After College Lifestyles
Robbie is a Consultant specializing in Hospitality at a major Real Estate company in New York City. Robbie provides a play-by-play of his entire work day to give you a good idea of what a consultant in NYC does.
Overview:
Career: Consultant
Company Field: Real Estate
Located In: New York City, New York
Grew Up In: Beaufort, South Carolina
Graduated From: Cornell University
Majored In: Hotel Administration
Graduated In: 2011
Quick Stats on Being a Real Estate Consultant
Work Hour Flexibility: Medium
Quality of Lifestyle Outside of Work:High
Work Stress Level: Medium
Level of Routine Work: Medium
Interaction with Co-Workers: High
Pay Level (out of 5): $$$
Life of a College Grad Real Estate Consultant
As a real estate consultant I am responsible for a variety of tasks related to real estate. Specifically, I advise our clients (private equity firms, sovereign wealth funds, REITs, real estate investment firms, individual investors) on their real estate investments through providing services including market analysis, valuation, strategy, due diligence and transaction support. My specialty is hospitality so I am mainly in charge of providing services to clients with hospitality real estate assets, but I also analyze all other types of real estate as well (commercial, residential, industrial and retail)
Consultant's Daily Routine:
8:50 AM Head out the door to the nearest Citibike station (one block from my apartment) and ride a bike 25 blocks uptown to my office
9:10 AM Arrive in the office, log into my computer and check email
9:30 AM Take an elevator to the 22nd floor and get breakfast with coworkers at the onsite cafeteria
9:45 AM - 12:00 PM Continue putting together slides for presentation from the day prior on a proposed hotel development, conducting market research on the location’s economic environment and demand generators
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Grab a salad from Just Salad and eat in Bryant Park with my coworkers
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Meet with a principal to go over planning for the monthly practice meeting finalizing presentation logistics
2:00PM - 2:45 PM Meet with a manager to review my analysis of a valuation of a portfolio of over 100 senior living facilities
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM Review a valuation for financial purposes of a portfolio of eight villa developments in suburban New Delhi
6:15 PM Leave the office and walk to the nearest Citibike station one block from my office and ride a bike downtown back to my apartment
How To Get Into The Field:
I studied hotel administration at Cornell University (think a business school with a hospitality twist) and minored in real estate. The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell opens many doors for jobs at other businesses because of its prestigious curriculum considered top in the world. Even companies that aren't related to hospitality acknowledge the hotel school at Cornell and recruit directly from there. In fact, I got my current job through the campus recruiting process. This is a common career path for many "Hotelies" at Cornell's hotel school (real estate is the only thing students can minor in this college). I felt that my studies at Cornell really helped prepare me for my current job.
What Do You Really Do?
On a daily basis, I will be doing anything from offering a tourism association with advice on how to improve their marketing efforts to attract more visitors to a destination to valuing a portfolio of hotels for a private equity firm. During downtime, I help with a number of internal operational tasks including maintaining a database of hotel operating metrics and market trends and organizing a monthly meeting with everyone in the practice.
Pros/Cons of Your Job
I was attracted to this position for it would give me an array of diverse experiences within the hospitality industry and real estate industry. Although I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, I wanted to gain exposure to a variety of areas before committing myself to one specific specialty.
Tour My New York City Apartment:
Quick Stats on New York City
Competition for Housing: High
Housing Cost: High
Population of Young People: High
Nightlife: High
Safety: High
Biggest Industries: Finance, Technology, PR and Media Technology, Fashion
The Life of a College Grad In New York City
What's it Like to Live Here?
Living in New York City is somewhat tough but the proximity to everything from nightlife to awesome restaurants makes up for the tight quarters and sky high prices (however, I still really miss central air). I live in downtown Manhattan in Chelsea and truly enjoy being in a neighborhood that actually feels like a neighborhood with low-rise buildings, brownstones and townhouses and small cafes and bakeries. I can grab dinner, groceries, and see a show at a local theater, all within one block of my apartment!
How Did I End Up Here?
I grew up in Beaufort, South Carolina, a small coastal town located between Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. For college, I went to Cornell University to the School of Hotel Administration (in Ithaca, New York). I ended up in New York City as the company that recruited me on campus is headquartered in Manhattan. Additionally, I mainly looked for jobs in New York and DC.
My Set-Up
I currently live in a small studio (in downtown Manhattan: Chelsea) by myself and my cat (a new addition to my apartment!). Although small, my apartment is arranged in such a way to maximize every last square inch.
Closing Advice
When you apply for jobs, apply for jobs you are passionate about and only consider cities where you would really like to live. Where you live is a big part of your social life!
