Why is CRE so underpaid at the entry level?

I entered real estate for primarily one reason and that's because I really enjoy it and want a career in it and know that eventually if I work hard enough...I'll be financially fine. But sometimes its a little frustrating to work longer hours than my roommates, essentially have a similar rigor of work and be paid significantly less. I know there's a consensus typically that entry level CRE salaries are shitty typically but why is this so? I can understand for the CRE jobs with better hours but plenty of us are pulling 60-70 hour work weeks.

 

Got it Axe, your base is low but surely you knew that going into investment sales. You're going to have a lower base compared to other jobs in RE forever if you're in investment sales but your bonus could / should make your friends want to cry.

 

I 100% knew it going in...just have always wondered why it is. and the brokers are the ones getting the big paydays in I-sales not the analysts. Obviously the analyst could get a small piece of the pie but its mainly at the brokers discretion.

I'm more just asking in general why the starting comps are lower, It's never made much sense to me.

 

The way your employer views it is that there wouldn't have been a deal for the you to work on without the broker or their relationships. You, the analyst, are pretty easy and inexpensive to replace. You don't really know anything at the beginning and they're basically teaching you everything. It's an apprenticeship based business where incomes over a career often look like a J-curve.

 

Brokerage churns out most analysts in two years because you are there to build your own business and if you can't you burn out quick or go elsewhere. If you work in sales in any industry, that's how it is. It isn't because you're in real estate, it's because you're on a sales team. Also you're making more than most analysts in brokerage. In conclusion, you're in your role for experience. That's it.

 

It’s not necessarily that you’re underpaid. It’s the market. People will do the job at the pay rate you are taking, if they wouldn’t, it would pay more. You’re comparing apples and oranges between yourself and your friends. If you were in the same industry as your friends, and working the same / more and making less, than you would be underpaid. If you want to make more, try to switch jobs and see if you can find one that will pay you more.

 

On another thread someone in the Real Estate section (I believe it is in the "Day in the life of a CRE Broker" thread), the OP commented something along the lines of, "In CRE you will make less than you friends until the day you make more than they ever will." Real Estate has a lot of fields and is known for being extremely focused on "who you know" and networking. Great opportunities are out there, just keep working.

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” - Nassim Taleb
 

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