College grad deciding between leasing advisory and IS

I’m graduating college in May and deciding between two offers and would appreciate blunt feedback from people who’ve actually worked in brokerage or made a similar choice early in their career.

Option 1: Brokerage in Santa Monica

• Leasing advisory on the tenant rep side (working with aerospace, deep tech, etc)
• Likely more exposure to industrial/retail
• Compensation would be a monthly draw
• Smaller team and firm, which may mean more direct guidance and access

Option 2: Marcus & Millichap in San Diego

• Strictly investment sales
• 100% commission, but I would be able to live at home so my overhead would be much lower
• More established training platform, though I worry I could also just become another cog in the wheel
• I was told I would be placed onto a product type/team after about 2 months of training

What I care about most:

• Learning as much as possible early on
• Building a skill set that gives me the option to pivot into adjacent CRE careers later, like acquisitions, asset management, or development
• Eventually owning my own CRE portfolio

My main concern is making the wrong early-career bet and missing out either on:

1. better income upside
2. better skill development that would help me eventually invest on my own

What I’m trying to figure out is:

• Which path builds a stronger foundation for someone who may not want to stay in brokerage forever or pivot into a more institutional brokerage (i.e. CBRE, JLL, etc)?
• Is tenant rep leasing too narrow if I may want to pivot into acquisitions / development later?
• Does investment sales at Marcus actually set you up better for long-term CRE ownership, or is that overstated?
• How much should I value formal training vs. being on a smaller team with potentially more hands-on mentorship?
• Would choosing San Diego over Santa Monica materially affect long-term opportunity, network, or exit options?

I’d appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have experience in tenant rep, investment sales, or making the jump from brokerage into principal-side roles.