Career Advice
Currently work as an associate (2 years as an associate) for a RE investment firm remotely, but am hitting the wall of remote upward trajectory since I never get face time. Additionally, while the experience is really good (a lot of hands on work), I'm severely underpaid.
The issue I am running into is I live in the Midwest with very little opportunities to continue in RE (2 reputable RE firms in my city), my wife really likes her job, and we are building roots planning a family and own our home here. I would love to continue in RE, but I've been looking for 1-2 months and the only RE jobs end up being analyst roles with ~1 year of experience.
There are PE firms on the corporate side, but as I don't have IB experience I'd lose the progress I've made if I could even swing a role. There are IB firms here, but outside of 1-2 firms, the pay here is pretty low for the hours you put in. I work roughly 50-60 hours and IB here is still 70-80 and I was quoted that analysts make ~$100k and associates ~$150-$160k. I would be increasing my hours by ~33% and my pay would be bumped by only 30%, so it'd be a lateral move at best while also losing progress and having to learn new industries.
Not sure what the best solution is, if I just wait it out and hope something opens up, consider moving, or just continue getting underpaid.
Is your company in the city you live? If so, can you go into the office and get facetime? Is it possible to ask your boss what long terms plans they have with you just to probe if there's a future at the firm?
At the VP level and above a lot of the recruiting is done via networking, which after 2 years as an associate you could be qualified for - can you reach out to firms you have a relationship with? 1-2 months isn't a long time to be looking, especially in this market. It took me almost a year to find a job that paid what I wanted, title bump, solid deal flow, etc.
You can always also pivot to real estate lending at a bank, commercial banking, debt/equity brokerage. Keep your head up and good luck with the search!
Unfortunately not in my city, I am remote in a different time zone, which is also a bit tricky on my work schedule. I have spoke with my boss about compensation, but not title. I was told I'd get carry last year, but then we ran into the volatility in the market at the beginning of this year and the CEO basically pushed any major raises or carry to be decided another year later.
My experience is a bit odd because I transitioned after an MBA to real estate and only have 2 years within this industry. I am more likely looking at a senior associate versus a VP at my experience level which is fine with me. I agree I haven't been looking too long, but I do know all the investment firms/PEs/REIT's in my city since their aren't many, and there are only a few that will pay close to what I'm looking for.
I have been looking at alternatives that I could still utilize my experience, but I guess I will continue to see if anything comes together before the end of the year.
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