Real Estate Appraisal Exit Opps?

I think the only detriment to starting at a smaller shop is the relative lack of opportunity to work on larger projects/properties. The big shops you mentioned, as well as Colliers and HVS, generally get most (if not all) of the larger RE assignments from banks and lenders (who, not coincidentally, are the clients for 95%+ of the appraisal work done in the country) and also have a planned program to train and grow their employee base. If the smaller shops you are considering serve a particular niche, then you will probably get some excellent experience on larger projects albeit in a narrower segment of the real estate world. However, if the shops you are considering are generalist in nature (appraising retail, office, multi, storage, industrial, etc.) with no specific concentration, then I think your hesitation is well founded.

I worked for a small appraisal shop in college and grad school; while the experience was great, the work was focused on commercial real estate assets that only a local bank would be willing to lend on (think mom-and-pop type properties - nothing even closely resembling institutional assets). The appraisal background was useful as a data point for my first job on the lending side, but the person hiring me was only interested in the fact that I had prior experience and worked through school. He was not impressed by the kind of appraisals I was working on due to the points mentioned above.