Military > Undergrad > RE
As you can see from the title, a bit of an unorthodox pathway into the world of Real Estate. A quick background on me: Born to working-class parents, father was a contractor and I spent summers in high school working with him on construction sites. Did the community college thing with hopes of attending a university but no money, mediocre grades, and no clue what I was doing with my life led me to enlist in the Air Force. Spent six years working in aircraft maintenance and exited as a non-commissioned officer. Currently enrolled full-time at a non-target finishing my BBA as a finance/econ major.
I say all of that to say this; I still have no clue what I'm doing. While I have a genuine interest and aptitude for numbers, which is why I'm studying finance, I have zero interest in IB or most roles in high finance. The more I learn about Real Estate development, the more it makes sense to me. My current university has a RE program and I've been drawn to the professors in which I've interacted. I can't say the same for the economics folk and I've been considering a change in major. I know that having zero industry experience is a tremendous hurdle and as I enter my final two semesters I have contemplated pursuing as much of the RE coursework as possible. After finishing in the spring I am also highly considering pursuing an MBA (Kenan-Flagler, McCombs) or MSRE (Texas A&M, Cornell) to build my knowledge base and network even further. Financing a graduate degree is of no concern to me as that will be handled by my good ol' Uncle Sam, so why not, right?
If you're still with me, I would very much appreciate some advice on these topics. Would employers look more favorably at a Finance/Econ undergrad degree as opposed to a Finance/RE degree? Does it even matter at all and am I looking too much into a piece of paper? With no industry experience, is an MBA or an MSRE going to be more beneficial for getting acclimated to the industry and building a strong network? Would love to hear thoughts and opinions.
You still have a lot of run-way in undergrad to gain RE finance experience. If I were in your shoes I would try to get a part time internship (paid or unpaid) to further supplement any RE coursework you're involved in. Grad degrees are great for pivots or resets, but I think you can network into a capital markets/investment sales role at a large brokerage shop as an analyst without too much headache (aside from studying all this RE finance and networking a lot). Additionally, check out Spencer Burton's youtube channel-- you will learn more about RE finance from those videos than any MSRE imho.
A fall internship is definitely the goal. I've done a few of the Break into CRE courses and plan to do the A.CRE course if I am unable to land an internship.
1. I don't think anyone would see a difference in finance/econ vs finance/re, especially if you have taken some re coursework
2. Try to get an internship with a local developer or operator
3. Network
4. Go to as many veteran/dei outreach programs that a lot of the large firms will do. As a vet, big companies tend to care way more about military service than smaller shops.
5. I would keep MSRE/MBA as a backup plan, in case nothing pans out.
You should talk to actual CRE professionals and ask them about their work, because professionals are different than professors. While you network with them, apply for internships or part-time analyst jobs at local firms and see if you even like the day to day.
You don’t really need a masters (MBA or otherwise) to make it in CRE. I would wait on that until you feel like you absolutely need it. Most other analysts who enter CRE also have very little relevant experience — you’re in no worse position than they are.
My reasoning behind wanting to purse graduate school now is based on the fact that I'm already in my 30's. I would love to just tack on one to two more years now instead of working for 4 to 5 years and returning to school as I'm closing in on 40.
I hear you. I think it’s tough to get into a top MBA/masters program without some sort of prior work experience, though your military experience would definitely count towards that.
Since age is a factor, I think you should really aim for a summer internship/analyst position. In 1-2 years, you’ll be an associate in your mid-30s with work experience. That’s better than being an MBA grad in your mid-30s trying to become an associate with no prior experience.
Also, REPE firms don’t recruit from MBA programs as heavily as banks/PE firms do. I looked into getting it myself, and the real estate MBA students I talked to said they still recruited on their own. I ended up not getting it and found a job at an operator instead.
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