Transitioning from accounting into asset management
Recently left public accounting at a T10 firm after 4 years in the audit practice (dabbled in some consulting work there too) concentrating solely on RE clients and specialized in the affordable housing/tax credit development space. Accepted an accounting role at a public REIT with about $6.1 AUM about 2 months ago. Had always thought about switching to the AM side and after a couple months here, I believe that pivot is the best move for me going forward. The way I see it I have a few options, but am hoping for some color:

-Continue networking at my current REIT, start being more vocal about my goals and backdoor the transition internally (Lot I love about the current shop and would like to stay, worried about internal BS and not being able to make a clean break from accounting).

-Hit the job market again and try to break directly into an AM role at another firm (With no AM experience and not wanting to take a bath salary wise this might be challenging. Plus, having to job hunt again... woof)

-Stay in my current role (which I don't hate, just ultimately want to be on the AM side) and simultaneously do the Master's in Real Estate program at Georgetown to pad the resume and aid in the transition (I like their program/know some grads and am local to DC so would be able to attend in-person). Current job would pay for some of it, I don't love having to foot the remaining bill, but the cost is palatable from an ROI standpoint.

About me: 30ish, non-target UG for Accounting, have my CPA, solid at networking, great at cooking meats over fire.
[{"id": "h001ij6", "text": "Hey you can direct message me. I have the exact same background in DC and switched into an AM role from accounting. Also considered and applied to Gtown MBA in order to rebrand but I ended up no needing to.", "replies": [{"id": "h00ukb1", "text": "Appreciate it, will PM you tonight", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h00rb70", "text": "You\u2019ve been at the new firm for too short a period of time to start asking about internal transfers - it won\u2019t be thought of well by your current manager who really holds the keys to this. \n\nThat said, best path is to speak with your manager at the appropriate time about ways to make the transition feasible. I\u2019d also work on an outside degree to the extent it\u2019s not going to break the bank for you. It\u2019s going to be tough to move into an AM role at a different shop with no relevant experience so your best bet is to get the experience at your current shop and if you like it there great stay if you don\u2019t bounce out once you\u2019ve transitioned to AM and have a few years under your belt. \n\nAnyways my $0.02, but in my experience I think you will get the most traction via internal movement. Good luck, wish you the best!", "replies": [{"id": "h00uttz", "text": "Thanks for the input and I agree, plan is to settle into my current role and not pursue the transition till I have a leg to stand on.", "replies": [{"id": "h01bmoq", "text": "Hey another thought is looking at the internal valuations team if your firm has it. The firms that do use valuations groups to do the DCF modeling for assets and work with appraisers to develop internal value is very similar in a lot of aspects to what asset management analysts at mega funds would be doing. You\u2019d be able to use youre accounting knowledge directly for the role making it an easier pitch to transition and would also get to \u201clearn the lingo\u201d while working with the asset managers. Just a thought and also totally firm dependent, some orgs have this function some push it to the asset management analysts. Anyways good luck with the move, of everything I\u2019ve touched in my career I honestly liked asset management the most.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "h0150nj", "text": "I left BDO ten years ago...  I would say do side deals on smaller projects while getting some clout at your job. My mistake was leaving a W2 job too soon.\n\n Not sure masters is necessary, do some certificate programs in financial modeling and understand how to underwrite a deal then apply it in the real world on a smaller multifamily type deal.  \n\nBuild the track record all the while the network from working at the reit.  See if they pay for you to go to networking meetings and CRE organizations like urban land institute, ICSC and NAIOP.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "j0xrsxu", "text": "Hey, I really enjoyed this post. How are things going with this? I just took an accounting role at all of the largest commercial real estate managers in the world. however, I wanna work on the asset management side. I\u2019d love to see how things are going for you.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]