JLL PM to Development?
Looking for opinions on jumping from JLL Project Management to CRE Development when accompanied with an MSRE degree and financial modeling skills to fill the missing finance gap? I'd obviously have no real-world experience with the finance aspect of the business since you don't do pro formas as a PM, but I'd obviously learn excel & maybe Argus enough as part of the MSRE program to pass the interview exams if required.
If I'm going for the above route, what sort of experiences and skillsets should I be trying to master during my time at JLL? Trying to see where I can expand my scopes to have the right skillsets and experiences covered.
My two cents is there are a lot of people with experience out of work today. It's probably going to be another few years before jobs in development are really back.
That near term jobs after an MSRE (would recommend MBA over this though), would be entry level analyst jobs. Your PM experience would basically be ignored to an extent for this job.
I agree with Patrick that PM will be mostly ignored when applying for development jobs. Yes, it is better than the equivalent experience that isn't RE related, but its hard case to sell direct transferable skills. It will be something you can speak to when it comes to understanding how a property operates and understanding the end-user but there are many other candidates that will have better transferrable skills.
An MSRE will definitely be helpful and if you haven't graduated yet, an internship will be key to gaining experience to leverage into a full time role. It may be possible to get an internship even if you've graduated but I dont know what your odds are there.
If I were you, I would do everything that I could within the company you are at now to gain relevant experience. For example, I know JLL has a construction management team, which will definitely get you closer to landing a development job. That's what I did: assistant construction manager -> development associate. Otherwise, I'd find other creative ways within your company to make a lateral shift. Build relationships, help with development related projects, coffee chat with people in your company, get a manager on your side to pull for you, put in the work and create your own path.
Thanks for the honest feedback. I understand why construction experience would be the preferred skill set, but I’m unsure whether a lateral transition into CM is feasible for me. The project management tasks I’m handling are more in line with an owner’s rep role (which I had heard was good skill sets for development as half the job was project management) and there may also be opportunities to get involved in leasing. Would none of these experiences translate? Or is the argument that they wouldn’t be enough to compete with candidates who have direct construction experience that can be applied to development immediately? I was looking to work my way up to a senior PM level before jumping ship, but sounds like this might be a risky bet if the goal is to get to development.
If internships are essential during my MSRE program, that likely means I’d need to leave my current job to pursue them. Given that I’ve only recently started this role, would it be prudent to look for this internship immediately rather than dragging out the PM job for years?
Yes, I would leave your PM job for an internship in development that you feel proud of. Trust me, especially early on in your career, it’s ok to leave an OK job for an internship at a company doing your dream job.
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