Commercial Real Estate to High Finance: Help!

Hey everyone. 

To give you a brief background: 

- Based in Dubai

- Just graduated from a leading uni in the UAE, magna cum laude, studied finance

-  On track to finish all 3 Levels of the CFA by next year (I’ll be 23)

- Got a job in valuation advisory at a big CRE firm (think CBRE,JLL,C&W). Mostly work on valuations, some transaction exposure, some IPO exposure, lots of portfolio management.

I’ve been trying to get into IB in Dubai for years, but due to the nature of the country, most spots are reserved for either UAE nationals or internal transfer hires. 
 

I’m now looking for the best possible way to get into IB without getting into 100s of thousands of dollars of debt. I live alone & would need to pay for any MBA/MSc programs myself. Also, what are the most likely exit opportunity scenarios in my situation, considering I decide to move to somewhere like the US or UK and work post-masters? I’m looking for 1-year programs, preferably, due to the lower costs & lost income. 
 

I’m just really confused right now as despite all the work I put in, along with related internship, I haven’t even got an interview for any IB position (and neither has a single person I know). Any advice on breaking into ‘high finance’ for someone with my profile? What would you do? 
 

Thanks for your input.

1 Comments
 

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