Starting off In Real Estate as a Beginner - Analyst or Agent?
Hi everyone,

I feel like pretty much everyone I talk to that's interested in CRE started off as an analyst. I see how this brings benefits in traversing the industry, however, I want to start off as an agent since ultimately,  working in brokerage is my goal. Have any of you started off as an agent? And if so, how did it work out for you?
[{"id": "i4vousx", "text": "Currently an analyst and all I can say is I would never want to have started off as a broker. Have someone pay you a salary and bonus (a cut of the deals, although small) to learn. I get the whole \u201cyou\u2019ll learn fast if eating depend on it\u201d mentality but I feel like it\u2019s worth it to take a year or two to really learn the market and the sellers before going off on your own. But that is my 2 cents.\n\nAnother comment made me want to add I am on the institutional side, so 100+m deals. Would be easier in Private Capital.", "replies": [{"id": "i4whadf", "text": "Spot on. Learn the business while getting a salary and hopefully some bonus. It's a big RE world with lots to learn", "replies": [{"id": "i4whs51", "text": "Our firm is pretty nice with bonus. Analyst pool of 4% of fee.", "replies": [{"id": "i4wi5p8", "text": "Sounds like a good setup. The exposure to the complicated deals make it all worth it", "replies": [{"id": "i4wjhke", "text": "Only getting moreso with rates lol haha", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4vsxp0", "text": "Do you have 6 months of living expenses saved up or a trust fund? Are you willing to live at home with your parents? Do you have an existing network from college that you can immediately tap for referrals or leads? If the answer to any of these questions is no, then you may want to start as a spreadsheet monkey.", "replies": [{"id": "i4vwcbm", "text": "This is probably true. I made jack in my first year. First year is the hardest. You\u2019re building a foundation for everything in that 1st year. On the other hand, my personality is just one of an agent. I could never desk jockey. And I enjoy the money and the people. It\u2019s all depends on your skill set. If you like people and you\u2019re persistent and determined - the brokerage life is for you. One thing I recommend to anyone in a sales or make it/break it career is steer clear of drugs and alcohol and take care of your body. You need to manage stress well. I take mine to the gym and treadmill.", "replies": [{"id": "i4vxiaz", "text": "This is exactly it! The idea of being an analyst for 2-5 years personally feels like I'm wasting valuable time I could have put towards brokerage. Also, the agent path off the bat does seem challenging but I can't imagine being an analyst for that time frame due to the type of person I am. How was your income and deal flow after the first year?", "replies": [{"id": "i4vxsgf", "text": "Year 1: $45,000 gross, 2: $144,000 3: not done yet but scheduled closings to gross $300,000-$500,000 on gross commissions. My boss just closed his 7th year at $1 million in gross commissions.", "replies": [{"id": "i4vyaxd", "text": "You're living my dream, That's awesome to hear it's been going great for you so far, especially since I'm trying to take the same path off the bat. Keep it up!", "replies": [{"id": "i4w13g5", "text": "If you\u2019re entrepreneurial in nature - work for yourself! If you\u2019re outgoing and social - go into sales! \nGood with numbers - be an analyst.\nAll the above? Be a broker.\nI had a six figure commission deal fail this week. It was rough. Too many ppl out there perfectly capable of earning $500,000 year brokering and fuck it up with drugs &amp; alcohol &amp; feeling bad for themselves. Take care of yourself and a big event like that rolls off your shoulders and you recover and move on. I know I\u2019ll get that one back. It\u2019s just a matter of time.", "replies": [{"id": "i4wap7r", "text": "I hear you, can't let the up and down nature of the industry dictate your well-being. Not much of a point in making great money if you don't have the health to enjoy it. Thanks for bringing up the importance of this.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}, {"id": "i4wk0p3", "text": "I\u2019d you don\u2019t mind sharing, you may have already i\u2019m not sure. Was this from investment sales or leasing, and if leasing what was your GCI for that year?", "replies": [{"id": "i4wk6cn", "text": "Almost all investment sales. Had one big payday for office leasing during year 2.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}, {"id": "i4xeyl6", "text": "How come brokers never state net commish, always gross? Lol not picking on you it\u2019s just something I\u2019ve noticed.", "replies": [{"id": "i4y4gls", "text": "It\u2019s because each brokerage shop has different house splits (50/50 vs 55/45 vs 60/40 etc.) so stating gross commissions is the easiest way to compare revenue generated between brokers.", "replies": [{"id": "i4y9gjs", "text": "Well I have a 80-20 split with my firm that caps at $20k BUT I also pay desk fees, research database subscriptions, other marketing expenses, phone &amp; car expenses. All those expenses can vary pretty wildly depending on year you had and brokerage you were at. Oh, and of course splits and referrals paid to other brokers. I probably had $25k of those expenses this year.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}, {"id": "i4wrdh9", "text": "Been working as a broker for a small shop in New York City for the last 3 years. Didn\u2019t close on a deal until about 2.5 years in, but it was a $250m+ deal and gross commission was 1.5% before my split with the firm. Made the 2.5 year grind more than worth it, but it\u2019s definitely not for everyone", "replies": [{"id": "i4yr8os", "text": "That\u2019s amazing! There were definitely times shortly after year 1 I was like, \u201cfuck am I ever going to make a living here?