A Graduate Real Estate Program Survey: Careers and Compensation

This paper addresses the impact of the recent recession upon job placement and compensation levels for recent graduates of graduate real estate programs. Based on a survey of graduates from nine graduate real estate programs, “recession-era” graduates (2008–2010) and “pre-recession” graduates (2000–2007) were compared to gain insight into how the types of jobs, salaries, bonuses, and other benefits were affected by the recession. The survey also identified the types of companies and the real estate sectors that were hiring. The results indicate that recession era graduates had a longer job search, accepted positions in a wider range of real estate professions, and experienced a relatively large drop in their starting compensation as compared to pre-recession graduates. The mean earnings decreased from approximately $73,000 (pre-recession) to $59,000 (recession-era).