Need help with career trajectory ASAP - I'm desperate

Alright so I'm in a bit of a buttfuck here and really need some good advice on which career path to make for myself. All feedback is welcome as I'm struggling to find meaning in my life for work. I'm working on two offers right now, (1) Credit Analyst for a Commercial Real Estate team at a commercial bank & an (2) Acquisitions/Deal Sourcing Analyst role for a small RE syndicator/private equity group. I essentially have no idea what I want to do for a career in commercial real estate since there's so many different routes, but I guess my end game is to be an operator and close my own deals to take home the real gains. The Credit Analyst position offers a low starting salary with benefits, but the Acquisitions Analyst position is commission only for each deal acquired/closed (only if sole-sourced). I'm 25 post military and just graduated with a bachelors in Finance, I feel old as fuck starting out at this age so I need to get my life rolling and need to start chasing bags. Which job choice would set me up with the most versatile career in CRE?

Even if your advice has nothing to do with this topic, tell me anyway because I'm this close to offing myself.

(My thoughts are to take the shit paying Acquisitions job and do a Masters in Real Estate at Fordham University at the same time for around a year, then move to an bigger sized company within the NYC metropolitan area. Is this the right move? I have previous investment banking internships and am well versed in investment analysis.)

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25 is not too old at all so I wouldn't worry, tons of people don't even get in until their late 20s or 30s.

On a pure skillset basis, acquisitions is probably going to be more in line, but being commission only, you should realize that you may and probably won't make money for a year. Commission only is the quicker path to high pay, but also comes with the downsides of not making anything. I know for a fact a lot of brokers and acquisitions guy are hurting really bad right now.

Credit Analyst is more stable but might be a bit more boring of work.

 

You think I should just take the credit position at the commercial bank? I'm not sure what the exit opportunities look like, but could I transition into commercial real estate/syndications/private equity if I have a background in working for the CRE department at the bank? 

 

Real estate is way less structured than other industries, so you can totally do a year or two in one thing and then bounce over to another role/property type (typically starting back towards the bottom though).

At this point it really just comes down to how you want to start out learning/earning. On the acquisitions analyst side, are those deals you are personally bringing in, or are you going to be working as an analyst for a team?

 

Technically its both, I would just be compensated for the deals that I personally find, not the current deals with the team. I think I'm getting totally fucked but would be good experience to have. If I did take this job, I was thinking of staying there for 1 year and moving out somewhere else to a bigger shop since it would be good experience, and maybe even getting my MSRE from somewhere too.

 

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