WSU MUP Alumni Profile #3 - Justin Duncan
Many WSSUP members and MUP candidates have wondered what career options are available after graduation. After talking with a few recent graduates, there seem to be a variety of ways to use a planning degree in the real world. Read the first alumni profile for recent graduate Erica Raleigh below and view other profiles at our Alumni Profiles page.
Justin Duncan: My name is Justin Duncan, I’m a WSU MUP alum, finished my God-Forsaken Masters Essay in 2013 (after having finished all my courses over a year prior), so I’m a recent grad of the program, technically speaking (Dec 2013). I’m currently employed with Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions, a large & growing “boutique” commercial real estate firm in Farmington Hills. I am the Senior Analyst with the Investment & Loan Sale Advisory arm of the company. This position was a good fit for me as a planning grad, as planning-minded people tend to look at real estate dynamics in a more analytical way than the typical MBA, who just has the task of filling out their spreadsheets. If commercial real estate is all about location, then who better to research it than someone whose background is basically in spatial analysis? I digress… Basically what I do is look at income-producing (or a lack thereof) properties throughout the country and work to understand market forces, typically in a place I’ve never been. I also have to understand financing and underwriting techniques in order to fulfill day-to-day tasks. I read through leases, mortgages, easements, deeds, and any of an array of other legal instruments typically used in commercial real estate.
Ever since high school I always had a really strong nostalgia for a time I never got to live through – Detroit’s heyday. I read about it in history books and talked about it with my grandparents. It was this adopted nostalgia that led me into wanting to understand what makes cities tick… While taking classes at Henry Ford Community College, I was talking about my interest in cities with my geography professor who told me about Urban Studies/Planning. I finished my pre-req’s at HFCC and transferred to WSU where I would be one of the last students to graduate from WSU with a BA in Geography, and then the rest is history. I worked full time from the time I was 19, so it took me a while to finish, but I did it! My Masters Essay topic was Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Metro Detroit – still a passion of mine, despite my growing frustration with the region’s unfunded RTA.
WSSUP: What was your capstone project and how did it prepare you for your career?
WSU Summer 2011 Capstone - Woodbridge
Justin Duncan: The above was our capstone project. As someone who never really had much of an interest in grassroots community development (I’ve always had more of an interest in the private sector/broad economic development), I wasn’t crazy about the topic of our study. However, it was an excellent exercise in preparing us for professional experience in that it required us to be a well-oiled machine (teamwork), put us under a number of deadlines, and required us to formulate technical recommendations in a way that the layman can understand them.
WSSUP: What are the most valuable skills (planning or otherwise) you’ve learned in your career?
Justin Duncan: Flexibility is vital in professional development – sometimes what you thought would be your “dream job” might not turn out to be what you actually want to do. In my current position, the most valuable skill I’ve learned would be developing a keen understanding on what makes the private sector of development/commercial real estate tick. A lot of it has to do with finance and business acumen, a skill that simply isn’t obtained in a MUP program. Another thing I learned was to embrace change and challenges that might be outside my wheelhouse – it’s the best way to learn and broaden your skillset.
WSSUP: What was your most important planning experience during your time as a MUP?
Justin Duncan: As far as courseload goes, the most valuable experience I had was in taking the planning law class. Legal and recorded documents completely dictate the built environment, and as such, the law class is the most applicable class I took – theory really doesn’t come up too often lol. Aside from that, the capstone project was highly valuable because, as previously stated, it provided a glimpse into the way the professional world operates.
WSSUP: How did you find work after graduation?
Justin Duncan: Ah. This is a tricky one. When I finished my classes (2012), I was pretty much at the tail end of the recession, so there were NO jobs out there. I literally started looking and applying for jobs after my first semester, and I didn’t even get an interview after applying for probably close to 100 jobs. What got me my job was being flexible and exploring other jobs aside from just “planner.” This flexibility opened up a whole different category of jobs I would have never thought to find myself in. In short, what found my job was extreme persistence.
WSSUP: What goals do you have for your future in planning?
Justin Duncan: Long term I’d like to work for either HUD or a public/private developer of multi-family housing. I don’t really have much of an interest in being a “planner” per se, as the income potential and career growth possibilities are highly limited in this job category. The private sector is where the money is, and you’re going to need that money when your student loan payments creep up on you.
WSSUP: Do you have any advice for future MUP graduates?
Justin Duncan: Absolutely. I’ll divide them into a few categories…
a. Coursework: BRANCH OUT OF PLANNING DEPARTMENT COURSES. The planning realm (both public and private) are going to require you to have at least a basic understanding of financing, excel/access, business models, and legal instruments that isn’t really covered enough in planning curricula. Do everything you can to take these classes as electives, because you’re going to need them.
b. Internships: When I was in school the economy was in the absolute dumps, and finding even an unpaid internship was like pulling teeth. Now that the economy is improved/improving, DO THOSE INTERNSHIPS. AmeriCorps is fine, but make sure you’re doing professional-level assignments and not just grunt work. When the job market is as tight as it is, you’re going to NEED that experience on your resume in order to even get a call back.
c. Job Hunting: Be creative in where you search for jobs. Don’t rely on job search engines to find them for you. This will require being creative, researching companies/entities to basically “cold call” to sell yourself to. As previously stated, be flexible in the type of jobs you consider, because there’s very few planning jobs out there, but a lot of jobs that might see the value in having a MUP on staff. START LOOKING FOR JOBS WELL BEFORE YOU GRADUATE (12+ months in advance). You don’t want to be out of school for 2-3 years without having any formal job experience, the longer you’re out of the loop, the less marketable you become to prospective employers. Finally, it can be a pain in the butt, but WRITE COVER LETTERS. Research how to write them, because they can make a big difference for the HR person who just sees resumes all day.
d. Don’t Be Afraid to Call on Alumni: As students, we often forget that every gainfully employed MUP graduate was once in your shoes. Most of us are GLAD to help you guys out, and we probably know of at least one job out there that you can apply for, or we might even have jobs to recruit for ourselves.
e. Start researching for your Masters Essay EARLY: The Masters Essay is a LOT of work. Pick a topic well before you finish your classes, and start compiling research/notes wayyyyy in advance. It will save you from having to scramble when your time comes to write it.