Advice on entering brokerage in large market
I recently had the opportunity to interview with a large, well recognized CRE company in southern Los Angeles. I was offered a spot as a junior broker on a retail net leasing team. 

I have heard stories about people making large amounts of money in commercial real estate brokerage, which is a big part of what has drawn me to it, in addition to having a genuine interest in the business and working with people. 

I completely understand that the first couple years are tough and often without any compensation. What I would like to know is what are the realistic expectations for compensation, even 3 years out? 5 years? 

The reason I ask specifically is because I have also been extended an opportunity to work in medical device sales; with exception of the first 1-2 years, I could be making 150k-300k, or beyond.

I have a genuine interest in commercial real estate, but I would like to get a realistic idea of what the possibilities are on the compensation side. I hear stories of the big hitters in CRE making large sums of money, but is the average broker in a city like LA working for a big firm generally making a good amount, or are they outliers? Brokers in LA, what is the typical compensation of a broker with 5-10 years experience? Granted I know the harsh expectations and grueling hours of cold calling, is this an opportunity worth taking? 

Thanks guys! 
[{"id": "dayfssq", "text": "What kind of volume is this team pulling? No matter who you talk to, whether it be real estate or medical device sales, the comp numbers will be inflated.\n\nIf you have the opportunity to get on a successful CRE team, that is interested in investing in you and teaching you the business, and you can afford 1 year making little to no comp, then absolutely take it over medical device sales.", "replies": [{"id": "daygo69", "text": "Thank you for the response, it is truly appreciated. Yeah, I kind of figured that about the inflated comp numbers. I have been skeptical of the numbers that are thrown out, and really looking for the no bullshit, raw truth, so I can set my goals accordingly. \n\nI am unsure of the volume/volume potential. I would be the first team member on this new team under this broker. he has 10+ years experience in the business. Most other teams in the office focus on multifamily/other disciplines; this would be the first retail net lease team in the office, so somewhat experimental from the sound of it. The broker is very interested in training me and teaching the business, and wants to potentially grow this team a lot over this next year. I just want to make sure its not smoke and mirrors, and the potential to really achieve the success I hope for exists before I relocate to LA, grind 12 hour days, and give it everything I've got. ", "replies": [{"id": "dayisqg", "text": "From my experience, the average guy makes $150-300k/year.  Some years they do better, some years they do worse.  It depends on how much work you put into it.  The first 2-3 years will absolutely be 12 hour days, and you'll be cold calling for most of the day.  My mentor always told me if you're not making at least $250k/year, you should get out of the business because it's too much work and not worth any less than that (that's of course after the first 3-5 years of building your business/reputation). I just left brokerage because I wasn't hitting that after 5 years.\n\nIt's an extremely difficult market to get into right now. Vacancy rate in LA is 4% or lower across all sectors, and industrial is 1%. There are a million guys trying to buy/lease properties, but almost no property to buy/lease.  So typical clients will talk to every broker that has a listing, and don't have much loyalty to anybody. It's more difficult to create relationships with owners than buyers/tenants. I don't have much experience with NNN investments, but I would imagine it's super difficult like the rest of the sectors, and your mentor having 10 years experience is not that much in the world of brokerage.  That is to say, don't expect him to have so much work overflow that he will kick you down a lot of deals to work on.\n\nNow, it can absolutely be done if you are willing to work hard. It's really fun to solve the problems and make a deal come together.  You will run into great clients and great brokers, but also terrible ones. Brokers will lie to you, clients will lie to you, and there is a lot of rejection.  But, I think that's the case for all sales.\n\nMy wife is in medical device sales, and it's a grind too.  There are good and bad things about it, but I don't have the first-hand experience to comment in depth about it.  Either option has immense potential, but may be equally as much work.\n\nSorry for the novel, that's my 2 cents.", "replies": [{"id": "dazrdco", "text": "All great input! Being from outside of the CRE world, I hadn't really thought about the difficulty of the market based on the vacancy available right now. The broker did mention he's waiting for \"a little bit of chaos in the market\" because it opens up more opportunity for business; I can only imagine that is what he was referring to. \n\nWhether it is medical device sales or CRE, I expect a grind; my real interest is cutting out all the BS talk that I get when asking some people in the business (people who seem to throw arbitrary numbers out), and getting down to the truth about realistic potential if I grind (such as the information you provided). ", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "dayq9e3", "text": "The sky is the limit and there are definitely net lease guys making 7 figures. That being said, it really is all about your relationships/connections. \n\nIf joining a team I'd want to know more about the head brokers existing relationships. For net lease deals you need volume. Many of the fast food/auto parts etc. are 4% fee deals. After splits with buyer broker, head broker, and brokerage, it gets chipped away quickly. Some of the drug stores will have fees as low as 1.5%. It's very competitive and with net lease you are competing against firms across the county. \n\nTo get the volume needed to make good money you need to have relationships with franchisees (for sale leasebacks), developers, REITs, or corporate (again sale leasebacks). \n\nYou might be able to make a living dealing with the more mom and pop investors that own a deal or two. But the truth is most of these people bought net lease property to hold until they die. Your going to be beating your head against the wall trying to make a career out of working with these types of investors. \n\nEdit: Also, make sure you have a good understanding what you mentor relationship will look like. If you have to split all your deals with your mentor but aren't getting brought in on any deals of his, it's going to be a long, tough road. ", "replies": [{"id": "dazqyrb", "text": "Great, thank you for the insight. It's hard for me to feel out this broker, because I don't have other points of contact in the office to help gauge his reputation/experience/connections. ", "replies": [{"id": "db054pj", "text": "Try doing some google searches on his name and see what pops up. Most top brokers should have their own website and you should be able to look at current listing/closed transactions/references to get an idea of deal volume and clientele. \n\nFor net lease deals it's pretty common for them to be listed on Loopnet. See if you can find the guys profile and check out any active listings he may have. \n\nAlso, check out his profile on the brokers website. Some firms have titles/achievements based on earnings. The exact metrics for the titles may not be available but you can compare them to others in the office and see who the high earners are in the office. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]