Need some career advice from the seasoned professional here;

I have been in commercial real estate finance for past 4 years, working for a commercial lender for first 3. For the past year I have been brokering and structuring commercial real estate financing for private clients and doing some advisory work with business real estate owners i.e. financial analysis; what is worth buying and what’s not etc. I have an undergrad in Finance (high gpa from NY state school) and will be taking the level 1 CFA exam in Dec. All money in this business is made in commissions and I have been averaging 70–110K. Don’t have an MBA but plan to pursue one in a year or so. My next logical step would be employment with a real estate oriented company such as a private equity firm or REIT but I am exploring the PWM/financial advisory area as the private client arena is not as stable as I would like it to be and friend workin for REITs tell me its redundant and monotonous work.

Here is my question to the seasoned posters on the board;

If I decide to switch to PWM/financial advisory, what are my chances of landing a position paying at least the same compensation and what would possible crevice would I fit in i.e. are there advisors or departments with a focus on RE management or transactional advisory or just one class of solider advisors. I will not be coming in with a book of ready and willing HNW clients. I had an informal offer thru a college mentor for accounting form EY for RE advisory group but I turned in down a year ago. Wondering where to go from here. Any advice/input would be appreciated.