Is MSC in RE worth it?

Intern in RE - Comm

Hi thanks for your reply! What do you mean by "a bit complex"?

Because there are too many variables and they all depend on predictions of the future. You’re gambling either way. 

In my case, for example, it was both worth it and it wasn’t worth it. I worked a couple of middling real estate jobs coming out of college with a non-finance background. I wasn’t happy. I saw myself and a bunch of bozos showing up to property tours in full suits in the summer while the owner arrived in a Bentley and a T shirt. I saw an older buddy of mine do a real estate Masters and move from investment sales in a small city to a front office role in NYC. I tried to network with owners, and made a lot of good contacts, but I had no proof of skillset. No one would hire me. So for me, the choice was obvious. I was going to do the degree. 

When I showed up year 1, unfortunately, even my “not anywhere near good enough” knowledge base and skill set immediately put me at the top of my class. Half the class was straight out of undergrad. A fourth were architects and contractors making the transition. The amount who knew what a cap rate was was minimal. This was quite disappointing, but I was there for a reason. I dominated the easy classes, earned a great brand name internship as one of the best students in my class, and I came back year 2 ready to dominate some more. My internship boss vouched for me in my full time job hunt and I got a good job in development. The program was a disappointment, but the degree wasn’t. I was now a developer. I got what I paid for. 

But the first $100,000 (and then interest on top of it) from bonuses or pref checks went to paying off two years of tuition plus living expenses. And more importantly, my first bosses were my age but a level ahead of me since they did not go to grad school, and this was a miraculous time where valuations were growing absurdly and they all made great money. Had I started literally just two years earlier at the same exact job, I’d have somewhere between $3M-$4M more. Which means I’d have bought a house back then too before property values when crazy with a mortgage rate at like 2%. So I’d be even wealthier. Yet at the same time, I didn’t see a way at the time to get my development job without the degree—I tried—so does any of that really even matter? 

We are in a shit economy right now. It’s a great time to hide for a year or two in graduate school and boost your resume with another degree, but it’s also a bad time to have six-figure 7%-10% grad school debt hanging over your head with no guarantee of a job or a way to pay it back when you come out. The economy was great when I graduated. I didn’t worry about the availability of jobs at all, only my access to them, which the degree immediately provided. I paid $100k for access to a club full of business lunches and golf, not unlike a country club. Your concerns and your experiences will be different. Not may be, will be. Both for better and worse. 

People come on this site and make definite claims either way, pro-or anti-grad school. Or even more nuanced in a MBA vs. MRED sense. But they’re all right. It always makes sense and doesn’t make sense. You will always gain things and lose others. Only you can weigh the costs and benefits appropriately for your specific situation.