Getting an entry level affordable RE role

Hi everyone. I'm a recent graduate struggling to get an entry level affordable role. I've been focusing on NY, but unfortunately I'm not based in the city so it's not the easiest to network in person. Between the top 50 affordable developers / lenders, there doesn't seem to be that many roles being advertised nor are there many at the smaller NY based firms.

While I have targeted the private sector so far, I would certainly consider a role in the public sector if it offered a good learning / exit opportunity. I would also be happy to live in Boston or somewhere outside of the NE.

I have 1 year + RE internship experience and a degree in urban planning from a reasonably well regarded school. Any advice on what I should do in this situation would be great. Thanks. 

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If still having trouble you should check out an entry-level Valuations/Consulting role at an affordable consulting group like CohnReznick or Novogradac.

You’ll be cranking out appraisals/market studies/RCS’s which is boring in my opinion. But good way to get affordable industry knowledge, analyzing a rent comp set for achievable rents, pegging year 1 operating income and expenses, analyzing fundamentals like location, schools, etc.

Then lateral into an analyst role on the principal side with some strong networking.

 
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If still having trouble you should check out an entry-level Valuations/Consulting role at an affordable consulting group like CohnReznick or Novogradac.

You'll be cranking out appraisals/market studies/RCS's which is boring in my opinion. But good way to get affordable industry knowledge, analyzing a rent comp set for achievable rents, pegging year 1 operating income and expenses, analyzing fundamentals like location, schools, etc.

Then lateral into an analyst role on the principal side with some strong networking.

Thank you! I'll look into valuations/consulting openings. 

 

Thank you Ozymandia. The HPD-HDC Housing Fellowship sounds fascinating. Unfortunately, I wouldn't qualify for a future fellowship or for a lot of the HPD or HDC roles as I just have an undergrad degree (or I fall short of the requisite amount of work experience). Given the staffing shortages at the NYC agencies, do you think they are desperate enough to make exceptions to these rules? Do you know if there is as much capacity to network one's way into a job that might not necessarily be advertised as there is in the private sector?  

 

I genuinely do not know, but it can't hurt to send an email and find out.

And when you say the agencies are understaffed, you don't know the half of it.

 

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