Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm considering going back to school for real estate development as a career (degree in geography, BA, but have not worked in the field, early 30s), either in the US or Europe (England/Ireland). I have a strong interest in development projects, investment, design, etc. I have some questions regarding the career as I am undecided on career direction so far. My ultimate goal would be getting into a role in concept development, land acquisition, etc, and eventually opening my own company focused on luxury residential, green buildings, hotels/resorts, retail, etc. I'm considering a masters in real estate or real estate development. Other degree options on my radar include planning and urban design.
In a typical real estate company (globally), what career pathways are available that would lead to such a role (concept development, design, land acquisition, marketing buildings, etc)?
What are some of the typical entry-level roles, typical day, etc?
Are all roles financially heavy or does that depend on the career path one takes? How much math ability is required to deal with the financial aspect?
Do you have to have the typical salesman personality (because i'm more of a thinker than the pushy seller)?
Is it usual to have to deal with on-site construction or site visits, and if so, how much time? I do not have an interest in construction management insofar as being involved with the details of construction?
How do you get into hotel development?
What are the typical salaries for entry level after an MS degree and again after 10-15 years in a development company?
Should a masters degree have the word "development" in its title, is that important?
What are some good schools that are reasonably accessible but well respected in the Eastern US, Canada, UK?
I just finished the MS in real estate from johns Hopkins and work in land acquisition for a national builder. The positions you described are connected but chaired by different people I.e. Sales and marketing, acquisitions, construction, development and accountants. You would go insane trying to do all of these roles.
The degree definitely opened the door for me. It's still a pretty niche degree so it's hit or miss. I was told 30 others interviewed for my position and I applied when I was midway through the program. Previously I worked in sales and rehabbed homes.
Most get in as an analyst, then senior analyst, transaction manager, acquisition manager then vp of land or something similar along those lines. I would say salaries range from 50k-200k give or take in home building.
I would say 80% of my day involved Microsoft excel doing proformas on land deals or cma's. The rest involves working with the groups mentioned above to Figure out costs and pricing for future communities and reading site plans. Eventually I'll figure out how much the land is worth to us after doing discounted cash flow analysis and what structure to purchase the land. At any given time, I probably have a dozen deals on my plate that I'm working on.
Real estate is a tough world to go far in as an introvert.
Learn to love talking about construction and moving dirt. Even if you never go on site, you still need to know how to read a site plan and talk intelligently with contractors.
Mine just says MS Real estate but covered all aspects of development, financing, modeling etc. I know MIT has the program as does Georgetown. I wouldn't do urban planning unless you want to work for a municipality.
Thank you for your helpful advice. I have a couple of follow ups if you wouldn't mind. As far as career tracks go within the field, which one would lead to a position that entails working on ideas and concepts for what to build on a given piece of land and working on design options with architects? Is this a very senior role? If so, that would be my ultimate goal, other than perhaps opening my own business. I am interested in working for companies that develop high rise luxury condo and hotels/resorts.
Also, you said you wouldn't be a planner if you aren't interested in working for a muni. Can you expand on that please? I would be more interested in working in a consultancy if I choose planning.
Last edited by towers001; 01-16-2014 at 08:43 PM..
It's really not a sexy business. It's money driven and extraordinarily cyclical with a myriad of factors out of our control. I spend exponentially more time crunching numbers to make a deal work than working on design options. Fortunately in my position, we self fund and don't have to factor in financing.
If you want to do design, you could work for a land developer, an architect or a design firm. Each is more competive than the last to get a foot in the door. At the end of the day, you can sketch the prettiest design for a building but if it's not economical to build, a developer won't touch it.
Unless you bring something spectacular to the table or are very well connected, I would bank on internships, if you can get them, to get in. Not trying to bust your bubble but it's a tough biz to get into.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
