Record investment in the petroleum and natural gas industry in Brazil by both government and private companies is expected to lead to a quarter of a million new jobs before 2017 according to federal government estimates.

The demand for professionals will continue to increase thanks to huge investments from the likes of Petrobras, which is reported to be investing US$224bn over the next four years, along with nearly all of the major multinational oil companies investing in the exploration of new oil and gas fields.

Among the professionals most in demand are operations managers, logistics managers, project managers, contract managers and engineers, many of whom are getting hired the moment they leave college. Most universities offer an undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering and, according to The Rio Times it has now become the most sought-after course at university, overtaking medicine.

Many of these companies are also recruiting experienced foreign workers, which bodes very well for property investors that rent luxury apartments in city centres because they are often paid up to three times more so they have larger accommodation budgets.

In the short term however, property prices in Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paolo, were falling in the last quarter of 2010, seen by many as a temporary correction after property prices increased by 50-100% in just two years (2008-2010).