Commercial real estate can be remarkably rewarding, both professionally and monetarily. But breaking in now is going to be tough, even among candidates with post-graduate training and prior work experience, says Wake Forest?s Guy Groff, director of the university?s career management center. Guy (looking dapper here at a recent student-alumni function) says large CRE firms hire when times are good, but pare back in a slump. And right now it's still pretty, well, slumpy. ?It's a just-in-time business,? Guy tells us. Interestingly, top Charlotte CRE execs aren't necessarily impressed by higher academic degrees. Trinity Partners' Gary Chesson says what he looks for in a prospective hire may be unteachable. ?I look for passion,? Gary says. Which is not to say that the added degree doesn?t help hone a candidate?s mind. It provides focus and broader understanding of the market, Gary says. ?The intelligence factor is definitely part of it,? he says. ?You can tell when somebody really gets it.?