Graduate studies for changing role + geography (MSRE, REIB, REPE, Brokerage)
I know this has been discussed in detail before and I've gone through almost all of them, but I still have a few questions you guys might be able to help me with. Its a long read but I would really appreciate your help.
Background: I am from Europe, but I did my undergrad in the US on a full sport scholarship. Got offers from ivy-league schools and other "top" school (think UNC Chapel Hill, Baylor, Binghampton, ...) but decided to go with a lesser known private school in the southern regions, simply because 1, my previous coach was about 20 min drive away from the school 2, they offered to pay for everything, not just tuition (so room, books, food, etc...other schools only offered 80% scholarship and my family would've had trouble paying that even) 3, I didn't really care about school prestige back than, as I was set on either turning pro, or after graduation going back to my home country, where noone knows the difference really and all they hear is "American university -> wow". Finished there with 3.6 GPA in business administration.
During summer between my junior and senior year I decided pro life isn't for me (waking up at 5.15 every morning, being injured all the time, basically living on Advil) so after graduation I started as a business analyst (in my home country: think CEE) at one of the largest European IT firms. Worked there for a while, then got invited to work for a different company in western europe (think Great Britain, Ireland, ...). Worked there for less than a year and found it REALLY boring so I quit and moved back to CEE.
I knew I wanted to work with investments in any way, so long story short: helped out a private investor and negotiated on his behalf to acquire CRE (He chose me to help him since it was related to my previous sport), leveraged that plus my background in advanced analytics and received an offer from a major brokerage (think CBRE, JLL, Cushman) on their investment sales + research team. I enjoy it there and the team is amazing, really smart people and good deal flow. Been working there for a few months, all together I have less than 3,5 years of work experience now.
But here is my problem: I have always wanted to work in NYC and I am not sure what my best options are (I don't have green card or anything). Looking at previous discussions, I have the feeling that if I was ok with continuing down the brokerage road and just wanted to work in NYC, programs like NYU MSRE or Columbia MSRED might do the trick. But looking at the work I would be doing at BB REIB, I would be more interested in it plus the atmosphere is better fit for me.
Would I have a viable shot at joining a BB REIB with NYU MSRE for instance? Of course I would love to go the WSH MBA way, but its super competitive, 2 years long, and really expensive. My end game is REPE, but not sure if I would be interested in joining a smaller shop, as comp there can be low and work/workflow not as interesting. Do you guys think it is doable to go from MSRE -> REIB -> MF REPE, or is the top brokerage -> MF REPE the better route? I read here before that Eastdil is one of the best ways to join MF REPE, but some other people said MS, GS, ... REIB -> MF REPE is the better route.
OR
On top of all mentioned above: its my dream to work in NYC, but I also have to think about my career. Would top European MREF (LSE, Cambridge, Cass) give me a better chance at joining the above mentioned places? In that case, of course in London, which honestly is still a great city, just NYC is the dream for me. These courses are a lot cheaper than MSRE in USA, but I don't care that much when it comes to Masters degrees -> only MBA ($200k+) is a little too expensive, but if you guys say my chances are better + its cheaper, it might be something to think about.
And one more thing: in Europe, Masters in Finance is a much bigger thing than in USA, so if I'm dead set on RE, would courses like LSE REEF would make more sense, or Finance heavy courses like LSE accounting and finance masters would be a better choice? Are my chances close to zero of finishing one of these courses and getting a job in NYC after?
Basically NYC REIB or REPE is the what I'm aiming for, and I would need some advice with finding the best, least risky route.
Thanks guys in advance.
So, I think you need to be realistic about getting a job and a work visa in the US. My impression is that the vast majority of the foreign students who go to all those programs in the US you list generally go home to work. There are exceptions, but I don't see this getting easier at the moment (politics do change however). Or you could marry an American, but don't rely on WSO advice for that one.
There is one 'trick' that sometimes works if your set on NYC. Start with a European firm and transfer, I think they have different visa deals for ex-pats (don't rely on this, check it out). I've seen many Europeans become full-time US residents/workers get their green cards via this method.
As to what school to go to? Well, you have the right list, if you want a long-term career in the US, a US grad degree will be very helpful (so would LSE if you get in there). I think you need to optimize from visa/entry first, then route onward (like get your residency figured out then xfer if you want to).
Hope this helps!
I work in NYC and did MS from NYU, so I will give a shot at this. I used to have similar mindset and goal when I was younger.
I cannot stress enough how much competition there is in NYC, in general and especially in finance. Having said that, lack of green card will set you back a lot since there are tons of candidates with citizenship or green card from target schools and more preferred WE than major brokerage (no offense).
I deal with megafunds (think BX, TPG, etc.) a lot, and yes, there are major differences among the firms in terms of the types (personality, character, etc.) of people they hire but the common thread is that most of them come from BB REIB/another MF or he/she is just fucking genius that is not demonstrated in resume.
I am not sure how NYU MSRE used to be but when I did mine a few years ago, it was not impressive, but admittedly it does carry good weight in the job market. However, once you get to a position with 4+ yrs WE, MSRE is so common in people's resume that it just checks a box rather than separating you from crap candidates.
I am really not sure what people in WSO refer to as "REPE". This can be any firm from megafunds to a joe investment shop in Garment District. Same from REIB too, this can be a IB at a BB/EB or just a fancy term for brokers raising debt and equity. If you mean megafunds and IB at GS/MS/JPM, etc., frankly I would adjust the expectation since MSRE would not lead you there directly.
Now what can you do, you may ask? If you are dead set on REIB at BB or megafunds, I think you must do MBA business schools">M7 MBA. MSRE at NYU won't get you there. I would also recommend adjusting your expectation (I did that so many fucking times having seen the pool of talents whether that be in true intellect or in resume only), and try to get there in a series of stepping stones.
Thank you both for your input they were really helpful.
reveder: yeah I was already thinking about that 'trick', it might be my best bet, I will look into it.
Iamyourfather, first of all love the username, second: may I ask what you work in? You mentioned you work with MFs regularly and that in itself sounds interesting to me, and although I'm "set" on a path, I am still interested in hearing what other people do, whether its interesting, do they like it etc...
Regarding NYU MSRE, I've looked at a lot of firms I'm interested in and searched for people who work there and where they went to school. Many of them did the NYU program, but most of them were from either undergrad or business school.
And thanks for the advice, really made me think.
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