My situation is a bit unique as I jumped out of the RE field and want to jump back in, and use the MSRE at Georgetown to do so.
Background: did the summer analyst program in CRE lending at a large bank and accepted an offer to come back post graduation. Stayed for 1.5 years and left to join a startup where some of my HS/college buddies were already at. At that point I was pretty tired of the work/culture at the bank.
I am in a non-technical role at the startup, and having seen a startup up close/learned more about myself, I don't see any future in this role/industry.
That being said - saying I completed the program (if I even get in) at Georgetown, would the degree alone with my mixed bag of work experience give me good odds of breaking into a development group? I am based in the DMV so from my banking days I know there are quite a bit of dev shops around.
Thank you in advance for any advice/constructive feedback.
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I respectfully disagree with this completely. As a former Georgetown graduate, I can tell you a lot of the students expect they will get the MSRE degree and instantly get detailed looks from development and acquisitions shops, and are disappointed when that does not happen. The unfortunate truth is that without prior underwriting, brokerage, construction management, etc. experience as well, there are likely going to be more qualified candidates that are more likely to get an interview, with or without a graduate degree.
I certainly am not knocking the program and think it is an excellent investment, but more so as a long-term credential than a short-term booster that will get you a leg up in a job transfer. Development and acquisitions jobs are just too competitive to be that heavily influenced by an MSRE degree, generally speaking. Again, that's not to say that if you are an all-star networker/interviewer that you cannot leverage your banking experience and degree into development, I am just commenting on the immediate short-term value of the degree to go job hopping.
I agree. I guess I based my comment on the fact that the OP already has underwriting experience-- which is valuable, as you mentioned
Thanks for the input as a Georgetown grad. I had one person email me back and asked about the jump back and forth - I don't think I sold it well and I would admit in their shoes I would be questioning a candidate such as myself. I think with contacts I could get back to the lending side, but I don't really want to take that route (unless totally necessary/recommended).
As a present Gtown grad student, I agree. It definitely feels like more of a long-term investment rather than a "get-rich-quick" investment that a, I don't know, Harvard MBA might bring.
My grades were pretty average in undergrad and I think I may have blown that opportunity in lending, so yes I would definitely want to be able to demonstrate my renewed commitment by completing/excelling the MSRE program. Thanks for the insight, and that is good news to hear. Much appreciated.
I can only share my personal experience. I am a development analyst and my boss would NEVER hire someone straight out of an MSRED program for an associate role. I do not have my masters, and MSRED grads are always cold-emailing my boss for my position (I know this because I receive all of our website inquiries). It is for this reason that I do not think MSRED's are worth the time or money. You would be much better off spending 3-6 months networking and grinding for an analyst role, and working your way up from there.
Now, I work for a regional firm. If you are trying to work for a Hines, Related, or other large developers then I think you should go the MSRED route. Otherwise, build a network and try to get in on the ground floor.
Wow that's a somewhat harsh reality to face - thanks for the input
How would you view a candidate who was acting as an associate/VP with 2-3 years of experience balance sheet lender, but was always interested in the development side? Wouldn't have experience modeling for return metrics, but would be experienced modeling out NOI, sensitivity analysis, market research, conducting deal memos, familiar with construction lending, etc? Would someone like this need to start back in an analyst position, or would they be able fit into a associate's position or somewhere in the capital markets role within the firm, helping raise equity/debt?
It's hard for me to say, development is a tough business. From my experience, only the big corporate developers have "capital markets" focused guys. Everywhere else has "pre-development" and "construction" guys, and it is the partners/principals who are out there raising GP capital. Many on this forum do not realize that finance is a small part of it all. If you do not understand your market's zoning codes, entitlement processes, who on city council to reach out to before presenting your idea to your neighborhood association, how to read and negotiate a construction or design proposals, when to hire a geotech engineer to make sure your site is even feasable to build on, etc. etc., then you are would probably not be qualified to be an associate.
I think you could leverage that experience to work at a development shop for sure, but as an analyst. agree with officeguy, there are just too many things you have to get familiar with that are difficult to master without working directly for a developer, from site due diligence to entitlements, architecture and design, consultant management accounting, contractors/scheduling/construction management, financing and leasing.
Bumping my thread with a related question - I am not hearing anything back from any job apps. If I can't get anything, is the MSRE my only option for a job? Forget about it being development...
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