Advice for an Aspiring Research Analyst
I'm hoping for some advice on how to land a role as a research analyst. I moved up to Seattle from Texas. I have experience in commercial real estate leasing, but have limited real estate finance knowledge. My degree was in political science/history, so I have no formal finance education. Most of what I know is from watching as much youtube videos about the subject as I can find.

I would like to land a job as a research analyst because I'm interested in the finance side of the business. However, I don't know how to approach a company with my skill set. I am willing to be humbled and learn. I just want the opportunity.

Any advice on how to proceed would be helpful.
[{"id": "dyzk0h6", "text": "Do you know Argus? How fluent are you in Excel? \n\nCan you create a proforma in Excel? \n\nFigure out which companies you want to work at. Figure out what networking events these people have, get business cards, add those people on Linkedin. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dyzl2ji", "text": "I think you need to go to a brokerage firm and sell the hell out of yourself as an analyst.  Imo, you\u2019ve got a better shot there, than at an equity shop.", "replies": [{"id": "dyzlg54", "text": "Thanks for the advice. On my own time, what would you suggest I familiarize myself with? Discounted cash flow analysis seems to be the one thing I keep seeing over and over again.", "replies": [{"id": "dyzlydo", "text": "You can either spend a shitton of time researching, reading, networking, applying, etc. or bite the bullet and get your masters... mba or ms real estate.\n\nIf you have the credentials and can nail the GMAT to get into a top 10 RE / MBA program, it's probably worth it. You'll have access to better jobs and have a pretty solid recruiting pipeline and come out making $120K+.\n\nIf not, and you go with option 1, it will be strugglesville and you'll likely have to go for smaller shops.\n\nSeattle is a hot hot market and competition will be tough.\n\nNot to be a dick, but we're looking for an analyst now (San Francisco) and I get hundreds of resumes with relevant experience, some MBA's applying for an analyst role and ARGUS Enterprise experience is a must.", "replies": [{"id": "dyzu6lp", "text": "Out of curiosity what are the top 10 MBA's", "replies": [{"id": "dyzueik", "text": "https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings", "replies": [{"id": "dz0122f", "text": "I\u2019d say UNC chapel hill is one of the best for RE. I went there and we have the only student run private equity funds that invest in alternatives - one for middle market PE and one for real estate. Pretty amazing opportunity that opens a lot of doors. Worth spending some time to look into it.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "dyznlqf", "text": "You gotta be hungry, and willing to do the shit jobs.  Canvassing sucks, but if you\u2019re willing to do it then that\u2019s a lot more than others.\n\nCold call brokers, ask them out to lunch.  Get coffee, ask what they did to become successful.  Know about the market.  Know who the large tenants are.  Go to building and create a stacking plan and show the brokers.\n\nIt won\u2019t be easy, but grit and persistence is what being a broker is about. I know you want to be an analyst, but make them think you want to be a broker, and since you aren\u2019t ready you can start as an analyst.\n\nYou\u2019re going to get a shit ton of no\u2019s,  but you only need one yes.  PM me and I\u2019ll give you more advice, but you have to bust your ass if you want that job", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dyzop0g", "text": "Research analyst for a brokerage? They don't do any underwriting or finance. If you want finance, work under an investment sales broker team as a financial analyst. \n\nResearch does more macro economic work (infrastructure spending, local economy, etc etc) and other work such as pulling land titles for a broker ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dyzx8gb", "text": "Credit analyst at a community bank? Doesn\u2019t seem like a super-tough job to land. A lot of the guys I deal with ordering and reviewing appraisals are green but seem to be getting good experience. Can be an on-ramp to appraisal license too, which tends to have a lot of entry barriers but can lead to some cool offers. Guys in my office who have been around a while have been offered acquisition jobs. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dz21lbf", "text": "Take a look at the job responsibilities for jobs that are already posted out there. Do you want to work for a developer? A boutique brokerage firm? They\u2019ll all vary in skill set but certainly knowing Excel inside and out will help. Look into getting an excel master certificate perhaps. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dz40rzl", "text": "If you want to work at a brokerage shop, you could probably get a research analyst role in 10 seconds.  There is tons of turnover in that position so we \\(I have a very senior research job at one of the big brokerage houses\\) are constantly looking for analysts.  The job is mixed.  If you grind it out, you will quickly become an expert on your market and, maybe, a product type. But, the grind is real. Lots of time spent doing tedious market research and data collection. But, if you do it well, you will eventually find yourself doing much more interesting work either with a brokerage team \\(lots of our turnover is because brokers steal our analysts\\) or in research. We're always looking for people who can both understand the data, offer good analysis of the data, and also offer an interesting, forward looking conclusion.  The vast majority of research is spent either  looking back or at the current state of affairs.  But, developing a compelling point of view on the future is a lot harder and much more rare, even among the more seasoned people in the business.  You'll never get rich moving through a research org but you can do quite well and get to do some very interesting work with big time clients in some very interesting places in the world.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dzize38", "text": "Maybe try for an entry level spot with one of the consultants. Buxton, etc.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]