Career Path - Next Step After Entry Level

My shop is a satellite office in Texas - the primary corporate office is states away. Because of this, we have a small acquisitions team and I am the only analyst. Currently I am making $52,500 a year with discretionary bonuses and working 40 hours a week. I have been working here for nearly two years.

I graduated from a non-target state university with a 3.70 GPA. I got lucky and was hired on as an Acquisitions Analyst for a multifamily acquisitions and management company. We are the operating partner on value-add deals ranging from $30million to $100million plus. On any given day I am working on anywhere from 2 to 7 deals.

I feel as if I am not getting as much deal exposure and industry experience as I could be. Should I look for other opportunities and compensation? I am afraid of a stagnant salary and low deal exposure hindering my career growth.

I am getting plenty of experience underwriting, touring, and seeing through these value-added multifamily deals, but am not so much involved in overseeing the renovations beyond tracking progress and whether or not we are behind/over schedule and budget.

Is this just a case of "grass is greener on the other side"? Do you have any recommendations? I have considered joining ULI for more networking and industry exposure. My main goal is to learn, grow, and network in order to leverage a better future position.

Thanks.

9 Comments
 

Go back to school and get an MSRED. With that gpa and 1-2 years of work experience I bet you could get into a top program like Columbia, USC, etc pretty easily. Plenty of acquisitions shops recruit from these despite them being labeled as development degrees. Another choice is to network and look for a opportunity through ULI, NAIOP, etc. This is obviously a much less costly way of getting a great job.

 

Not trying to shit on you but be careful what you say to people more experienced than you. It’s ok to share your thoughts but be sure to mention your experience level if you’re advising someone on a phase of life that you haven’t lived through yet

Fuckin my way thru nyc one chick at a time
 

Do you have geographic restrictions? There are plenty of shops in NY / LA that will pay you a heck of a lot more to crank deals from the LP side. Are you looking to stay close to the assets? Do you see yourself as more of an acquisitions/investments guy down the road or closer to the development/AM side of things?

 

My wife is in school for the next two to three years so until then, I am geographically limited. I enjoy the acquisitions and investments side more than the AM but could really swing either way. I also prefer having proximity to the assets ust for exposure and learning.

It's looking like my best option right now might be networking locally through contacts and ULI, but a master's program isn't out of the question once my wife finishes up schooling.

 
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