As a CRE analyst, what are the differences working locally vs. nationally vs. globally?
I'm applying to a few research analyst positions at CBRE and some of the roles are for a specific city and some are for the national office (all industrial). I understand that the analyst position is all about studying and understanding whatever market you're in. But I'm curious to know what the major differences are, in terms of types of projects, the depth of CRE knowledge each provides, career paths (easier to break into global CRE if you've worked nationally?), building strong relationships, etc.

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Thank you.
[{"id": "hxxmn03", "text": "Dm me", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hxyone8", "text": "I\u2019ve worked as a broker on national/global portfolios at global firms and have worked for a local boutique firm with an outsized market share, which I\u2019m currently at.\n\nMy experience is that the global work is more of a headache than it\u2019s worth financially.  National portfolios can be profitable, but are very time intensive.  I have liked focusing on my local sandbox and it has been the most profitable - but my current position only became an option after working for the big firms and building a reputation as a deal maker.\n\nThis all assumes that you will want to pivot into brokerage or acquisitions at an institutional firm.  My advice with how I see that markets going is that focusing on national industrial will get you the best experience and will allow you the most options in an asset class that is going to continue to grow in importance for a long time to come.\n\nEdit: I typed the above quickly and want to clarify.  When I was at global firms, I focused on occupier portfolios.  I now focus mostly on agency listings, but do a lot of work with land and still do tenant rep.  Almost exclusively industrial for both agency leasing, purchase/sale and tenant rep.\n\nIf you can get experience working on national industrial portfolios at CB, that is an excellent place to start, you will learn a lot, and if you\u2019re good, it will open a lot of doors.\n\nYou make the most money in brokerage, but can also do well working for REITs and institutional investors.  I would focus on ending up one of those roles.  Industrial is the asset class to be in IMO.", "replies": [{"id": "hy555rz", "text": "Thanks for the in-depth response. It's encouraging to know that my impressions are in line with your experiences. I like that working on a national scale would give me a lot of options, especially in industrial, which does seem to be a very promising asset class.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nAnd yes, I think the ultimate goal is to work for an institution in acquisitions or asset management or something of the sort (I assume they're closely related fields?).\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nIn your last paragraph, are you talking specifically about research analysts? Also, I've heard the analyst position is a typical starting point for breaking into the more senior roles of all sorts in CRE - what are some of the higher-level positions you're thinking of when you mention pivoting into brokerage or acquisitions for a REIT/institutional investor?\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nI'm still new to the lingo so sorry if some of my questions sound confused. Thanks again for the insight.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nEdit: Also, what was it like working globally/nationally? I assume it's something like working on a project in Singapore then pivoting to Argentina. Or from California to South Carolina. Was the nature of the work pretty much the same as local, just the markets changed? Was traveling a big part of the job or could it all be done pretty much remotely?", "replies": [{"id": "hyt0plu", "text": "To answer your questions, acquisitions and asset management aren't similar at all.  Acquisitions are the folks that are responsible for buying and selling assets.  Asset managers handle the day to day operations of those assets and are paid less.  Not knocking anyone, but I wouldn't want that job.\n\nAnalyst is a very common starting position.  I wish I had gone that route because it gives you a very strong knowledge base which helps you pivot to a higher paying role.  The problem is that in a firm like CBRE, there is a strong incentive for the brokers to keep you in an analyst position and out of brokerage (where you would be competing for a piece of their pie).  This isn't always the case, but I've seen it a lot.  A common way to overcome that is move into a brokerage position in another firm.  This takes a lot of networking with leadership and brokers at those competing firms (JLL, C&amp;W, etc).\n\nBrokers *can* make a lot of money, but it is extremely competitive as everyone wants to do that.  There is no salary, so you eat what you kill.  IMO, working on a team is absolutely critical in brokerage, both from a mentorship perspective and because a team is much more efficient than an individual.  You will need to stand out to make yourself attractive to an established team.\n\nWorking your way up in a REIT is good as well, but I have no experience there as I never have worked at one.  I do have many as my clients (I buy, sell, and lease property on their behalf).\n\nMy experience with portfolios are those that are owned/leased by tenants (think of a company that has 150+ locations that they occupy nationally or globally).  This can be very profitable, but it is a hard business to break into and the workload is enormous.  IMO, the juice was not worth the squeeze.  But to answer your questions, it could be any of those scenarios (depends on the company).  The way the markets function was dictated by the traditions of the country they are in, and this varies wildly across the globe.  The US is the most lucrative market to work in.  Traveling was a big part of it.\n\nWorking for a REIT on a portfolio level would be much more rewarding.  This business comes down to assets, and focusing on those assets - how they are underwritten, traded, leased, etc. - is focusing on the lifeblood of commercial real estate.  Whether you do that as a broker (leasing broker) or working for an owner (such as REIT), that is what I would focus on.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hy26bd6", "text": "I've always worked on larger portfolios and found that while it's a good fit for my skills working with data efficiently, it gets a little abstract from the tangible real estate.  Part of me wishes I focused on a local market more, but I wouldn't call it a regret.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]