What advice can you give an architect whose considering jumping in to work at a real estate developer, both from an interview perspective and from a job perspective. What kinds of jobs within a real estate developer exist that would be a good fit for an architect?
quizzical: Your comments I think is one of the most reliable in this forum. I will check out the link you provided.
Jefferson: I here would like to share my quick thougths regarding ur question based on my current working area which is in china. I think the vision and capability of critising other peer's design is the key.
I would like to share more my obersation and thougths later.
I've done a fair amount of development work over the last 15 years or so (almost all for myself, not as an employee). As an architect, you're not going to be much value to a developer as an employee unless you thoroughly understand real estate economics, the process of getting a project conceptualized and entitled (on the ownership side), and how to put deals together. Those things plus an architectural background are good. Even better if you have an architectural license. Even better better if you also have a related qualification (RE appraisal certificate, broker's license, project management certification, MBA in RE, JD, etc.)
I have done about 4-5 projects on my own over the last fifteen years. I still manage and run my own office but its nice to be "the client" every once and a while. I do enjoy both so that's why I haven't switched to just being a developer, and also at a place in my career where the work is not about cash flow anymore its about picking projects and clients I enjoy working with / for. I would say the best experience I ever had though was building a couple houses for some early clients it was really eye opening for a young architect ( I was building just managing the jobs on behalf of the client so the risk was minimized ). I gained a huge understanding the cost of construction, pros and cons about managing the site and what can go right and what can go wrong!. Its was pretty much 24 / 7 for about 8 months which was not great for the family life but gained a ton of confidence in designing , managing and building my own residential scale projects. Practical experience when you are young is great and it really compliments the academic / classroom side of things as you gain a huge point of reference for any academic discussions..... and as most contractors will tell you ( the designer ) don't know shit when it comes to construction, its good to have some practical experience to show that you can talk the talk and walk the walk!
Hey, architect here with some real estate experience. I am 27 yrs old and have my arch. license. I live in the Memphis area where real estate is relatively cheap. If you live in an area where you can afford something like a 4-unit building then go for it! Save up (for a $200k building you need about $50-60k), do your research (there are tons of good books on duplex, triplex, and quadplex investing), contact your bank and real estate agent and then buy your building! I have owned property (8 units now) for 3 years and can't recommend it enough if you are the ambitious type. Through careful planning and good organization you should be able to significantly increase your net income while also maintaining a very reasonable schedule at your day job (architecture firm, I assume). By investing in multifamily properties I have been able to establish an understanding of the real estate market (by experience) while I continue to study as an architect and (future) developer. Best of luck!
Quite a few comments about doing it yourself. I thought OP was asking about getting hired by developers. I know a lot of developers have backend people (after the sales have gone through but during construction/renovation) that are basically owner's reps. A number of our project architects that do well during CA get poached by the developer later to do it in-house. The pay is in the $100-110k range. The big lesson that they all seem to have to learn is, there's a time to give up on punch-list items. Diminishing returns from the contractor and deadlines to get people moved in.
Sep 27, 17 5:09 pm ·
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Anyone made a transition to work for a real estate developer?
What advice can you give an architect whose considering jumping in to work at a real estate developer, both from an interview perspective and from a job perspective. What kinds of jobs within a real estate developer exist that would be a good fit for an architect?
Jefferson - you may want to check out this thread: http://archinect.com/forum/thread/47702561/real-estate-investment-developing-experience
^^^ thanks!
i've met one or two that have made the jump.
the pay-hike is kind of insane. the guys weren't licensed either.
Do you know anything about real estate finance and risk analysis methods?
very curious, how does one make this jump?
quizzical: Your comments I think is one of the most reliable in this forum. I will check out the link you provided.
Jefferson: I here would like to share my quick thougths regarding ur question based on my current working area which is in china. I think the vision and capability of critising other peer's design is the key.
I would like to share more my obersation and thougths later.
make sure your belt and shoes match
I've done a fair amount of development work over the last 15 years or so (almost all for myself, not as an employee). As an architect, you're not going to be much value to a developer as an employee unless you thoroughly understand real estate economics, the process of getting a project conceptualized and entitled (on the ownership side), and how to put deals together. Those things plus an architectural background are good. Even better if you have an architectural license. Even better better if you also have a related qualification (RE appraisal certificate, broker's license, project management certification, MBA in RE, JD, etc.)
^^^^^ +1
Very good advice Gwharton. Thanks.
I have done about 4-5 projects on my own over the last fifteen years. I still manage and run my own office but its nice to be "the client" every once and a while. I do enjoy both so that's why I haven't switched to just being a developer, and also at a place in my career where the work is not about cash flow anymore its about picking projects and clients I enjoy working with / for. I would say the best experience I ever had though was building a couple houses for some early clients it was really eye opening for a young architect ( I was building just managing the jobs on behalf of the client so the risk was minimized ). I gained a huge understanding the cost of construction, pros and cons about managing the site and what can go right and what can go wrong!. Its was pretty much 24 / 7 for about 8 months which was not great for the family life but gained a ton of confidence in designing , managing and building my own residential scale projects. Practical experience when you are young is great and it really compliments the academic / classroom side of things as you gain a huge point of reference for any academic discussions..... and as most contractors will tell you ( the designer ) don't know shit when it comes to construction, its good to have some practical experience to show that you can talk the talk and walk the walk!
Hey, architect here with some real estate experience. I am 27 yrs old and have my arch. license. I live in the Memphis area where real estate is relatively cheap. If you live in an area where you can afford something like a 4-unit building then go for it! Save up (for a $200k building you need about $50-60k), do your research (there are tons of good books on duplex, triplex, and quadplex investing), contact your bank and real estate agent and then buy your building! I have owned property (8 units now) for 3 years and can't recommend it enough if you are the ambitious type. Through careful planning and good organization you should be able to significantly increase your net income while also maintaining a very reasonable schedule at your day job (architecture firm, I assume). By investing in multifamily properties I have been able to establish an understanding of the real estate market (by experience) while I continue to study as an architect and (future) developer. Best of luck!
Quite a few comments about doing it yourself. I thought OP was asking about getting hired by developers. I know a lot of developers have backend people (after the sales have gone through but during construction/renovation) that are basically owner's reps. A number of our project architects that do well during CA get poached by the developer later to do it in-house. The pay is in the $100-110k range. The big lesson that they all seem to have to learn is, there's a time to give up on punch-list items. Diminishing returns from the contractor and deadlines to get people moved in.
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