Salary? 1st analyst job after biz school, please advice!

I am searching for my first analyst job after biz school, please adive on how much I can/should ask for salary wise? My background: I am a licensed architect with 4 years of experience. Will graduate with a MS in real estate finance and investment (PT) in two months. I am looking for my first finance/analyst job either with a development company or entitlies that buy/sell/hold real estate assets in the SF area.

First, you didn’t attend business school. Second, your career office is a much better resource for salary info for people who’ve graduated from your program than this board is. The salaries will be about the same in SF vs. Chicago, but the cost of living will be higher. I don’t know anything about the competitiveness of your program, nor do I know anyone who has done a MS in RE on a part-time basis. If I had to guess, I’d think you’re looking at a salary between $65 and $90K, with a 10 - 30% bonus.

What school are you attending?

DePaul

How have the opportunities been? I’m also looking to work in SF after B School.

I haven’t actually starting applying for anything. I am just doing some research. I’ll keep you posted. What’s your background?

I have worked as an analyst in the Comm RE financing field for almost three years and am also finishing up in an MS in Real Estate at NYU. Typically, after 2-3 years of work experience, one is hired as an associate, not analyst; some within smaller RE investment firms move up faster. Analysts get hired at 55-60K + bonus and experienced associates start off at 70K-99K with bonus at good firms. These are NYC rates and thats what some of the folks i know are making. Keep in mind that salaries are directly tied to either experience and or the brand name of the school you went to. As folks here know, NYC firms are brand conscious. Real estate finance and investment has various segments i.e. financing, direct real estate investment, asset management, investment in RE securities etc. Most firms specialize in one. You need to figure out what you would be best suited for. If you want to be on the finance side, you need to be an expert on basic finance concepts like TVM, DCF etc and be abel to create and alter models and be fam with the legal docs + best practices. With an architectural BG you will prob be best suited for a real estate development company. It is a good skill to know how a structure is/should be constructed and also have a command of the financials involved in repositioning assets i.e. hotels and housing developments etc. I reco you expand you scope outside the SF area and seek out a development analyst position.