to become a developer, you just have to convince someone to loan you a ton of money. you can have no credentials at all but still develop if you have capital. The hard part is getting someone to give you money. You have to sell your idea to a combination of financial institutions and investors. If you have good marketing skills, you might get somewhere with this, you will probably need to put something substantial up as collateral though. Most institutions, though, tend to shy away from innovative projects, preferring tried and true projects (i.e. same old same old). If you have a connection to someone willing to pony up money for something new and interesting, you might get somewhere.

If you want to work for an established developer, you don't need any particular credential, per se, but a degree in real estate finance is good, as is an MBA. Don't expect to get your ideas developed, though, as many of these institutions also have pretty set business models.

There's an "architect/developer" here in Atlanta named Carlos Tardio, who has managed to get financing for small, ecclectic houses, which he design/builds himself. The work is daring, and it sells, but I don't think he's made much money doing it. Everytime I've seen him, he's been wearing rubber boots.

Yeah, I looked this Carlos guy up. He came and lectured at GTech when I was like three or four years ago. He had just finished the hemphill house just down the street from Rocky Mountian pizza. I didn't know he was developing houses too though. Here's his link just for the hell of it .......
http://www.tardioarch.com/frameset.htm

There was a cover story in Metropolis a few issues back titled "how to be your own developer". the article was more of a chance to show case studies of architects being their own developer, but it was sprinkled with a few pointers.

I am contemplating graduate study focused on project management. Most developers I know, who didnt have money, started out as project managers and established reputations and contacts in order to develop.

I can do this study for 1-2 years part time and get another qualification on top of by B.Arch Hons, and then move into a project management role within an architecture practice, or more beneficially, a property development or project management firm.

My end goal is to be an independent developer doing enough stuff and making enough money to finance my own private architectural habit... Also, I am particularly interested in restaurants, hotels and retail, as well as residential buildings.

Ultimately, I want a share and a say in my projects, and unless I do them myself, I wont get that.

mind if i ride coat tails diabase?

what are some schools that offer a grad program focused on project management? is that the best way to go? you sound like you've thought about this a little.

CJarch, I am based in New Zealand but have also worked in Australia so my experience is definitely Australasian.

The thing I am finding about Project Management as a profession is that it is still relatively new, and some PM's have no specific qualifications related to it. Thats why a 1 year post grad program is possibly the best thing to do because you dont want to overqualify, or overkill on the education.

The program I am interested in is generic but offers a broad range of papers, so you can major in the subjects you are interested in and complete approximately 6-8 papers.