Is an MBA a necessity to move up in PERE/REPE?
So one of the aspects which initially attracted me to real estate was the fact that prestige isn't necessarily as big of a factor when compared to IB/other finance roles. However, at the REPE I just started at it seems like everyone above the analyst level has gotten their mba, and it is ivy league level mba's across the top execs.
Do firms that deal more with institutional capital require more prestige/mba's? Is it specific to most REPEs or does it just vary firm by firm?
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Great, very helpful
What did the comment say?
lol just being sarcastic. Was probably deleted a long time ago.
Wondering the same... had a call recently with the head of investments at a lifeco and the dude said apparently you'll have a really hard time moving up the org or making a move if you don't have a master's.
kinda shocks me to hear this in 2020. i guess some things never change.
I see this is an old post revived, so I'll throw in my two cents...
Short answer, yes, the more "prestigious" high-level the capital is (i.e. bigger institutions in general), the more grad degrees are needed if not required (and probably the more pedigree will matter). A lot of it has to do with having the right bio to be respected by the fund/portfolio managers on the capital side. Think about it, who do you think the head of an Ivy league endowment wants to give a nine figure check for its real estate allocation to?? That person likely has multiple Ivy degrees, as do all of their board of trustees. They read bios, and frankly they understand that stuff, not real estate.
In truth, getting a grad degree (not necessarily from Ivy or other top brand) is becoming needed across much of the corporate landscape to get promoted and move up (in some cases even hired). This is, in part, due to the rise of people getting grad degrees. The more people have them, the more you are at a disadvantage for not having one (and the less the relative advantage one will give you!!!).
Real estate is a pretty big, wide industry. WSO gives the impression all too often that its "Blackstone or bust", in reality, there are tons of sectors and firms (many you will have never heard of) that will pay you pretty damn well and probably not care if you have a grad degree or not, or where it is from. Reality is that these firms/jobs vastly outnumber those that really care to the point of blocking your candidacy. But, those names may not impress your friends on WSO, but in the real world, you shouldn't care so much.
This is also becoming a major issue with the CFA as well, more of a requirement than a nice to have for a lot of financial roles in general. I’ve seen it for some CRE roles too recently, which is incredibly weird since it has virtually nothing to do with CRE.
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