REPE Work/Life Balance

Hi, I'm an incoming sophomore at a semi-target school, I'm in the top Real Estate club and I will likely place well (not to be cocky). The main predicament I've been in is whether I want to get paid less and work less at a firm like Harrison Street, or whether I want to grind out 90-100 hr weeks at a firm like Starwood but get comp closer to 200k. I'm unsure if I'm cut out for the crazy workload, and I will likely end up doing development with my family, so does my analyst position matter? One of the main reasons I would want to go to Starwood would simply be status and ego, and paving my path forward, but my exit ops aren't necessarily what I'm concerned about because I want to start my own thing or work with my family before I'm 30. Any advice or similar experiences? I also plan to be in Chicago after college. ///

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Harrison Street still pretty sweaty so I've heard. GO for the big name b/c brand does open a lot of doors, the people you meet / are around are pretty sharp + lot of connections down the line (still talk to my analyst class today years later), and the training is unparallel. I actually recommend going to a multi-strat firm, cool to see all the different types of investing / how people see the world beyond just RE. 

 

Good grades, good connections, and/or good interview skills are going to help you a whole lot more than being in a “top” club. When you interview, focus more on those aspects and less on how prestigious you think your extracurricular is. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

You're entirely correct. I've been working on all of those aspects of the application process. As for whether I should try to be at the best firm I can or if I should take it easy in comparison to some of those sweatier firms, what would you recommend?

 

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