How green is the grass?
I’ve been working in lending since undergrad (~3 years). Lifestyle is good, career progression is good and I see a good runway for myself to becoming a producer in the future with hopefully meaningful comp to accompany.
I’m reaching a point where I can either commit myself to my current role and put the pedal to the metal and see where it takes me, or I can begin the process of pivoting and trying other parts of the real estate industry that I might enjoy, a la equity.
I’m hearing nothing but doom and gloom on the equity side and how transaction volume is slow and roles are few and far between, which makes me grateful for the position that I am in.
What I’m most worried about is the opportunity cost of losing a few years of growth that I’d get in my current seat and having to learn another part of the industry.
Can someone talk me off the ledge here? Will curiosity kill the cat?
Everything is shit right now compared to the last 15 years. If you want to make a move, make it. You can’t wait for the market to turn.
I think job security to get to senior positions (and financial freedom) and time flexibility (to pursue creative interests that you can build up to dive deep in your 40’s and 50’s) will be valued the most in the coming future.
Maybe greener, maybe not, depends on the person. Personally I started in investment sales with the goal of moving to the principal side. After about 5 years of doing acquisitions/AM at a mid-sized REPE firm i realized I really missed brokerage despite it being "less prestigious" on WSO. Ended up switching back to IS and am much happier now.
The upside of switching is that I did learn a lot more about CRE from working on the principal side and now feel more confident interacting with owners since I've been in their shoes, and now I no longer have to wonder "what if?" about making the switch because I've done it. Downside is i'd be 5 years more established in IS if I never left, and I didn't particularly enjoy my job during those 5 years away.
I don't think you can go wrong with either decision, but considering how terrible the job market is currently I'd be hesitant to make moves if you're happy where you are.
What didn’t you like about the acquisitions/AM role?
I realized I like working on transactions and then walking away and moving onto the next. AM you obviously get stuck with actually managing the deal for years and years which I find pretty boring. And acquisitions is tough because you only actually get to transact on a tiny % of deals you look at, most of what you underwrite you don't end up submitting an LOI, and most of the LOIs you do submit don't get accepted. I find brokerage more fun because you realistically end up getting the business and then transacting on a bigger % of the deals you pitch or provide an initial BOV for. There are a lot more pros/cons for each side of the business (big con for brokerage being less stable income) but overall I find it more enjoyable. I also initially got a little burned out on brokerage having a big sales component and thought going to the principal side would be less "salesy", but its still highly relationship driven just from the other side, and you're still going to be selling either way whether its pitching an owner to let you sell their property vs. pitching a seller to pick you as a buyer or pitching an investor to contribute to your deal/fund. Now that I'm older/wiser and owners are more of my peers and I don't feel as overwhelmed by the sales aspect of brokerage and find it more fun.
You're young in your career and as Ricky pointed out, the diverse experience really makes you more dangerous. Given that, I'd look for opportunities and take the risk. Of course vet the company and what their outlook is. I recently made a job switch and I'll say that, better capitalized companies with more rigorous hiring processes are not going to make hiring decisions lightly. This compounds if, when you're on the job, they invest in training you up (I'm 2 weeks in and they've probably already spent $4,000+ in hard costs in my training). Further, if you're filling a gap rather than adding to headcount, you can feel more secure.
All in all, if you want to make the switch, take your time and look for a good opportunity; no harm is staying where you're at until that opportunity comes along.
All the grass is dead right now. If you want to do equity just go do it. You can always pivot back to lending.
lol this hit home
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