Job alternatives to brokerage in the Real Estate Sector when you don’t have a college degree?
As I mentioned in my previous post, my best friend has been a real estate broker in the NYC market for 7 years. She’s been able to close every 2-3 months and has been consistently able to support her family. 

With the down market her closings have come to a standstill and she’s scrambling to find an alternative position. She says she’s never seen it this bad. She’s applied to many jobs in acquisitions, but she’s not getting a single interview. She doesn’t have a college degree and she thinks that might be the problem.

What other alternative jobs can she do in the real estate industry and what do you say when they ask you why you are leaving brokerage?
[{"id": "ivf1kln", "text": "The last seven years have been a period without a recession (discounting the pandemic brief plunge). Historically, commercial real estate is a feast or famine industry. Anyone in it needs to have 24 months of expenses in emergency savings at all times unless they have a secondary source of support like a spouse with a job that can cover needs. It\u2019s something you have to understand, accept, and prepare for. \n\nYour friend probably doesn\u2019t need to get a degree, although if she can go part-time in the long run and have one by the next downturn, it might be a good idea if it isn\u2019t too expensive. Definitely don\u2019t take out loans and return to school full time, as many employers consider five years of experience in a professional field equivalent to a degree. \n\nJust tell the truth when applying for other jobs, that she was successful in her last position for seven years, but due to the uncertainty of the direction of commercial real estate after the pandemic and the shift to so many working from home, combined with the rise in interest rates, sales have sowed dramatically and she must seek other employment. \n\nThe trickiest part will be whether they worry that she will dump the new job as soon as the market is good again, so she might think about whether she wants to go into in a field or company that does more short-term contracts or whether she plans to stick with a new career permanently and if so, how to express that convincingly. \n\nSome brokers shift to property management when sales are slow, but I don\u2019t actually know the situation with that this go around.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ivfly12", "text": "Very rough to transition out of brokerage within a role in CRE. Developers and owners just see brokers as people that work for free.  They look to hire those with fancy degrees or specific experience in the field they need- acquisitions, asset management, capital markets, etc.", "replies": [{"id": "ivhn0sl", "text": "Don\u2019t know what brokerage you worked with but I get messaged almost weekly about Dev/Acquisition roles and if I want to jump ship.", "replies": [{"id": "ivhp7vu", "text": "Depends on the role. If you are within first few years and putting the analytics together or work for a white glove firm then the chances are higher for a transition to an owner or developer. I was speaking with recruiters years ago and several told me to move to a smaller city to have a better chance.  Of course if you are great at networking, it can be done.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "ivifuvy", "text": "This.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ivihm9o", "text": "Recommend her to take the smaller company that aligns with her skill set on the brokerage side. Meaning - if she\u2019s a small unit capital markets broker, go to a boutique acquisitions shop. Lever her knowledge of whatever sector into acquisitions. Too often do I see people who say I was a successful broker in sub 10 unit capital markets - I now want to dev 200+ unit deals. Jump ship on experience had then lever experience in new sector of industry to bigger deals.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]