Career Advice - Real Estate High Finance
I have been reading this site for some time although I have never posted. I am looking for a little career advice although I feel my career path and future is likley unlike most on this board.
I am 32, recently married, living in the midwest, and currently in the real estate insdustry. I mainly develop wireless towers (site selection, lease negotiation, due diligence, zoning meetings, shaking mayor's hands etc. etc.) although I do have experience in consulting on various traditional real estate projects (hotel, SFR lots, office warehouse property). I have an undergrad degree in finance and an MBA (non target, but a well respected state school).
I really do love real estate but I was thinking about trying to get deeper into the finance side of things, say private equity, investment banking, etc. I really enjoy evaluating deals from a financial standpoint but also like getting out in front of clients and people. My main concern however is where would I start in terms of position and what would I be looking at in terms of compensation considering my background? Could I even break into the industry or would I be written off automatically?
I currently bring in about 100k with my comp + bonus and other small entrepreneural businesses that I run. I have a very good work like ballance, and at 32 with a family that is somewhat of a concern going forward.
Question is.....
A. In my career, could I realisticly make a move into high finance, and in what role?
B. Would I take a huge pay and work life hit if I made a move?
C. Should I swing for the fences in high finance, or should I continue on a more entrepreneural path where I could feasibly make $150k in another 6-7 years and likley build real assets that I could expect equal income from in retierment (although very far away).
Thanks in advance.
You could maybe transition to REIT Equity Research/Banking/Trading depending on your background. It sounds like you have some background that could be helpful for finances on industrial REITs or maybe weird firms like American Tower.
Prolly a work-life hit. You may have to move to New York if you go sell-side. Nominal wages would increase a little; real wages (NYC cost of living) would decrease.1.) Based on the decisions you've made over the past ten years, when there was a trade-off between family/friends/life and career, what choices did you make? 2.) How do you feel about those choices?
If your answer to (1) was "family/friends/life" and your answer to (2) is at least "reasonably good", I say stay where you are, make it to the kids' baseball games; be a good dad. Few people these days get that option with their careers.
Otherwise, off the top of my head, and this is just me bouncing ideas around, I think that given your experience with site selection/development/leasing/etc. you'd have an easier time moving to a boutique developer of, I dunno, retail? If you get a job like that in NYC, you may find that there are people in banking who wish they had that job. Banking is not everything.
I agree with looking at the tower REITs. I started when everything was mostly mom and pop, and then American Tower, Crown Castle, and SBA all started acquiring assets and now they are the big men on campus. The big problem with these companies is that they move and act like they are publicly traded, which means no major equity stake or lofty bonus. I am not writing them off, but they are certainly not sure paths to riches by any means.
Interesting note, Global Tower Partners, a large prive equity based tower company just entered into sale agreement to American Tower. This is a big exit for a relativly huge PE company in the business.
Prospie, I see where you are coming from, and I agree that banking is not everything. When I was an undergrad I was infatuated with investment banking but that was until I had an interview with AG Edwards. I was nothing at the time, but there was something about a d-bag in a Kmart suit acting like he was bringing in 500k a year that bothered me.
I guess me biggest delima comes down to what future I should choose, and I must say I am on the fence. My wife is a teacher at ~$40k year + pension (if it is ever there in 40 years.... ha ha), and I have a steady job plus some entrepreneural opprtunities locally (~100k currently). I fear if I stay here, I will never be "really well off (rich)," but I also get that everything is realtive, and that money doesnt always equal happiness.
Do I go for the FU money (find another job, move, kiss ass, etc) or stay where I am at with a better chance of having a more successful personal life? To go for it and advance I would likley have to move jobs every couple of years, and that would probably not be very good for family life if you know what I mean. On the other hand I could stay here in my area and try to make aces with the hand I was dealt. I feel lucky that this is such a "delima" to me but I also have very hight expectations of myself.
I can tell you that different groups will have different hours, but that pay largely coincides with more net hustle/stress. Traders have better hours but age more in a day than bankers do. Bankers have crazy hours but in median terms earn more.
I can tell you that some bankers are unhappy and some traders are unhappy. I can tell you that some traders are fabulously rich and some bankers are fabulously rich. Beyond $60K/year/person in a reasonable cost locale, wealth doesn't necessarily buy you happiness.
You will have to decide whether $150K/year and the potential to one day earn $400K is worth 100 hours/week for the next five years. Or maybe 60 hours/week is worth $130K with the potential to earn $200K and a slight chance of earning $2 million while giving up an extra three months of your life for every year you work.
People who choose FU money tend to be recognized and remembered by more people, and sometimes have more interesting friends. But beyond $100K, people who choose family tend to be happier and feel better about their lives and families. Many of our parents will have stories about how they turned down more money for less time with their family, and how it was worth it. Maybe that was your Dad.
Different people will be happier in different situations. You have to choose yours'. There's no GENERAL right answer on this (otherwise everyone would either be trying to get out of finance or trying to get in)- only a right answer for you. We can help you optimize your career along the way and help you work out the tactics even strategy, but YOU have to figure out YOUR priorities/values.
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