Anybody here familiar with the "Research Associate" job at CoStar?
The reviews on Glassdoor are horrendous, but from what I understand this is an entry level job, and while many do not make a career out of it, it could be a launchpad to other fields in commercial real estate, as you learn the in and outs of commercial real estate.  Would working here for a year or two while I do my masters in real estate finance in the night be a good plan if I plan to work in an analyst type roles in a development firm? I know that I wont be doing any financial modeling, or any work related to asset management/aquitisions, so its not completely relevant work experience that would help me land a job as an analyst. But, its a job that would atleast help me pay the bills and not rely on loans too much. Also, as the masters program would have only classes at night, I believe most people would work in the day. So, any analysts here think its an absolute waste of a time working in Costar, because its not relevant for the work I would want to do, or do u guys think as long as I have good grades, build connections and network, an entry level analyst position should be attainable after I graduate? Thanks a lot guys, really appreciate your help!
[{"id": "cr4t2j7", "text": "One more thing, the way I see it is, working there in the day and going to classes at night is atleast better than not working at all, sitting at home and only going to classes at night. But, Im not too sure if its better than working atleast in an assistant type roles  in the day in a development firm where I could learn from an analyst as thats more relevant work experience to what I would like to do after i graduate, so do u guys think working with analysts where I could learn what they do is much better for me than working in Costar? What do u guys think?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr5lklf", "text": "What will you be doing?  The only interaction I have with my research associate at CoStar is they call me once a week to ask if any of my listings changed and when I close stuff they run through a sheet of questions.  \n\nUnless I'm confusing job titles, I think that job is basically a glorified call center person who had a 30 minutes training session on CRE terms.  \n\nBeats no job and all, but I'm not sure its going to get you where you want to go.  ", "replies": [{"id": "cr5orfd", "text": "hey! thanks for taking the time to reply!, and yeah you are basically right, thats what I will be pretty much doing. I agree it is absolutely not related to what I want to be doing, which is being an analyst for a development firm/brokerage. And thats why I am going to school for, to do my masters in RE finance with the hope of going into the finance side of RE. The fact that all classes will most probably be in the evenings/night makes me think that most students will be working in the day. And I think its even more important for me to work in the day and pad my resume as I dont have any CRE experience, so getting work experience along with schooling is crucial for me, and while this job certainly helps me with CRE experience, but as you said, it is barely a CRE job, so do u think it is much better for me to work as an assistant or something to an analyst in a brokerage/dev firm where I could learn the in n outs of the business as thats the type of work I want to doing anyway after I graduate?", "replies": [{"id": "cr5oxb1", "text": "Absolutely.  Any job at a commercial brokerage or dev firm you will learn more.  I don't care if you are just making marketing packs etc.  If you are going to stay in your market post schooling at least you will be making contacts then.  You will be working on real stuff too.  Even if you are only making marketing packs or processing paperwork, you are seeing real deals.\n", "replies": [{"id": "cr5pdy1", "text": "thanks for the advice, yeah i will keep that in mind, and will keep this co star gig as a last choice. I plan to do my masters in another year or two, so before i start school then I will make sure to work my butt of to find a job to work in day in a dev firm or a brokerage where I could learn some relevant stuff, even if it is very basic. In your experience, how hard would it be for a noob like me to find some work in a development firm where I would work under a analyst?  before i start job searching first, I plan to learn some financial modeling, Argus etc. by myself. So, I wont be completely proficient or anything but will have some basic knowledge and hope to learn a lot more when i do real world stuff under a analyst. I will be in the DC market if that makes any difference. ", "replies": [{"id": "cr6lvqc", "text": "I don't really know honestly.  I work in brokerage so not sure what entry level dev work is out there.  There seems to be much more building, so I'd guess there are some opportunities, but I couldn't speak to how competitive they are.    What is your undergrad in?  \n\nFor what its worth I do know one person who went to CoStar as a sales associate and she absolutely hated working there.  Just one data point and all that though.  She said she felt like she couldn't sell because all her time was wasted on paperwork and crm stuff and it was just way too much structure.  She was coming out of a loose brokerage though so was probably use to being more free ;)", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr5nt1w", "text": "The only benefit I can see from that position is learning your market. I would absolutely not do it for longer than a year.", "replies": [{"id": "cr5ou2w", "text": "I live in Cincinnati and my researcher calls from a Washington DC area code.  Not sure if they are all like that or there is VOIP trickery, but I'm not even sure CoStar uses locals for this stuff at all", "replies": [{"id": "cr5phu5", "text": "yup you are right, the researchers work in the headquarters which is in DC. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "cr5p11r", "text": "hey! yeah learning the market and also basics of CRE, the terminology would help me as i have absolutely no CRE experience, and i see this is a very good entry level job for a noob in CRE, nothing more. In the future, I want to go into the finance side of RE, like be an analyst for a development firm/brokerage, and Im going to do my masters in RE finance with that goal, and the program is 2 years, so if i do this job, would u reccommend me only doing this for a year and then the second year before I graduate, would u say that it is absolutely crucial for me to work under a analyst or something atleast an internship as thats more relevant work experience? ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr625un", "text": "I work our research assistant pretty hard. About once a month I'll send her a spreadsheet of 50+ property owners and ask her to get me the contact info for each.\n\nAlso, anytime we bitch at our account manager about incorrect comps he immediately says he will speak with the research associate. I'm assuming they catch a lot of grief whenever someone complains.\n\nI don't think I answered your question but that's all I got. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr75q7w", "text": "Sounds like a good plan. I'd start both, and do whatever you can to get an internship once you're a semester into your classes. I took a very similiar path and my only regret is not being more serious about finding an internship during my program. ", "replies": [{"id": "cr83pwg", "text": "I had a shitty job when I was in school and had a chance to do a decent internship.  I felt like my job had helped me out and I shouldn't quit them.  HUGE MISTAKE.  \n", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "cr8aptd", "text": "hey! thanks for your advice, did u do a masters in RE too? if u didnt do an internship, what did u do to land a job after u graduate?", "replies": [{"id": "cr8tiyw", "text": "I complete a Master's of Real Estate Finance at NYU while working full time at Reis, a competitor of CoStar. \n\nThe job is likely not to pay a ton but will is a definite 9-5 with a hard stop, where you wont be taking work home. If I were in your position I'd do two things:\n\n1) Sit down for a couple of hours and really decide what you want to be doing. There a ton of job in real estate and few of them require a Master's. Mine got me my consulting job, but much of my cohort didn't actually need the degree for their current jobs.\n\n2) Once you've decided what you want to be doing, work to meet with professionals that do what you want to do. Just coffee and some basic questions. Alumni from the program you're looking at would be more likely to meet since they were in your shoes at one point. \n\nMy biggest regret is landing a consulting job during my program and continuing to tick with it through out my masters instead of finding an underwriting internship. Sure the pay would have been worse, if non-existant, and the stress of locking a job down earlier in the program was constant, but I ouwld have been better served for what I wanted to do by pursuing my intended path sooner. \n\nThat's all just my opinion though.     ", "replies": [{"id": "crc6dgz", "text": "oh wow, I have been looking at NYU's program too, and if you dont mind  me asking how much did the entire program cost and did u think it was worth it? So far, Georgetown's program seems to be the best option for me as I would like to be in the DC market, it is relatively affordable (30k), and looks like they have some good connections to the industry. However, since I also dont mind living in NYC, I would also apply to NYU. So, just like OP, I also plan enter the analysis side of RE. On your first point, I believe most analysts can make it without a masters, but they all invariably majored in Econ or Finance and graduated from great undergrad programs. I graduated from a decent school last year, but certainly not a great school. I am working in residential RE now, so do not have any relevant CRE finance experience too. So, I think for me, getting my masters in RE finance from a good school like NYU or Gtown would help me \"rebrand\" myself and it will help me be a competitive applicant when it comes to analyst jobs in CRE. Of course, doing my masters in RE in the evenings/nights also gives me the chance to pad my resume, network,  and try to gain some relevant work exp that will help me land a job. \n\nAnd your point about regretting not getting an internship, would u say since I want to be a analyst for a development firm, it is absolutely crucial for me to get a relevant job/internship if i want that to develop into a full time opportunity? So, the masters program would be 2 years, so even in my first year I work at Co star doing something irrelevant, would u say I should not stay there for more than a year and the second year, I should try my hardest to get a relevant internship? Hey!, really appreciate your advice here! Thanks!", "replies": [{"id": "crcuxhb", "text": "I don't know the exact cost, around $75k for just tuition. It's a 2 year program though, and I came out Argus trained, with opportunities in investment real estate right away. In your position it would definitely serve you well to get a masters, just make sure you get it in the market you plan to worki in directly after school. That way you can hunt for internships while still in school. I'd also watch all of the khan academy finance videos and any other videos explaining NOI, IRR, and NPV. If not, you'll feel behind in the first classes. \n\nThe costar job your first year would be great, but if you're in the Georgetown program it's only one year I believe. In that case I'd recommend you find an internship as soon as you can. Take out a few extra loans and use your savings to make the transition. Otherwise, you'll be graduated with no work experience looking for an entry level analyst job with little to set yourself apart from others. Use all of your spare time to job search when you enter the program. One again, that's just my opinion. ", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr7v1wd", "text": "It is better than no job, but I would try to get basically any other job in CRE.  I used to be an appraiser and trying to get comps can be like pulling teeth depending on what market you are focusing on.  I am pretty sure the CoStar research associates spend 100% of their time trying to get comps.  I would say an entry level analyst job would be attainable after you graduate, but I don't think the CoStar experience is going to help that much other than showing that you are willing to show up to work every day.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "cr8crjg", "text": "Actually got my start at CoStar many moons ago, and do have a few friends that stayed on with them for the past 15+ years.  If you're fairly green to CRE, the position will get you familiar with the industry, i.e. terminology, trends etc, but, and I'm assuming its still this way today, very 'call center-ish' intensive.  You stay on long enough and survive the 1-2 year itch most researchers go through you're more likely to move up the ranks.  If your intent is to continue in CRE and make it a career, certainly a good place to start ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]