RE: A safe haven for those of us that are a bit "slow"?

Hi there,

Recent non-target grad here.

So I'm realizing that when stacked up against the other kids on here who went to Target schools/super high sat scores/did well in highschool, I can't compete in raw "intelligence".

I took a job in a fucking back office fund accounting-type role and don't understand a lick basically. Now I chalk a lot of this up to improper training but still

Seems to me RE is a place that rewards those that actually aren't as smart as the rest of "finance".

So I guess my question is, what spots in RE are best for someone who wants a job that is so "simple" a high school dropout/"re*ard could do it?

I seem to think Real Estate credit analyst might do the trick.

25 Comments
 

I don't really know how to write about it but yeah

I mean I could work on being less socially awkward maybe but I can talk to people

And mentally I don't know I mean I'm a "slow learner" I guess I don't know how to quantity it if you will I got 3.4 gpa in highschool (1200~ SAT)

College gpa was affected by covid so less of a reliable metric

 
Most Helpful

Honestly, I'm guessing this is mostly a troll post lol, but still too good to pass up....

- First, if you think all of "high finance" is a bunch of rocket scientists, let me relieve of that notion. There are some brilliant people and some total morons, just like at "target" programs (surely you don't think they get in on "merit" do you????).

- CRE like anything else has areas that are more analytical than others (like stay far away from appraisal/valuation), but even the very "technical" stuff isn't that hard once you get the lingo under control (trust me... acquisitions is not a very "intellectual" process... neither is corp M&A... the vocabulary and jargon from the industry takes what is basic and makes it seem fancy). 

- So, what should the "slow" do??? LOL I have no good idea, get smarter maybe?? I will note that the "mom and pop" (aka 'private client') space is filled with owners and players that didn't go to college, are not "sophisticated" (at least relative to the wall street types), and are not in that polished/elite air about them. I wouldn't dare say they are all "dumb" or "slow" (some are as equally smart and sophisticated as those at 'mega funds' tbh), but I've met some legit morons (albeit very rich morons) in that space. So, maybe play in that world???

 

This is like asking "what's the average weight of a bag of groceries".... Just like anything else.... role/firm/market/etc. all matters. Some "mom pop" places will pay better than others. I mean, coming out of UG I'd think pay expectations (assuming salaried role) should be inline with grads from your program/school. Sure, not gonna be the potential $200k all-in someone going to work for Blackstone might make, but its CRE, and if a legit firm they should give legit pay for the work. 

 

Interesting post to say the least...I don't think we're quite exactly doing rocket science, and neither is finance overall. Don't get me wrong there are roles that are more complex than others but the vast majority of us didn't earn complicated degrees to do complicated jobs. Most of us are deal makers. We know what it takes to make a deal happen and all of this is by experience. Raw intelligence needs to be put work in a way that's useful and if it can't, what value does it serve? This whole post and explanation i'm writing makes me think about the RE shops that ask interviewers about their GPA and think about what value it actually serves.

 

If u cant figure out accounting then I doubt institutional cre is gonna be ur thing. I think ur exaggerating tho (or trolling), finance is far from intellectually taxing so while the smart people learn the stuff fast it doesnt at all equate to success in the long term since you might outperform them when it comes to business thinking, networking or salesmanship. If this post is serious then dont give up on finance (if thats what you wanna do), just give yourself more time and play to your strengths.

 

Im at a smaller dev shop atm and cant complain. I get a wide range of tasks and work feels new, exciting and non repetitive. That being said tho, I can handle that and the responsibility because of my innate adaptability and fast learning. The methods for teaching entry level recruits at my shop are basically non existant.

Large firms, on the other hand, will have a clear and narrow role for you with associates who have been in your position and know what to do with you. This is probably the better alternative for you and honestly most people in general.

 

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