On the Road to Acquistions

I'm planning on leaving my current position in a Big 4 firm after realizing that an internal switch to a more RE transaction focused advisory role would take almost the same amount of time as finding a new job altogether (if not longer). Like everyone, acquisitions positions are my goal, but I understand that with a not stellar background, some intermediate positions would be required before making the jump. I've seen on here that investment sales, debt/equity placement, and financial analyst roles at larger CRE brokerage firms would be a good setup down the road and are good learning experiences in and of themselves. What are some other positions that would have me perform RE financial analysis?

Some background: Big 4 audit/core assurance experience (would never wish this upon my worst enemy), non-target (fairly respected in my metro area), shadowed/worked on a few deals with some alums in small to mid-level regional REPE/REIT shops

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I've been practicing modeling on my own, some deal work from the few alums, but mostly educational (BIWS, etc.). I've also been seriously considering getting the ARGUS cert as well. My only applicable clients have been in hospitality and construction building materials, but in 1-2 months I'm going to be transitioning to more regional RE focused clients (hospitality and mid to large sized reit shops [RLJ, JGB, etc.]).

Quant (ˈkwänt) n: An expert, someone who knows more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing.
 
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