Pivot, no table

Hey all,

I'm a first year analyst doing asset management for a CRE loan servicing company (knocked it out of the park, I know). Graduated last summer with a finance / real estate degree, earning a flat 3.5 from an ACC state school. 

My job now is pretty easy, and I'm on track for a promotion to associate as I'm closing out my first year. That being said, I'm looking to pivot my career into something more engaging or that has a higher upside in the long-term. 

Looking for something:

- Attainable. Need to be able to realistically pivot into the role with my less-than-impressive resume (no IB / PE, at least initially)

- Relatively engaging / challenging / satisfying. I understand this is relative, but the bar is pretty low with my current job. Looking for something that is interesting, has decent travel, pushes you to constantly learn, or where I can contribute to larger scale projects or have goals to hit. Areas that have caught my eye are consulting and corporate development, but it seems like these really aren't options unless you have IB experience or a top-end education pedigree. 

- Has decent WLB. My job now is almost too much "life" not enough "work", but also not looking for something where 70 hour work weeks are the norm, at least long term. I'd be willing to put up with long hours for <5 years if it would lead to greater opportunities down the road.

- Higher upside in the long term. Would like a decent salary initially, but more importantly would like opportunities to earn more down the road if I put in the work. However, I'm cool with maxing out at $225-250K assuming I could get there in 10 - 15 years (although the quicker the better, obviously). I don't see myself as the type of person that would stick around in the corporate world if I made over $350K; I'd likely stay put for a year or two then fuck off and start a business or get involved in real estate investing, etc. 

Any suggestions for career paths to check out? Can be in either the finance or real estate side of things.

It appears that if I wanted to eventually aim for consulting / corporate development / strategy, I'd need to build up my resume and gain some experience. Is the FP&A route a path that will give you decently transferrable experience to these careers, or a shot at a top b-school (which could then make these attainable)? 

1 Comments
 

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