CRE Investment Sales: Should I keep trying to get a paid position or settle on no salary?

It’s been 8 months since I started applying to CRE firms in NYC and have not had much luck. I understand that most start unpaid or with a draw, but is it time to settle or should I keep looking? I have a decent background in brokerage/sales, so believe I am qualified. However, I definitely am not a top contender as I lack the financial experience most come in with after leaving IB/PE.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

5 Comments
 

While I can most likely survive with no income for a few years, it would be fairly difficult without a part time job in the future. I have already been unemployed for almost a year now, so don’t want to dig too much into my savings. However, I’m unsure what part time jobs would be feasible with my schedule. I am also considering full time lending jobs that have a very low base salary with uncapped commission. Although this would not be ideal, it would still allow me to stay within the real estate industry to some extent. But that would mean abandoning my goal of breaking into the brokerage side of CRE for a few years. Been seriously debating the oppurtunity cost of settling since I am going crazy without any work for this long. 

 

Officiis voluptatem sit consequatur et dignissimos fuga. Voluptatem deleniti ullam voluptates harum dolores. Accusamus quis odio dolore dolorum illum aliquam. Sed ipsam harum assumenda necessitatibus animi dignissimos. Id rerum occaecati ipsam.

Career Advancement Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.3%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.3%

Professional Growth Opportunities

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.3%

Total Avg Compensation

August 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (48) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (25) $178
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (83) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (75) $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
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
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...”