Best Intro to RE Jobs

Current College Sophomore trying to learn more ab the real estate scene, but seems like there's so many different types of roles other than traditional Finance/IB as an "analyst". Any direction to a previous thread or any resource at all to start learning would be greatly appreciated.

8 Comments
 

Tier 1 would be development and acquisitions, IMO. Incredibly difficult to come by in this market and without any experience. These are the "exit ops" people talk about. If you can get in there to start, you're pretty much set. 

Tier 2 would be name brand brokerage or asset management. This is where I started, before transitioning to development. Not necessarily top of the food chain, but a great starting point and resume builder. 

Tier 3 would be lending for a bank or any job where the company is doing a lot but you specifically aren't. You can make a great career here without "moving up" if you're good at it. 

Tier 4 would be something like resi brokerage, property management, flipping houses, etc. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

Although bias, I think lending (senior lending for a big bank and mezz lending for debt fund) should be in tier 2/1. You work very closely to the capital stack and with that comes a lot of great experience. Also very easy to transition to a customer as an “exit opp”. Also most people really don’t understand the nuances of debt. Starting in it can make you “smarter” as you grow your career in development or acquisitions.

 
Funniest

I’d rather be a CRE credit analyst at a BB bank than “acquisitions” for Joe Schmoe LLC. Bizarre biased “tier” ranking system. 

Of course it’s biased. It’s 100% my opinion. You can make your own list or craft your own response just as easily. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

I work in AM at a mega fund so I am biased..but AM is a clear tier 1 option in my opinion. Gives experience across creating and executing business plans, refi strategies, leasing strategy, etc. Essentially a strategy role while being very plugged into the actual real estate.

But granted there are AM roles out there that are purely glorified reporting.

 

As a somewhat recent graduate (spring 23), I think that it’s best to try and land a role within either a BB or Top brokerage firm.

I networked a ton my spring semester and was able to land an internship at a top 4 brokerage. That helped me land an analyst role in debt portfolio management.

In my opinion nobody in the industry really respects/ values your opinion until you have at least 2- 4 years of proven success in a CRE role. Stay open minded, network, and try to learn as much about the industry as you can. Ultimately, entry level analyst roles are extremely competitive but are the fastest way to gain lots of experience & exposure early out.

Good luck!

 

Are the internship/FT recruitment cycles later than IB? And when you say at a brokerage, do you mean as a broker or like capital markets analyst?

 

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