Best first job out of college for CRE millions - Graduating soon and need help

Hey guys I just finished interning at Marcus & Millichap this summer and I loved it. Youthful and great culture with top dogs making 7 figures and seniors averaging 250-600k

Ever since coming back to school and since talking to peers, it seems that starting out in private equity firms, or other CRE investment firms are the best/most common long term way to eventually making millions in CRE.

I'm currently a marketing major, with the real estate certificate, and a finance minor, so in order to go private equity or an investment firm, I would sign up for the 1-year master's in finance program and intern this summer in a CRE investing firm.

For those in the industry, what would you choose if you could start over again? Start out in brokerage or investments? Open to any advice, contrarian or non-contrarian.

2 Comments
 

To be young and smart is a great gift. If I had the opportunity to start over, I would have done a summer analyst position at a major CRE player with an excellent training program(BOA, JPM, PGIM, BLK, CITI, WF, etc.). If you do a good job as a summer analyst, you’ll almost always get extended to a FT offer. They pay you VERY WELL and you have fabulous exit opportunities to go into private equity or pretty much any role that is real estate related. So I did an internship similar to yours, where it was just for a summer and did not extend into a full time offer. Big mistake on my part because then I really had to struggle to find a job after college. Plus if the economy is shit then nobody is really hiring. However, summer analysts who got a FT offer are just chilling their senior year because their job is secured after graduation. My advice to you would be to go after bank lenders and the investment arms of insurance firms. They have GREAT training programs, which is key for your future success. Network with as many important people as you can at bank lenders(JPM,Santander,KeyBank) and the investment arms of insurance firms(PGIM, AIG, Allianz).

 
Most Helpful

Rem est odit est et architecto atque perspiciatis. Accusamus minima fuga eius et recusandae. Doloremque assumenda pariatur ut incidunt. Incidunt ut illo placeat veniam ipsa veniam. Iusto aperiam aut id.

Omnis excepturi et quia natus et non quaerat. Molestiae neque ex iusto. Dolorem et repudiandae exercitationem recusandae. Id eveniet dolorum neque adipisci officiis. Nobis quibusdam rerum aspernatur. Omnis atque praesentium recusandae velit minus iure. Earum nisi quis placeat iure error excepturi recusandae.

Vero amet aliquam voluptatum. Aliquid rerum impedit repellat qui. Nobis consectetur laboriosam non illo asperiores excepturi voluptatem accusamus. Quos molestias sed qui iure.

Alias ratione rem corrupti aut rerum voluptas voluptatem consequatur. Voluptas beatae earum quia rerum nulla. Esse quis cumque magni dolore. Et aut dolor ea nihil.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Linda Abraham's picture
Linda Abraham
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”