For those new to the industry, this special program allowed a panel of veteran property professionals (all BOMA Fellows) to share advice on honing leadership and business skills to build a career in commercial real estate. DTZ's Rebecca Hanner (here with Greene Commercial Real Estate Group's Murray Greene) says her education is actually in accounting, but she learned the business helping with the development arm of a firm she was working for. "If you get an opportunity to be in a company where you get to wear a lot of hats, do it," she says. Murray's education is in space science—he wanted to be an astronaut. "When that wasn't panning out, I just needed a job."

InspiRE Commercial Real Estate Services' Marc Fischer (here with Rosemont Realty's James Peck and Transwestern's Karrie McCampbell, who moderated the panel) says when he graduated college, the only offer he had was from a property management firm, and he really wanted to get his own place. "I figured I would stay long enough till I found something else," he says. It's important for people interested in the business to network and engage with industry groups, which give you a chance to get to know all the players, he says.