Advice for a 26 y/o career switcher?
I did not go to a target school nor have I had a finance internship. I went to the University of Victoria in Canada and my background is in entrepreneurship and sales. I am currently the sales manager for a painting company. I want to work for a top private equity real estate company to gain experience and then eventually do my own value-add multifamily deals and developments.
How do you break into a top private equity real estate company like Trammell Crow Company, CBRE Global Investors or Greystar without an MBA or prior experience? Has anyone done it?
What are the possible routes to get there?
So, you have named of firms that have the ability to hire experienced people with grad degrees, and will likely continue to do so. In fairness, anything is possible, right? But flip the question.... What would you be able to offer? Seriously, if you met an MD/EVP type from one of those firms and you had a few minutes to make your pitch as to why you should be hired, what would you say?
You are still pretty young, so calling this a "career switch" is a bit much, many in CRE started in late 20s/early 30s from other fields or out of college/military/etc. One obvious route is to look a fields like landlord/tenant rep brokerage, investment sales, D/E placement, commercial appraisal, and similar type shops. The smaller firms (and even some big name firms in some markets), will be fine if all you have is a UG degree from wherever.
You get to start like most did, at the bottom. This industry is pretty good at letting those who can blend ambition and skill move upward with experience and some luck. You just need to start.
An alternative, counterintuitive route would be to actually apply for internships at principal type firms. Post grad internships are becoming way more common and will likely be even more so due to pandemic. This is a $15-25 per hour route with no benefits/bonuses/etc. but you can get experience that counts. After 6 months or even a year, you may be very marketable and hopefully valuable enough that a firm will hire you. Those big names you referenced are not likely the ones to target, need to look for small/boutique if you this route.
Finally, there is grad school, no idea if you have any inclination or not, but if you really want the type of names you listed, it could be roadblock without (but not a guarantee even if you go). Just pointing out a lot of the MSRE/D programs discussed on this board really are setup for someone in your exact situation... so that is what some people like you are doing (i.e. that is what some of your competition is doing to try and do exactly what you want to).
Hope this helps!
This is helpful advice. My long, long-term goal is to open my own shop and develop and operate 1000 or more units because I believe the greatest gift someone could give another human being is a place to live. I wonder what the trajectory has been for most who have gone out on their own 5 years or so after working at one of these top firms.
I don't think there is one "path" for those who go out on their own, and most who do have a lot more years of exp than 5 (more like 20 I'd guess on average). Really just a matter of having the financial backing to do it, when you raise money, you can do it. Same proposition as I laid out above, what's your pitch? Raising capital is not easy, esp for new firms, personal connections are about only way most make it.
I was 26 when I decided I wanted to pursue a career in CRE. Didn't come from a financial background at all, studied a liberal art at a state school in undergrad and was working in project management in an unrelated field. I ended up getting an MSRE, did some internships while in school (which was very humbling but I grinded my way through). Ended up getting an Analyst position at a mid sized REPE firm.
I don't want to crush your dreams, but your chances of landing at a top REPE with your current circumstances are almost zero. The only way you could do it is if you somehow networked your way in and convince someone to give you a shot without having any qualifications.
If I were you I would try to either get an MSRE/MSRED or even an MBA, get some internships, or grind your way into getting some kind of real estate experience. Get your Argus certifications, take some Udemy courses on Real Estate financial modeling. Curb your expectations and try to get in with a smaller firm and not shoot for top tier REPE. You can still acquire the skills you need to have your own multifamily shop at a smaller firm.
Top REPE isn't happening (pre-MBA, at least). Then again, not all is lost because you don't need this experience to do your own deals.
I say go the Investment Sales route. Pound pavement and become an expert in a market / property type then leverage the relationships and knowledge to jump to the principal side. Do some small deals on the side along the way (for the experience, not the money) then when you've got a decent chunk of change strike out on your own or preferably partner up with someone with operational expertise who complements your weak points.
Your best bet is to join a smaller family/non-institutional office, work with the big REPE through deals, then laterally transition.
I was a 26yo career switcher. Get started now (networking, MBA, or both) but don’t shoot for top REPE. You can still get plenty of great positions and have great careers at smaller, more regional firms.
If you feel pretty certain that you wanna try this career track, start soon. Nothing more depressing than staring into the barrel of being a 30yo analyst 😅
Fair enough. I want to push back.. why wouldn't I shoot for top REPE based on my long-term goals?
Because top REPE firms are institutions. Their hiring processes are systematic in nature and they rarely, if ever, make exceptions.
If your goal is really to be part of entrepreneurial ventures, one could make a case you would be far better off working in a more entrepreneurial shop (the top shops are as corporate as they can be, complete with Ivy-led top to bottom command structures). You will have a better idea of what it really takes if you actually see/interact with the partners who have to stress firm cash flow, raising funds, managing investor expectations, signing on notes, etc.
Given what you have said overall, I'm not sure why you want to fit in to the mega-corp shops to be honest.
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