Switched career path too late for REPE/real estate IB recruiting - need guidance

Investment banking Exit opportunities
1

Background

I’m about to be a senior at a top 25 ranked university with a solid business program that Wall Street firms recruit from regularly. I didn’t pick finance as my major because I wanted to keep my GPA high for potential graduate school and honestly the basic finance classes were pretty boring.

But I’ve always loved real estate investing and how you can use other people’s money plus rental income to build wealth long term.

Where I am now

This summer I’m doing an internship in financial planning and analysis at Capital One. It’s not super technical finance work but the money is good and I got the job without being a finance major. Since I started working here I’ve gotten really excited about real estate private equity.

The issue

If I had figured out what I wanted earlier I would have studied finance, gone through investment banking or real estate investment banking recruiting, and tried to get into REPE right after graduation. But I didn’t and now I’m stuck because:

  • Regular recruiting cycles for REIB and REPE are done
  • Investment banking recruiting is also closed
  • I don’t know the technical stuff yet like ARGUS software or real estate financial modeling

Options I’m thinking about

  1. Try to get hired outside normal recruiting at smaller real estate private equity firms or regional banks
  2. Look at real estate lending jobs that involve commercial real estate
  3. Apply for one year master’s programs in real estate or finance at schools like Columbia or NYU to get another shot at recruiting
  4. Skip MBA for now since it’s expensive and I want to get work experience first (my long term goal is starting my own real estate investment company)

What I need help with

Has anyone here switched into real estate private equity or REIB after missing the normal recruiting process? What path did you take and how long before you got taken seriously? What was your first real estate finance job?

I’d really appreciate any advice or stories about how you made it work. Feel free to message me directly too.

2

you’re not as behind as you think, honestly. capital one experience is solid - proves you can handle corporate finance. target smaller real estate pe shops or opportunity zone funds. they care less about pedigree and might actually want your fresh perspective. also look at fund administration or investor relations roles as ways to get your foot in the door. the technical stuff isn’t hard to learn if you’re motivated.

3

you’re overthinking this. yeah, you missed traditional recruiting - so what? half those people will burn out anyway. network like crazy: hit up alumni, linkedin stalk smaller repe shops, go to real estate events. most firms hire year-round when they find the right person. stop worrying about argus - you’ll learn it in weeks if you actually want this. skip the expensive master’s program. that’s just delaying things. focus on getting your foot in the door somewhere, even if it’s not prestigious.