MSRED, career change, recommendations
Hey All,
For a few weeks now I have been considering somewhat of a career path change, at least in terms of switching what I do as my full time job. I work as a corporate fitness manager, managing all aspects of fitness centers for large corporations, and I am also a real estate investor(buying and flipping, buy and hold 2-4 family). My job is not very stressful and many others would consider me very good at what I do, but the pay and the career advancement are limited. I am looking for a higher paying, full time job(150+K). For this reason, I am considering changing careers to become a real estate analyst or something related since I am very comfortable with math/numbers and I have read many books on the subject of cash flow and analyzing real estate data. I did well in undergrad(Exercise Physiology), and just need to figure out exactly what I would want to do in the real estate realm. I have been considering getting my Masters in Real estate from Georgetown(online) or a few other online programs. I have the money from real estate sales to pay for it out of pocket. Please let me know any related real estate positions you think I should consider given my background as an investor, as well as if the masters in real estate or another route is the way to go? I am looking for feedback to help me in making the best decision. Thanks in advance.
If you like people and like to hustle, you might enjoy brokerage. Kind of get those vibes from your post.
I would start by reaching out to various people in the industry at various levels to get to understand it and where you actually think you could fit. I would def do this before enrolling in any grad programs. If you really want an "institutional real estate" career (what is mainly discussed on WSO), then you for sure would need to do something like an MSRE or MSRED or MBA, your profile would get you next to zero looks within the legit institutional space. Getting a job that pays $150k all-in is possible going this this route, but not all that easy, you may need to start much lower, like sub $100k all-in, but getting up to $150k in short order is reasonable if you perform well and can add value.
There is also a very active, real world of "small commercial/private commercial real estate", which is very different from the "institutional" world. It is filled with a lot of small firms, private/family/individual investors, and can be joined without need of fancy grad degrees. Easiest path to this world is via commercial brokerage (just need an RE license, a firm will pick you up if you seem competent). Of course, this will likely be 100% commission, but earning above $150k once established is certainly within reason (far from guaranteed or even easy). For a reference on this "side" of real estate, check out the CCIM Institute, they have courses that are similar to what you would do in an MSRE program but done as professional ed. Will note, this "world" will give you some cred for owning rental properties, the institutional world will totally care less.
I would research a lot, talk to people, do a lot of planning before making any major move. This would be like a full career switch/jump that essentially has you starting over, make sure you really want to do it and have realistic expectations and a path. It's not easy, but doable.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I appreciate it and it certainly has made me think and begin to do additional research. After some reflection, I truly enjoy being a real estate investor. Specifically, I enjoy analyzing deals, running the numbers, scenarios, and planing the construction/renovations, and even getting my hands dirty at times. I would probably value doing something more closely related to that than going to work a desk job solely. I need to do more research to educate myself but I am wondering if Development would be something I should consider? From my knowledge so far it seems that Development is sort of all encompassing, and that might more closely align with what I am enjoying about being an investor. I do have an interest in the MSRED for the purpose of attaining knowledge, but I am wondering if continued experience and even maybe assisting and shadowing a developer would be of better time and money spent. Let me know if you have any other recommendations. Appreciated.
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