Tell me how a nobody can be successful in CRE Finance
In the mix of users on this forum, it seems like there are some that have some ideas worth reading, and some that can offer decent advice. So thanks to all of the good contributors.
I made this account because I want to work in CRE Fin & Investment, long-term, but where should I plan to work. What kind of short-, medium- and long-term goals should I set? I know the answer to that depends on the person, so I'll offer some background.
I will try to be as succinct as possible. I don't want to come off as self-absorbed in any way, but I think I'm quite capable and haven't had a privileged start to my professional life. I want to get going at a fast pace, and so I'm going to let it all out here. This is basically my resume:
-After high school, scored >90th percentile on SAT, but was on my own; I worked a few different jobs (one managerial) while I put myself through community college and graduated first in class there.
-Got a scholarship to attend a top ~50ish university. Grad with honors, some grad coursework, other reasonably good extracurriculars that are worth putting as resume bullet points. Majored in economics, but also took computer science and electrical engineering courses (3.7GPA average in those courses, but more interested in econ, finance, investment)
-Ended up working in more of an IT job that anything else (CRE market was bad Graduating in '09, shot too high on job opportunities in CRE, passed up other opportunities (some in real estate, some not), IT jobs pay well for grads starting out of school)
So skill & interest summary is:
-I have good IT skills (SQL, Access, some BI tools, pro with Excel, know some C#, python, and experience in agile software development).
-Know Argus extremely well
-Very solid background in econ for an undergraduate (might still take the plunge into grad school in econ if I can't break into CRE finance)
-Don't want to continue in IT and software development, but want to use my IT skills in some capacity (perhaps in data analytics kind of stuff?? perhaps learn SAS??)
-Reasonably OK understanding of CRE finance and market landscape
My goal is:
Want to play some role in finding investment opportunities in CRE, and learning to make money in that market. Always had a very strong interest in real property -- for some reason I just have an affinity for it. I drive by my CBD every day and just start to think naturally "what tenants live in that spot of the building? How much are they paying? Why are they there and not somewhere else? What's the NOI and cap rate of that building?"
I want to combine that with my interest in econ, finance, and computing. I feel stuck at my current job as an IT workhorse.
I want to perhaps leverage my ability succeed academically and maybe go back to school.
Opportunities:
-MSRE?
-MBA?
-Try to just get my foot in the door somewhere in some kind of crappy IT job or something?
-What kind of firm should I try to work for?
-Other ideas that seem bad for CRE: CFA, Econ grad school
This was too long, but if you stuck through it and want to offer any advice, I thank you very much for that.
I feel like nothing can stop me. All I know is having to work my ass off to take care of myself; and all that I want, now that I have a good, stable job, is to move past it and work even harder.
Coincidentally, I do know a guy who started out in some sort of IT role at a non-real estate firm and somehow weaseled his way into eventually doing acquisitions at a small shop (no mba or anything). Not sure how he did it. His timing was good, though, and this was not a big or sexy firm.
You should apply to every CRE brokerage, investment, or operations firm in your area. Brokerage firms seem to be the ones most likely to hire at the entry-level. You allude to having received offers you regret snubbing in the past; you should try to leverage whatever connections you may have developed during that era to see if you can rekindle an offer you would take today.
From an academic perspective, you may be well served by an MSRE. You need to rebrand yourself as an aspiring real estate professional, which such a degree may help you to do. Normally I would say the MBA is more valuable, but it's probably more helpful to someone who has some degree of real estate and finance experience.
Voluptas qui voluptas quo nulla rerum. Commodi aut reiciendis neque vel aliquam quia. Eum libero repellat sint nemo quis.
Consectetur maiores laborum voluptatem deserunt. Culpa sit molestiae asperiores ducimus iure nesciunt sed eos. Harum necessitatibus illo rerum molestias aut. Corporis facere sit suscipit nemo qui ut.
Consectetur sequi architecto commodi. Similique eveniet aut in ea voluptatem quia qui dolor. Rerum deleniti quam aut expedita molestiae velit facere. Et occaecati ea qui ab aspernatur eos nulla dolorem.
Dignissimos debitis voluptates inventore nam error cupiditate. Modi sequi consequatur ullam ipsa doloribus voluptas. Qui fuga illum ut neque. Earum beatae debitis nobis qui sed et quo.
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...