Support for IREM certifications

Over the last several years, I’ve had the opportunity to interview many real estate management professionals. Many times, I would ask them how they found their way into the industry. More often than not, I got the same response: “I never intended to work in real estate management. It just happened.”

My own journey in the industry happened the exact same way. I was a recent college graduate who took a real estate management job that I assumed would be temporary while I sought a different career more akin to my academic studies. But real estate management stuck.

There’s a specific passion found among many real estate professionals: an undeniable pull to those willing to commit their professional working lives to the pursuit of creating better places for people to live and businesses to thrive.

It’s that pull that makes IREM such an important resource in our industry. It allows us to pursue significant educational opportunities in an industry underrepresented in other academic circles, though many universities across the world are now offering opportunities to study real estate management. It also allows us to rub shoulders with others who share our passion for the industry.

It’s not a coincidence that my involvement with IREM came just as serendipitously as my involvement in the industry. I fell into it backward. It wasn’t until fully committing to both—the real estate industry and IREM—that my career started to develop.

Scholarship support

After being volunteered to participate in a local chapter event, a wildly competitive professional scavenger hunt in the heart of downtown Seattle, Washington, I found myself completing my ARM® and being selected as an IREM 30 under 30 a little more than a year later.

My thirst for industry education remained unquenched. I knew that the next step in my journey would be starting the process for CPM® designation. I knew that such a universally respected certification would not be easily achieved and would require a substantial investment in both time and money, neither of which I had at my disposal.

At this point, I reached out to a mentor who’d recently achieved the CPM to find out his pathway to achieving the designation. I was told to explore the IREM Foundation, which exists to provide scholarships to those wanting to pursue IREM education opportunities such as the CPM.

The process seemed overwhelming at first, but I quickly discovered that the application was simple. There were some questions on my industry experience and the type of property I managed, and an explanation as to why I was pursuing the CPM and how I would use it to improve the real estate management industry. A short time later, I received notification that my scholarship application was reviewed and approved. The majority of my first three CPM courses would be funded by the IREM Foundation. I completed this process again for my next set of classes and eventually was able to earn the CPM.

CPM work leads to promotion

During my time working on my CPM, I was promoted to a leadership position in my company in large part due to the pursuit of that designation. My career was positively altered by my decision to become involved with IREM, earn my ARM, and subsequently earn my CPM. None of this would have been possible without the enthusiastic support of the IREM Foundation.

Today, I’m proud to serve on the IREM Western Washington board of directors as the VP of finance and president-elect. Our chapter leadership consists of many individuals who have utilized the IREM Foundation to propel them into bigger and better roles in the industry, affecting positive change along the way. As a chapter, we have proudly donated each year to the Foundation to help others pursue their real estate management education goals.

The IREM Foundation will continue to be a valuable resource to those hoping to achieve any of the valuable IREM certifications. If you want to build your real estate management career, start with the IREM Foundation.