Lending, Investment, or Development

I'm on the principal investment side myself. I had 2 internships before that. One was at a construction company where I worked in the project management office at one of the sites. Complete bullshit as I was a finance major who knew nothing about construction, but still looks good having experience at a construction company especially for development. Shows sincere interest and some exposure to the core of development. Spent the next summer on the Underwriting team at a global advisory and Asset Management firm. 3rd party underwriting for big institutional clients, and it was great because I got to work on some massive deals for some very reputable firms (BBs, hedge funds, AAMs). Honestly, that was the best gig I could have landed because I was strictly underwriting deals in excel all day long which shows groups that you can come in and model accurately even if you haven't yet developed the mindset of an equity investor.

I have found that real estate, particularly on the equity side, is very strong on relationships and networking. When I got my job, I found the list of applicants who also applied and many had way better credentials than I did. But the MP liked me and we got along well, so i got the offer.

Honestly if you're a normal guy that knows what he's doing, you will be fine. Just get out and meet people.