Best Way to Position Oneself as a Current MSRE Student
Hello all. I am currently in an MSRE program in a west coast HCOL city with an expected graduation of June of '24 and I have two questions I was hoping some people here have advice on. For some additional context I have 3 years of experience in construction, no current RE internships (looking now), and am very interested in development.
- As I said my expected graduation is this upcoming June, but in order to make that happen I will have to pack it in with credits in my upcoming quarters. My advisors thoughts (who does not have a RE background fwiw) were to instead save a class or two for the start of next year in order to try to get an internship this summer and then "play the student card" for longer to have a better chance at a FT offer in the fall. My initial thought was no as I want to start work and be done with school, but the more I consider it the more it could be a good idea. With the market the way it is this may provide a better onramp to a full time offer, but its hard to say! A bit of an odd question but if anyone has any thoughts they are greatly appreciated.
- I am trying to position myself to get into development, so ideally I want to focus on an asset class that is actually getting deals done right now and might be hiring within the next year or so. I also see a lot of people talking about asset management being hot right now, which I am open to considering if its all I can land and then knowing I will try to exit into development as things pickup. So really I am curious on anyones thoughts on what would be the best role or asset class I should shoot for going into the second half of '24 so I can be active and learn as much as possible.
I don't think your advisor's advice is terrible. With the current job market and the fact that you haven't had an internship yet, saving some courses for next year and doing an internship this summer would be a great option. You may end up gaining more from the internship too, due to coworkers having more time to invest in you (assuming they are good people) since deal flow is on the slower side. Also, I know you're chomping at the bit to start work and be done with school, but you have the rest of your life to work. Enjoy school and get everything you can out of the people and network you've built there.
I am not 100% sure, but I would think it might be easier to land an internship when you are going back to school afterwards vs being graduated and then trying to land an internship.
As far as what industry, I would definitely say to target development firms if that is what you're wanting to get in to! Research all the developers in your area and add their executives on LinkedIn. Ask them to coffee and explain your situation and that you are looking for an internship! There are always opportunities out there that are never posted to job boards.
Best of luck!
+1 to the above. I'll underscore -- do your level best not to graduate without at least 2 relevant internships fully completed with references from both. This combined with a solid and practical MSRE located in the area where you want to work is key to making the entire process successful.
Appreciate both of your responses. Is it common at all to start an internship during the school year and do it part time? Ideally I would try to get one now, but I know it might be tough to start something like that part time as I wouldn't get a ton of exposure to the rest of the team.
Immediately transfer to Georgetown and wait for the offers to roll in
Trust me
If you can afford to take your advisor's advice, it's a smart play. It also opens up the possibility that someone local can employ you while you're finishing up your degree if you get lucky and then let you escape for class a couple times a week while letting you punt the job decision if you don't get lucky.
As far as getting into development, think less about targeting specific asset classes and just get a job. It's difficult out there right now, but if someone is willing to hire you into development, whatever asset class they build is now your favorite asset class.
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