Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
Issue link: http://cire.epubxp.com/i/897832
COMMERCIAL INVESTMENT REAL ESTATE 20 November | December 2017 E very day, about 550 U.S. military vets return to civilian life. As the U.S. draws down from more than decade of remote warfare, the armed forces are expected to shed nearly 250,000 soldiers annually from 2014 to 2019, according to The Economist. Most confront the challenge of find- ing a new job and learning new skills. "In my area alone, we have about 10,000 people getting out of the military every year," Jeff Guild says. "Some percentage of them will be interested in commercial real estate, and CCIM isn't just an accreditation, it's an education. It can be a good fit for certain veterans getting out." It's proven to be ideal for Guild and three other veterans who recently took the CI 102 class in Chicago through the CCIM Veterans in Real Estate Program. The program, which CCIM Institute offers in partnership with the U.S. Department of Vet- erans Affairs, gives vets the chance to fund their CCIM course- work through the GI Bill. Guild, vice president of debt and structured finance at CBRE Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Va., was a Navy SEAL for 20 years. When he retired, Guild attended the Acton School of Business, where he developed an interest in real estate. After Guild started at CBRE, he learned about the CCIM designation from a colleague, found out about the veterans' pro- gram, and started his coursework. "It's perfect for me," Guild says. "On the capital market side where I work, specifically in debt and structured finance, the financial analysis that we learn in CCIM coursework directly correlates with what I do at CBRE." Steven Rosa-Pagan, on the other hand, had started his career in residential real estate in Puerto Rico before joining the U.S. Army in 2006. He served with a combat unit in Iraq from 2008 to 2009. When Rosa-Pagan returned, he stayed in the U.S. Army reserves and resumed his real estate career. When he left the service in 2014, "I wanted to do something more challenging," Rosa-Pagan says. He joined RE/MAX Commercial Associates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the firm's president, JM Padron, CCIM, introduced him to the CCIM program, encouraging him to pursue the designation and point- ing him toward the veterans' program. Mike Powell/Getty Images CCIM E D U CAT I O N Smoother Transition CCIM Institute is helping vets find successful second careers. by Sarah Hoban