It's easy to get into a commissioned brokerage role but hard to get into a salaried analyst role. Why?
I recently decided to pursue a career in commercial real estate (Switched major from Acct to Finance Fall of Junior year) and started applying for analyst intern positions at the big firms (CBRE, JLL). DIdn't get any responses from the big firms but managed to get an investment sales internship at a mid-sized brokerage. Basically it's a tryout to see if I am fit to start as an agent/broker with them. It's an unpaid internship and their brokers are 100% commission from day one. I was at their office and its very much like Marcus&Millichap. Young people calling their ass off, CRE version of wolf of wall street.
I was under the impression that a salaried role as an analyst was the precursor to becoming a broker but in my personal experience it's like the opposite. All I can get is this broker role and all the analyst roles require 1-2 years of CRE experience, all the PE firms I interviewed with wanted people getting their masters for the internships they offer.
I don't mind getting into brokerage right out of school but obviously a salaried analyst role would have been much better because I could use 1-2 years to learn the ropes and pay off some loans. Or am I missing something? Is there some other avenue I can take to dip my feet in the industry instead of just diving head first into sales? I see MBAs applying for some of these analyst roles! Jobs with salary range posted as 30k-50k!
I'm in DFW btw. Attending respectable state school.
Yeah... it’s rough haha. I’m an intern at an IS shop kind of like the one you describe, founder are actually former Marcus&Millichap so the cold calling and no salary is how new brokers start. The director I work with mainly actually had another job he’d do after work and on the weekends and lived with his parents the first 6 months before he could move out. Pretty successful guy now but the start wasn’t easy.
It’s also the mentality they have, since they had no salary, you shouldn’t either. And if you need one, then you aren’t good enough. Not saying it’s right, but that is how they (well he) thinks. Salary is often available at the bigger firms and some of the really good boutique firms will offer it as well. Having been there for a few months now and watching how difficult it’s been for a new broker that joined at the same time I came on made me realize how much a salaried analyst role makes sense starting out. No one trusts a 22 or 23 year old with selling their multi million dollar property. For him, it’s been brutal but has made some traction so there’s that.
Not all brokers got their start as an analyst. Some did, but not all. You gotta remember these are salesmen who happen to broker buildings/debt for a living. And yeah most are knowledgeable but even a high school dropout can kill it in brokerage. I think it depends on the person and if they see the sales route as a better fit compared to learning the business on a granular level like an analyst. However, I would say analyst experience provides more exit options beyond brokerage if you should chose. Getting your foot in the door with that first role is crucial, but after you're in the industry it becomes easier...
However, real estate has been getting more and more institutionalized over the past 6-8 years and that in turn brings those like the MBA's who are applying for these investment sales jobs. Notice how every entry level analyst role in a major market like NYC gets over 200 applicants in two hours? The roles could even be middle/back office and it will still get as many applicants. It's just gotten so competitive these last few years that MSRE/D's are now being seen as a bachelors, while the opportunity cost of an MBA continues to shrink. Like you said, you have MBA's applying to entry level positions that pays peanuts compared to their loans. It's insane and truthfully just how the industry will be from here on out. Just keep plugging away and you will find something in due time.
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