The price of a decent virtual reality headset has fallen to a few hundred dollars (or about $20 if you have a phone compatible with Google Cardboard). And they�re not just for movies and games. Nearly every industry will soon use VR for teleconferencing and training. But for some professionals, 3-D experiences will transform how they do their jobs.

Real Estate

Instead of spending hours driving around looking for the perfect house, savvy realtors will give clients VR tours of properties. Matterport is already selling a 3-D camera system to help agents create these walk-throughs. Looks like they�ll have to find a new way to make tiny rooms seem huge.

Mental Health

Doctors at research hospitals have used VR for decades to treat patients with burns and PTSD. But now a company called Psious offers a headset and software bundle to help therapists treat anxiety disorders like arachnophobia and fear of flying with a VR version of exposure therapy.

Design and Engineering

Ford Motor is using Oculus tech to evaluate virtual versions of vehicles before they�re built, and startups are developing VR design tools for everyone from architects to nanotech engineers.

Illustrations by Diego Patiño