Real Estate

Think about how you use real estate in everyday life. You shop, work, live, play, study, transport among real estate–and nearly everyone will end up owning real property, directly or indirectly. The non-monetary value of real estate in our lives is enormous, but the dollar value in the United States is also impressive: approximately $35 trillion.

Career paths in real estate include brokerage, investment sales, leasing, tenant representation, residential and commercial sales, property management, tenant coordination, property acquisition (from the debt or equity side), market research, corporate real estate, property underwriting, property valuation, asset and portfolio management, or banking. Popular employers in these lucrative areas include Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank–all of which have several BU alumni among their ranks. Jones Lang LaSalle, CBRE, Colliers International, and Cushman Wakefield, represent some of the largest brokerage firms in the country. You might also consider the real estate investment trusts, such as Boston Properties or Cabot Properties. Another consideration is life insurance companies, which both lend and own real property. These include John Hancock, ManuLife, MetLife, New York Life, and Liberty Mutual, among others.

Any Fortune 2000 company is a potential employer. Advisors, investment companies, and federal, state, and local governments also have a huge demand for real estate employees and are a place to gain a skill set and make great contacts.

You probably know the three rules of real estate: location, location, location. There are also three rules for getting a job in real estate: network, network, network. For this reason, consider joining the BU Real Estate club and a trade organization with a student membership. Some to consider are the Real Estate Finance Association, the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, the Urban Land Institute, Corporate Real Estate Network, the National Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.

The Industry Relations Manager (IRM) works with these organizations and Questrom real estate faculty to connect Questrom students with internship and job opportunities. Reach out to the IRM to have a conversation about real estate career paths.