How is the work/life balance? I am sure it varies by firm and group but are the hours generally under 60? Closer to 60-70?
Also, what is the hierarchy? I’ve seen Analysts and Associates but where do Associates go if and when they are promoted? (Acquisitions, Credit, etc.)
Currently at a large player in real estate (think CBRE-type of size) and can comment on work/life balance and rank hierarchy.
Work/Life: Work/life balance is incredibly skewed toward life enjoyment. Hours are generally under 60 although EOY 2017 I was pulling 15 hour days every day (Sun to Sat) from mid-November to mid-December.
Hierarchy: Analyst -> Sr. Analyst -> Specialist -> Sr. Specialist -> Manager -> Director -> VP -> Managing Director
Where you go depends on your own personal pursuits. For a very large firm like CBRE (used as an example), those that are unable to climb up are usually able to be shuffled to a different division or service line. This shuffling can occur at their will or not. Some people discover that they're a better fit in a different part of the company and subsequently find themselves climbing the rankings faster than their position in their prior service line.
CBRE has nothing in common with a REIT unless you are in their private equity division and even then still not really similar
You're correct. In fact, I don't work for CBRE. I explicitly said "CBRE-type of size" meaning I used CBRE purely to illustrate the size of the firm I'm at. CBRE is close to us in revenue and amount of service lines. Again, purely for illustrative purposes especially since CBRE is a recognizable name and its size can be easily conceptualized.
if you're working fucking 70 hrs/week at a REIT you better be at one of the top-paying REITs, that's ridiculous
Definitely don't put in 70-hour weeks normally. Last month of the year though, my team and I had to eat shit.
Worked for a mid-sized REIT in 2ndary market. Hours were generally under 60 - might vary if there are active deals, but public REITs are (generally) less acquisitive than REPE firms so you likely won't have closings weekly.
Titles are going to vary by firm. In my experience, even at junior levels (analyst/associate) you are lined up under a certain vertical (acquisitions, asset management, corp finance, etc.) and your growth will generally be in that group unless you'd like to move. So in acquisitions, an associate who gets promoted will become a manager (or director or VP depending on firms titles) and will be given additional responsibilities on deal side. There might be firms that share analyst pools between those groups and promote you into a certain one based on need, aptitude, etc. when you progress, but that has not been my experience so I can't really speak to how that would work.
Whats the pay like? Competitive to get in?
Pay is good - promotion to associate brought stock into bonus so that was nice. Definitely below what friends in REPE make (esp on bonus) which I think is typical of REITs, but 2ndary market probably contributed as well. Hours were also (more than, IMO) commensurately less. CEL associates comp report is pretty accurate gauge in my experience if you are looking for range. I'd say that it's a relatively competitive to get in. Whenever we had openings on the team, we would get a ton of resumes, and generally a good amount of interest from internal transfers (AM, corp. strat or elsewhere in org.).
So the mid-sized REITs in 2nd tier cities are generally going to have one manager per group? Is that a fair assumption? From my understanding, REIT’s run lean.
Posting since this has been revived
I'm a Development Analyst at a large REIT here in a top 10 city (MSA). As far as work/life balance goes pre-COVID, I put in around 45-55 hours a week with most weeks leaning towards the 45 hr side. My coworkers & some friends (analysts, associates, and managers) at other various REITs along the East Coast range from 45-60 hrs on average. At the end of the day, your work/life balance is really going to be dependent on your team, occupation, and deal flow. For example, our financial services group tends to work extremely late during quarter-end probably close to around 70-80 hrs which is totally not worth it at a REIT btw.
As a previous poster has advocated for previously, the bonuses at a REIT are not great compared to REPE or even a private developer. They're probably more in line with what you would get at a large insurance co. that has a Real Estate wing (e.g.. PGIM & USAA). At the Analyst and Associate level, you'd probably see around 10-20%. All-in comp is extremely important here at a REIT as you advance there is a significant chance for your REIT to provide you stock, if they aren't already doing so annually to begin with.
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