Real estate Masters is it worth it
First time posting so bear with me, I am currently working as a residential mortgage underwriter and looking to transition to some sort of commercial real estate in the not two distant future. I come from a non-traditional background as I was pursuing medicine prior to want to go towards a career in real estate. I have a human bio degree with a 3.8 and about 3 years work history in residential mortgages. Currently living in the midwest but looking to move out to the Maryland / DC area, as I have family out there.
Currently trying to round out my resume to make myself as marketable as possible which has brought me to this next question, would a masters in real estate be worth it? Looking at job posting most of them seem to require some sort of finance / business / real estate degree in their qualifications, talking to some people in the business however most say education doesn't really matter and it is more about who you know. In my situation if I have limited connections I am hoping a master program could at least put me in the right direction.
Looking at two programs at the moment, Johns Hopkins and the Georgetown program. The GT program is cheaper (50k ish) and I see a lot of good thing about the Georgetown program but it is part-time and online which I think could limit the overall networking opportunity of the program. The Johns Hopkins program is about 90K so a little bit pricier but they offer an in person program which I think may help more with networking and they also have a mentorship with in the program that places you with an active real estate professional.
Looking to get into some sort of REPE or development and was curious if someone has come from a similar path or had any knowledge/ feedbacks on the programs and if they would be worth it or if anyone had any better ideas for breaking into the industry.
Open to an MBA but I have not taken the GMAT yet so would have to do that if I was considering a higher level b-school to make completive.
Did Georgetown's program and it was absolutely worth it - working in Development now for a large reputable shop. That being said it'll be crucial to get relevant experience while in the program (which sounds like you already have). Also between Georgetown and JH, I may be biased, but Georgetown nationally has a stronger reputation and in the DC area has a larger and more active alumni base (not to mention nearly half the price).
I will say though, given your GPA (I don't know anything else about your stats) but you may be a good candidate for a top 10 MBA program so would suggest looking into that as well.
I will say the MSRE got me where I want to be and it gives me more credibility however if I had the stats for an M7 program I would have 100% chosen that - and I think anyone in an MSRE program would agree with that sentiment. A top MBA will trump a top MSRE every time.
Thanks for the input, yeah its definitely a tough decision between GT and Hopkins so I am just going to apply to both to see what happens. I can see your recommending doing it part time well working in the industry, do you know of any good position that usually are open to people who are currently getting their masters (entry level) or what you have seen other people do in the past? I guess I was hoping to network as much as position and try to setup a gig by the time I graduate, what did you feel like the networking was like at the GT program?
Still open to an MBA I just dont want to spend the time studying for the GMAT, was originally thinking about law school and spent some too much time study for the LSAT and just dont want to do that again. Should have took the GMAT originally.
Nostrum tempore et molestias. Consectetur veniam est et. Odit est autem ducimus autem deleniti ipsum.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...