Existential Crisis - Curious to hear your thoughts
Hello all,
Decided to post this here as it’s hard to find people who know the industry IRL. Currently going through a bit of a career crisis and feel stuck.
I came out of Undergrad and into commercial banking in 2017. From there I went through a rotational program and eventually joined our CRE lending team 1.5 years ago (no production goals, but more of a loan portfolio management/underwriting role). Currently make about $85k base + 10% bonus working 40 hours per week.
I hate what I’m doing. I got into this role because I thought one day I would start investing in RE on a small scale and this would help me understand it better. Now, I don’t even think I enjoy real estate. I think I just liked the idea of owning it.
I have no desire to become a CRE Lender (my current path). I don’t enjoy business development, trying to win over wealthy RE clients, or going to dull networking events. I hate having to come into an office 5 days per week when my job could be done 100% remotely. WFH during the pandemic was great for me.
I’ve been real introspective lately and trying to figure out what to do. I’ve thought about going into Acquisitions or Asset Management, but I’m worried that it’ll be more or less the same but more hours.
I’ve also thought about going into data science and working at a Fintech or Tech in general.
Am I just jaded that I haven’t found what I enjoy? Do I just need to suck it up and realize this is the reality of the working world?
While I don't have any experience doing Fintech / tech, I have done debt originations, acquisitions, and asset management.
At the junior level, it's basically the same job. Cash flows, DCF, investment committee memos, reading market reports, etc. Debt originations/underwriting is basically acquisitions. Asset management is a slower pace, but the type of work is the same.
I say if you're young, why not give tech a shot if you can swing it? It's not like you're leaving a job where you are earning great money anyway.
This was very helpful, especially from somebody who has done debt, acquisitions, and asset management. When I first started doing real estate-focused work, I thought I would enjoy it more. It just hasn't been the case for me. I guess it's good to learn that while I'm in my mid 20's, though.
What’s the pay difference between acquisitions and originations within the same firms? Seems like at the analyst level base is all the same but not sure what bonus looks like and comp down the line
There was little to no differentiation between originations / acquisitions analysts. It's basically the same job and the pay reflected that.
I think as you move up, there is more upside in originations since that role is production based. If you originate a lot of $$ in a year, that will be reflected in your bonus. There is less emphasis on production as an acquisitions officer since it's not primarily a volume game.
Once you reach end game I would say being a head of acquisition is more lucrative since a lot of those guys are tied to performance. If you can beat whatever benchmark you are tied to consistently, you'll get taken care of.
I switched from CM (construction management) to tech. There’s loads of jobs that don’t require coding and tons of free resources to learn to code for free/ cheap.
I went from being a Project Engineer -> Software Engineer in about 1 year. Now I work mostly on cloud configurations and infrastructure (AWS mostly). I like it a lot better and have developed a passion for it.
Theres also product management, finance roles at tech firms, scrum masters, sales (but sounds like OP doesn’t like sales in general), and a lot more roles.
If anyone reading this wants to get into tech (especially as an engineer) feel free to PM me. There’s tons of routes to the same destination
Extremely helpful. I will send you a PM if you don’t mind.
From my perspective, if you don't enjoy the work at a high level, you should switch.
I work in underwriting at a debt fund and have had exposure to the portfolio management side. I really enjoy working in underwriting and supporting originations, with the goal of becoming an originator. I enjoy working on various deals, researching markets, and managing investor capital. I like how I'm working on a model one day and a memo the next day. I get board, so the variety is a plus for me. But the down side is it never stops; the whole process overall is monotonous with constant pressure.
If you don't like the general function of what you do, it won't change. I did some acquisition work for an equity shop, it was fully reading leases (which sucks) and then all the usual stuff for debt deals.
I gave why I like and don't like my job so you can try to I relate to someone else's view.
Thanks for your thoughts. The longer I think about it, I do think that is the main problem. I don't mind underwriting, but I definitely don't want to become an originator, for one reason or another. I think it mainly has to do with the monotonous routine and constant pressure that you've described. And I don't think I can tolerate those two if I don't have an interest or passion with the work itself. Additionally, the way I see it, there's no reason for me to stay in debt underwriting if I don't want to become an originator.
What are the main differences between an originator and underwriter?
An underwriter is essentially an analyst - they work with the lender/originator to gather financials, play with the financial models, perform the cash flow analysis, put together the investment memos, etc. They are the ones that ensure the bank (or debt fund) doesn’t take on too much credit risk.
An originator (or lender) is the person actually responsible for building external relationships and generating new business. Basically working with a network of brokers, clients, attorneys, accountants, etc to bring in new deals and clients. In this position all that matters is deal volume in any given year, while of course making sure the loans are sensible.
Existentially - I don’t have anything to contribute aside from, as random as it sounds, maybe try what many professional career coaches introduce to their coaching clients - a Strengthfinder Review to gain more colour on what interests you, see weblink for diagnostic options with reports ranging from ~$20 and up, and peruse the book Strengthfinder 2.0 by Tom Rath/Don Clifton [fn1]: https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/253850/cliftonstrengths-for-… to gather more food for thought while you ponder this question;
AND perhaps add to your career options list RE Development since it has more pieces to work with, incorporates other disciplines, and may offer more day-to-day diversity and novelty although not an easy lateral move --- but it is certainly possible with your background.
[fn1]
"The CliftonStrengths assessment answers those questions. This online test (formerly named the Clifton StrengthsFinder) measures the intensity of your talents in each of the 34 CliftonStrengths themes. These 34 themes represent what people do best. They categorize all that's right with humankind -- distilled down to 34 different themes.
Immediately after completing the CliftonStrengths assessment, you'll receive your results in a report featuring customized descriptions of your rank-ordered dominant strengths. "
RE / Fiannce might not be for you then. At a higher level, RE Investments is really selling your idea on why you should invest, meeting lenders and investors, going to conferences, and trying to win business. You domtneed to work inRE in order to go off and do your own thing - you need $$.Go into software engineering or something, I think the atmosphere would suit you better. I was in the same boat a few years ago trying to make the switch from RE to Tech but I realized that in every industry there are pros and cons. And being inRE is something I can endure and deal with as my career.Good luck. I know exactly what you're going through.
P.S. this is the reality of the working world. Every job kinda sucks to a certain degree
Thanks for the response. Any reason in particular you decided to not go into tech?
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