Breaking into CRE with a non-finance background in Midwest

Hi!

I graduated a top 50 college in the Northeast and ended up moving to the Midwest (KC area). I've been working as a project manager for the past two years for a residential real estate investor and as a residential real estate agent but I want to break into commercial.

I'm not sure what to do. I was a biology major and graduated over 2 years ago. I got accepted into the Master's in real estate program at a local college and it starts in June if I want to begin. I've also applied to two internships (one at C&W) and I'm waiting to hear back. I've also taken some Excel modeling courses through Adventures in CRE.com to make myself more marketable.

I'm not really sure what to do/how to network/and what kind of jobs to focus on getting. Any advice would be appreciated :)

1 Comments
 

Eaque odit facere facere. Dolorem voluptas blanditiis quasi autem magnam molestiae tenetur. Totam aspernatur est corporis vero a rem sed. Aut eum nesciunt quaerat magni consectetur. Aut omnis dolore recusandae aut.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.9%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

September 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (55) $261
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”