Career Path of a Real Estate Investment Associate at Wealth Management Company
Geoff's career path was unconventional, starting with a history major and a summer job in building maintenance which sparked an interest in real estate. This led to property management, market research at CBRE, further education in finance and real estate modeling, culminating in a current role as a Real Estate Investment Associate after working their way up from a junior analyst at a real estate equity fund.
Real Estate, Finance, Investment, Property Management, Career Transition
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Geoff Esmail
Real Estate Investment Assoicate
Wealth Management Company
University of Arizona
UCLA & MBA
History, Art History
Finance (Banking, Fintech, Investing)
Finance
First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Geoff's career path was unconventional, starting with a history major and a period of soul-searching after college. This highlights that a direct path isn't always necessary and that exploring different interests can lead to a fulfilling career.
2. He gained valuable experience in property management and market research at CBRE, demonstrating the importance of hands-on experience in the real estate field.
3. Geoff supplemented his on-the-job experience with further education in finance and real estate modeling, showcasing the value of continuous learning and development in a competitive field. He emphasizes the importance of gaining practical experience in real estate, such as property management, and then supplementing that with more advanced finance skills, as well as showing that career paths are not always linear and can change over time.
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Did you have any internships or jobs prior to your current role?
College was about, I think, 10 years ago since I graduated. It's been a long time, and frankly, in college, I really didn't know what I wanted to do. It has nothing to do with what I do today. I was frankly a history major during my undergrad. It's always been a subject I liked.
I assumed I was going to go to law school. Shortly after undergrad, I planned to take my LSATs and figure it all out. I determined pretty quickly that I didn't want to be a lawyer.
There was a bit of soul-searching for about a year and a half. I didn't have a lot of internships in college, but I did have a summer job working in Building Maintenance for my dad. He was a GM for the Palace Hotel and was able to get me that job for some extra cash.
I got kind of interested in working with the property space. That's when I was going through that post-college soul-searching period. I was thinking back to that experience and the concept of working with buildings and real estate.
From there, I ended up getting a property management job, which is what I do now. I work in real estate and worked in property management for a couple of years. I wanted to get into a more corporate, institutional kind of space, though I didn't know where exactly.
I ended up getting a job at CBRE doing market research. From there, I knew the investment space was where I eventually wanted to end up, specifically more on the principal side. I didn't want to be a broker; I didn't think I was a great salesman at that time.
Eventually, I got into valuations, working on appraisals for commercial buildings. During that time, I went back to community college to take Financial Accounting, Finance classes, and modeling classes, including real estate modeling.
From that combination of experience, I eventually found my way as an analyst for a real estate Equity Fund. I started off as a junior analyst and worked my way up to being an investment associate. That's why I'm at today. This is a long-winded story because it's unconventional for a lot of my peers, but that's how I found my way into my current role.
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