Can my residential RE experience help me break into commercial RE?
I’ve been a residential realtor in Orlando, FL for the last 5 years. I earned my broker’s license during quarantine and just finished my first post license broker edu. I’ve only averaged about 5-12 transactions/year and have lost interest in the residential sales side of RE. Recently I’ve been researching commercial opportunities and I feel that excitement coming back. 

I have no college experience. I got my RE license on my 21st bday and started working residential sales full time the first 3 years, part-time the last 2 years. So for my first question, given my current resume, what commercial job opportunities would be available to someone with my background? Due to my strengths, weaknesses, &amp; personality, I think I’d be best suited for an analytical type role, however with my lack of formal education, I feel like my only opportunity would be to start as a commercial real estate agent. 

My next question, what certifications or courses can I enroll in to make me more employable and desirable?

I’ve started watching Justin Kivel’s videos and researching to find answers to these questions, however I’m curious to hear what others advise on this sub.

Thank you for your time.
[{"id": "iktsxc1", "text": "Brokers are broke, become an owner.\ud83e\udd18\n\nEDIT: I\u2019ll admit this was a cavalier response to a serious question. What I really mean is that if you\u2019re going to be starting fresh in CRE the owner side can make a lot of sense. Ultimately, it\u2019s about building equity and having your money work for you instead of having to earn a commission through a direct exchange of your time and energy. You could transition at any point to owner side though, and being an owner and broker are not mutually exclusive.", "replies": [{"id": "iktve9b", "text": "That\u2019s the plan, gotta start somewhere right?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ikty7pi", "text": "This dude sucks for this response and likely owns a single shitty retail building with a noncredit tenant and considers himself an OWNER", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "iku7mpk", "text": "The elite brokers are most definitely not broke lol", "replies": [{"id": "ikurtpm", "text": "Agreed, first commenter is dumb. I\u2019ve worked in institutional brokerage and currently on the principal side at a REPE fund. Good brokers make an absolute killing and have extensive rolodexes, which is helpful for \u201cbuilding equity\u201d when time permits. I often think about going back to advisory.\n\nAt the end of the day, RE is a capital intensive business - it\u2019s tough to start writing cheques on day 1.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iktxjzj", "text": "I went from strictly residential to commercial in a residential brokerage and finally to a big 4 firm. I have a bachelors degree though, but it\u2019s in a totally unrelated and useless field. I\u2019d recommend networking your ass off to get face to face with people. The business is all about relationships. Get in front of everyone you can and sell yourself. Also, if you\u2019re able to, I\u2019d recommend starting CCIM courses. Starting on those will make people take you a lot more seriously. Feel free to dm me if you want to talk more", "replies": [{"id": "iku523p", "text": "This is great advice. I'd also recommend the CCIM courses. You'll learn a ton and it'll differentiate you from other commercial brokers.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ikua8tv", "text": "Thank you so much for the tips! I was already looking into CCIM and will definitely get that ball rolling. The prices look pretty steep for my current situation, hopefully in a month or two I'll be able to afford enrollment unless there's a cheaper option. I was looking into Justin Kivel's Break into CRE course and it's only $80/month or $600 for the year. I assume it's not as recognized or thorough as CCIM, but do you think that would that be worth it to enroll in for now?", "replies": [{"id": "ikuf48k", "text": "If you can put the $600 up front, I\u2019d put that towards CCIM candidacy. That way you can tell people you\u2019re a CCIM candidate even though you haven\u2019t taken any courses, I think that would be a lot more beneficial than those courses are and quite frankly I think they\u2019d be a waste of time and money. Once you get in, you\u2019re learn as you go. Figure out what asset class you want to focus on and then find some good books about it. I\u2019ve enjoyed Industrial Intelligence by Justin Smith so far", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "iktz8jl", "text": "Check out Linneman's REFAI course. Very valuable class if you're trying to build your CRE skillset. Also, how is your contract experience after brokering multiple transactions? That could be something to highlight on your resume. \n\nAlso, start diving into the reports on JLL/CBRE's websites to target a sector that you're interested in. After you find something that catches your eye, keep diving in there. I worked in the CRE development space for about 5 years, and those reports were very helpful in gaining knowledge about an asset class. \n\nA few sectors I like for the next 5-7y: cold storage, industrial adaptive reuse for single-story creative loft offices, and community-focused multifamily. Each of these subsectors has long legs and will become a focus in the near future. \n\nI've literally made deals by creating relationships with people I've found who have blogs on Twitter and asked them to set up a call to discuss my interests in their projects. Be resourceful and relationship minded- business isn't just something you go to school for, it's a lifestyle that can be fruitful for both sides of the table.", "replies": [{"id": "ikuarjk", "text": "Great advice, thank you! I'll hopefully be able to afford the more costly courses next month after my upcoming closing.. REFAI is in my sights as well as CCIM. Justin Kivel's Break into CRE course is only $600 for the year, do you think there's a lot of value in that course or is my time better spent elsewhere?", "replies": [{"id": "ikut81o", "text": "Without having looked into the course in detail, I like the list of classes that are offered by Justin's program. It looks to be a very holistic course. \n\nGenerally whenever I sign up for a course, I take a deep dive into Reddit to make sure there aren't any negative comments about the course. After taking a look at a few Reddit posts, I don't see anything glaring. \n\nIf you have any RE modeling questions, shoot me a message. I get down in the sheets and can help point you in the right direction. You'll likely be using lots of index(match, match) and offset formulas to reference data sets, so mastering those will be huge. Offset is also very powerful for pulling monthly data into annual data. Whenever I'm looking at a model to find an error, I like to pull monthly data into annual data to find any issues. \n\nNone of the math will be challenging; waterfalls might be tedious, but once you understand them, every other bit of math is multiplication, addition, and division. \n\nDon't psych yourself out with the math- it's not rocket science and everyone can do it.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ikup5na", "text": "Going to be tough without a bachelor\u2019s degree, albeit not impossible. Hate to say it, but commercial brokerages look down on residential brokers. Likely easier to start in leasing (not analytical), and switch to investment sales, or debt/equity advisory (latter is about as financey/analytical as it gets in brokerage).\n\nEchoing the other commenters sentiment into looking into Linneman/other resources. Would highly recommend the ACRE modeling course. it\u2019s the best/most digestible one I\u2019ve seen, versus Justin Kivel, BIWS, etc.\n\nEDIT: just reread your post and realize you\u2019re probably making good money 5 years out. Assuming you go into leasing, are you prepared to sacrifice your current income for a couple years?", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]