Anyone on here go from acquisitions (REIT/REPE) to a top 10 MBA? If so, what was your motivation for getting the MBA? What did you tell the adcoms was your reason for getting the MBA (i.e. what did you want to do after school)?
I was looking at job placement stats for some of the schools and real estate is always 2% of the class. I'm worried that my background in real estate would hinder me from getting in. Ultimately I would love to get into more of a strategy role for a small/medium sized private company (no more real estate although I love the industry).
Will it hinder you from getting in? Absolutely not, as long as you have a decent GPA, GMAT, and an EC or two that makes you interesting --- stuff that any top program would require.
I work in REPE acq's as well. If you are looking to re-brand you'll definitely be able to do that, especially for corp strat. The reason that you don't see many top MBA's going into CRE are numerous. Many times an MBA isn't required for the VP track like it is for the non-RE buy side. So there is less interest on that front. Also, Post-MBA RE is comp is generally lower than other opportunities available at a top school, and lets be honest many of the status whores tend to look down on CRE in the world of high finance/MBB.
This. It seems like MBAs in REPE or RE Development are people that transitioned over from another area of finance. I could see the benefits of an MBA if one was looking to travel during a RE career, but if you plan on staying in your current market it's probably better to keep working and networking, IMO.
Thank you DBCooper. It is interesting how CRE it is viewed at these top schools. My buddy at a top school said that at a career office event, the guy said "the average salary of our grads is actually higher, but that is partly due to the real estate positions bringing down the stats a bit". Ouch!
I would be interested to know which top program you are referring to, and where the candidates are ending up for them to be weighing down the average. The majority of real estate specific people in my network are on par, and some even better, than non RE specific industries. I am still young in my career & haven't pursued my MBA yet, but I did not expect there to be a large delta between RE vs non RE pursuits.
You can look at the placement stats at some schools. Check Google and stop relying on anecdotes.
Median RE Comp at HBS 2013 is: $100k all-in Median VC/PE/LBO at HBS 2013 is: $150k + $25k + $135k all-in
damn. RE prob includes everything tho. leasing brokers, agents, property managers, etc
Haha true, but $100K all in seems pretty surprising as well considering that is less than 1st years out of UG at a good amount of shops..
You can crack into $250k-$300k Pre-MBA if you work at a top shop. I'm just trying to make the point that on average, compared to traditional high finance, CRE guys make a lot less. I didn't mean to come off as rude with the anecdote thing.
Also, don't forget that even if only 2-3% of HBSers head into RE - it's pretty telling as the class size is pretty large - not to mention what they probably look like on paper.
Edit: Also, I chose the HBS employment report because they are one of the few that list signing and other guranteed comp, where as schools like CBS only list median salary which if you are curious is $107k for RE. Maybe some would include REPE in PE? But to me that doesn't explain it all. RE Dev and REITs for example definitely wouldn't be listed under PE.
Edit of Edit: lol I read the CBS report wrong. Median Salary is $107k + Median Bonus $20k. $127k all-in
I definitely see your point. And I would say you are right that on a total basis, real estate is compensated lower when compared to high finance roles such as VC & vanilla PE. But this is generalizing a little bit, because we all know you can kill it in industries such as the one you are in (REPE) and other highly compensated sectors of RE.
I've seen a lot more people that go back for a Master's in RE rather than an MBA. Is this the general way to go if you're already in the industry?
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