Choosing between brokerage role and developer role

I am currently facing a decision to choose between a job with a commercial broker and a job with a developer. Just looking to get some opinions...thank you!

I’m a young professional targeting jobs in a tertiary market primarily for quality of life and personal preference. I have about a year and a half of experience in development and investment with strong industry names.

Broker: I’d be joining the definite market leader in my city, on the team of one of the two or three biggest multi family guys out there. He and I get along well and he has been straight killing it for some years; my offer includes healthcare, $14k salary, $14k draw, and (after company splits) 5% of all the deals my broker completes regardless of whether I source them, and 11% of deals I source. The market is quite fiery right now and with that in mind my assumption is that I wouldn’t exactly be poor in the first year or two even with these splits. Multiple people in the company have mentioned that the hope is that if I perform well I’d eventually become a partner with the main broker and leave the assistant role.

Developer: I’d be coming onboard a small, newer developer with 4 or 5 other core employees, in order to help start up a legit acquisitions team to provide pipeline for either development, rehab (what the developer has been doing so far) or spinning off/JVing entitled projects to other people in the market. Despite their newness (maybe 70-100 units completed and in the pipeline right now) I get along very well with the team and the principal; I’ve been around a lot of capable developers by now and I get the feeling they know what they’re doing. We have a similar shared vision for the company and future growth as well. This role would have me underwriting and sourcing acquisitions as well as doing economic research and process improvement across the business with perhaps some project management down the road. It offers $42k, opportunity for maybe 30% bonus, and healthcare alongside the chance to work from home when I’m not out meeting people - something I like a lot and that is pretty rare in commercial.

My prediction is that the brokerage role would actually be more lucrative over the short to medium term but of course development work is more interesting at the early career levels. Any other thoughts? Appreciate it!

2 Comments
 

Non est molestiae quos similique quas. Doloribus maxime molestiae ut officiis voluptatem nisi. Voluptatem beatae nam ut ut amet ullam minus. Veniam nobis voluptas sint exercitationem repudiandae et.

Sed et vel sed qui impedit. Iusto repellat rerum corrupti quo ab. Inventore repellat quia ab ut ducimus saepe commodi. Nihil alias reiciendis ab quae. Necessitatibus culpa modi delectus. Molestiae dolorem accusamus iste autem delectus ut dolorem.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (66) $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
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
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...”