Quit now for another junior-level position or stick it out for the 2 year mark

Hey guys,

Currently struggling with the decision to leave right away or stick in my current job for another year.

For background: I've been working as an investments analyst for a NY/LDN Equity L/S HF (AuM >1b USD) for just above 1 year. While the fund is based in a major city, my office (and most of my team) is in a secondary city.

My PM is focused on the Business Development side of the business (all about AuM) after we had solid performances over last 3-4 years, so my experience hasn't been very insightful, and I've stalled in terms of learning.

Furthermore, I'm looking to move into the Real Estate industry for a variety of reasons (better worklife balance, not working with public markets, assets are more interesting to me), so continuing in markets has the feeling I'll be pigeonholed.

So basically I feel I have 2 options:

Option 1: Stick it out for another year, to have the 2 year stamp, then leave for an associate level position (possibly doing a MSRE in the process) Advantages: still a semi-prestigious position Disadvantages: learning isn't on par with top shops; not in RE

Option 2: Find an entry-level position now as an analyst in any CRE shop, preferably in REPE or a large brokerage. Advantages: still have the learning of an entry-level position; go through the nuts and bolts of modelling in RE Disadvantages: unclear if I can find a very prestigious position, especially given I have very little RE-related experience

Thank you very much for reading so far and for your comments on this!