Best Graduate Degree

Hello,
What's the best graduate degree for real estate investing (REPE / REIT) ?

MBA? JD? MSRE? etc...

Would appreciate any further remarks about the topic in terms of pros/cons, career progression, door openings, etc....

Regards. 

9 Comments
 

So JD won’t give me an advantage in making deals in terms of making the contracts etc. ?

also making sure the legal issues of the fund are taken care of well? 

I know a lot of guy who made it big in RE had a JD and often times were also real estate attorneys before starting their own venture. 

 

MBA from HSW without a doubt. Columbia also good. Berkeley is solid for west coast jobs. UNC, UVA also place well. I wouldn’t go full time for an MSRE and would probably only consider it if I had 2 years of work experience. 

Depends a lot on personal network and where you want to work as well. If you want to work at Hines, Related, Tishman, Blackstone, Brookfield, etc. then HSW/MBA are going to be your best bet. If you have NYC connections you could probably get a good gig at an NYC-based developer by going to Columbia or NYU. 

 

I say this as someone with a MRED, but the answer is a top MBA, for the network if nothing else. 

I know it's weird to think about, but nothing you learn in your $100,000-$200,000 program will be revolutionary. You could probably learn the same amount from YouTube videos. What you get is a checkmark beside your name saying that you accomplished something and an invite to the in-group of people who have accomplished the same thing. 

My big state school MRED opened a lot of doors for me initially. A top MBA would have opened even more. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

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