investment in infrastructure,” Scanlon continued. “They are creating land by decking over both Hudson and Atlantic Yards, and with the World Trade Center we will have the new Path train station and the Fulton Transit hub,” she says. “If they're well-planned and well-done, they allow for a mix of uses that aren't otherwise possible in New York because it's so built up.”

But Dean Scanlon was seeing another strong sign of economic recovery: a big boost in hiring. “In our job system exclusive to NYU's Schack school, 120 jobs were registered with us since Aug. 1, as of Sept. 12^th. “Of those, 72 are full-time, 48 are internships and they're all paid. We consider this a great indicator.”

Adds Rebecca Anderson, associate director of career management, “This is about double what we had last year. And these internships are paying $15 to $25 an hour.”  That compares to $8 to $10 an hour being secured today by undergraduates taking part in internships today.

Noted Scanlon, “Two years ago, as the industry was coming out of the recession, internships often weren't for pay, and payment wasn't this high unless the job was with a specialty firm.”

The school was slated to hold a job fair the week of Sept. 16^th, and the outlook for that event also was solid. “All the participating firms are hiring, they seem to have immediate needs and we're seeing more construction and development firms,” Scanlon said. “It's a reflection of the economy and the fact that the industry is coming back up.”