When to Apply to Associate Roles

Hey Everyone.

This question is simply curiosity. At what age or amount of work experience is expected for one to start applying to associate roles? I have the feeling that around age 25 or after 3-4 solid years of experience is the prime range.

Sometimes I see jobs that list the experience range of essentially 2-5 years, but some analyst roles have the same range. I feel like CRE is different in that sense compared to IB where it's two years as an analyst then jump ship to B-school or an associate role somewhere else, so I'm curious as to what others think is relative to the CRE industry.

If anyone is an associate or higher, or are applying to associate roles, I'd love to hear your advice on when to start targeting those roles.

Thanks monkeys.