Changing mid-career to real estate finance

I am thinking of moving mid-career to the real estate industry. I have worked in finance project management (in IB) for the past 10 years after working in finance for 5 years before that. I graduated from Cardiff University (UK) with an Economics BSc in 1998 and gained a MSc in Finance at Reading University (UK) in 2000. I am also a qualified accountant (specifically CIMA).

As I am turning 40 in August, I'd like to move away from project management which is now almost exclusively 'contract based' where you work on a specific project which last 12-18 months to a more stable job. After this time, you find that your employer often will not extend your contract once the project has been completed. This means that I have had around 6 employers in 10 years.

Since the credit crunch, around 80-90% of all new opportunities in banking project management seem to be contract based. After working for this for the past 10 years, I would like to move to a more stable industry and though that real estate (post 2008) may a good option.

To get into the real estate industry, I am thinking of studying the MSc Real Estate Investment and Finance course with Heriot-Watt University part-time from October 2015 over the next 2 years.

I would like to like to transition to a real estate analyst for an investment or commercial bank or REIT.

Can anyone provide any career advice - especially for a mid career professional at the senior AVP/junior VP level.

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