Debt Broker at big shop or Acquisitions Analyst at niche company

This is my first time posting and I am hoping to get some pretty quick responses. I recently got two job offers for two very different positions. To provide some context I graduated during COVID last May and have been looking for a real estate gig ever since. I majored in real estate and my most relevant prior internship experience was at a local development/PE shop in my hometown.  

1.The first is a role with one of the bigger brokerage shops as a debt analyst on the capital markets team. The local office is smaller but growing in size. They recently added a new debt producer who I'd be reporting too who does a lot of business so I am thinking this is a good thing. 

  1. The other is a smaller PE shop who invests in an extremely niche asset class and I would be on the acquisitions side as an analyst. I had a buddy who recently left this job and is working for a bigger Industrial shop.

I have been living at home and the fist opp is in my hometown so I could continue to stock cash away and save in the short term(before I get my own place). The other is in a major market so the cost of living would be a bit steeper. I have a large sum of student loans that I am having to pay down. I am curious to get some thoughts on the two opportunities as it is a major decision and I am having a tuff time rapping my head around either one. 

 

probably acquisitions but be careful to understand which spot you'll move up faster at.  everything else pales in comparison.  i'd rather be making 200k/yr at age 26 selling class C unanchored strips for Lee & Associates than be making 95k/yr at age 26 doing soething sophisticated/prestigious/stimulating

 
Most Helpful

First congrats, sounds like two good offers. You have a classic "buyside" vs. "sellside" opportunity dilemma. I don't think either is "bad" for a first job, and neither is likely to be your last job or firm. Just facts. So, what to do?? This may sound cheesy, but I would pick the one you think you will be most successful at, get better training/mentorship, and otherwise just feels right. 

I will say this, do you want to live in this "hometown" (I'm picturing some random secondary city like Charlotte or Pittsburgh or Orlando, if really different, say so) forever? Or is the dream to hit the "major market" and make it? Not to say you can't jump to a major market later, but it's not that easy especially from sellside. Conversely,  jumping to other buyside firms (or sellside for that matter), from the major market job is probably easier, even if you want to move back to the hometown later. 

So, all else equal, I'd be taking the buyside job all day long (but I also just could care less about debt brokerage, personal thing). Sounds like more opportunity, upside, and I hate to use the words but.... "Exit ops". 

Good luck! 

 

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