\u201d 2.5 years\u2026 fuck me. Lol. COVID definitely gave me a run for my money. Put everything on hold for like 9 months\u2026 then got multiple paydays/closings all on one month which made that entire period of time worth it. Anyway, congratulations on your resilience! I used to live in NYC. Couldn\u2019t imagine carrying that expense load waiting 2.5 years for a payday!!!", "replies": [{"id": "i567ee7", "text": "Appreciate that. New legislation and Covid killed a few deals days away from closing. Felt like I was so close I had to stick it out. Happy I did but I agree with you, there were times where I was ready to throw in the towel", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "i4vxqnl", "text": "Fortunately, I would be coming straight out of college and I would be able to stay with my parents and not spend much money on anything. I have some savings and I am currently with an independent brokerage as an intern until I pass my licensing exam, so the plan would be to become an agent once I get it.", "replies": [{"id": "i4ysbxn", "text": "This is the path. If you\u2019re young, no kids, keep the expense load really small and live on Ramen first couple years. Again, if you\u2019re friendly, like people and numbers, do it. There\u2019s no such thing as too young or inexperienced in brokerage. I\u2019d advocate this lifestyle to anyone interested in it. Took my wife to Vail multiple times last year, got the broker bad ass car (tax write off remember), taking whole family to California this summer for month-long Beach vacation. It\u2019s the shit. Just be kind to yourself.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "i5jtdaj", "text": "Are those the only reasons not to pick brokerage over analysts?\n\nI feel like there's plenty of privileged people in the above situation.", "replies": [{"id": "i5ju7kn", "text": "It is not an exhaustive list. Brokerage is commission based and it takes 5 years to start seeing the results, so it favors young people from well off families.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4vv78a", "text": "Analyst!", "replies": [{"id": "i4yt2qu", "text": "Everyone saying Analyst but the ironic part is that Analysts and Dev VPs taught me everything as a broker. So you\u2019re going to learn either way how to look at the deal. It\u2019s just a matter of will you be getting paid to do it in the first year? By year 3 and 4, you\u2019re way out-earning an analyst or even a VP for that matter.", "replies": [{"id": "i4yufod", "text": "Analysts develop a skill set that lead to a lot of options. Debt, equity, underwriting, developing, etc. A broker who doesn\u2019t succeed still needs to learn a lot of these skills to be useful in another role.", "replies": [{"id": "i4yuiyx", "text": "That\u2019s true. Ok I see where you\u2019re going here.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4vx636", "text": "At an institutional level start as an analyst, for middle market or smaller start as a broker with a great mentor. It\u2019s very hard to break into the highest levels of real estate without a strong understand of underwriting and analyzing deals at a high level. However, it can be learned on your own just not as easily. Additionally, the brokerage position once inside is not easy to leave unless you are exceptionally brilliant or are great at syndicating / raising capital to do deals. It\u2019s very high paying but can be dead end in a regard of position as it\u2019s not a ladder thing like more corporate CRE jobs.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4wpskr", "text": "Analyst. You need a year learning the business so that you don\u2019t sound like an idiot. Trust me\u2026 I work with a guy who was never a spreadsheet monkey. It shows \u2014 we all make fun of him, and it\u2019s going to prevent him from achieving what he wants to achieve. I am about to win a political battle against him internally because I can quote numbers, and he cannot. This despite the fact he is a childhood friend of a name partner \u2014 and I am not.\n\nIf you can\u2019t work a spreadsheet, all the sales skills in the world are undermined. You need a full year, maybe even two, of long and hard grinding. You\u2019ll be far more effective when you move into a sales role for having done it.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4wu9qn", "text": "Any companies one could work for as an analyst while doing brokerage on the side?  Or is it a one or the other kind of deal?  Additionally, any entry level analyst roles recommended company wise?", "replies": [{"id": "i4zdb1s", "text": "^^", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4wxnw7", "text": "As someone who started on residential and is edging over into the commercial side, it cracks me up how concerned people are that brokers don't have guaranteed income the first year. You sure as hell don't on the residential side, either! Though it's easier to convert friends and family on the residential side, it seems like commercial brokerages have a fairly built-in deal flow and you'll likely make *something*. One good commercial deal is worth several residential ones.\n\nIn any case, as others have mentioned it's really down to your risk tolerance.", "replies": [{"id": "i4xf5lo", "text": "Deal flow is definitely not built in unless you\u2019re at a major firm (JLL, CBRE, etc.) and you typically start as an analyst at those firms. Otherwise your deal flow is almost entirely built from cold calling and attending industry conferences.", "replies": [{"id": "i4ytwl2", "text": "The JLL and CBRE type that onboard are typically the same ones that bailed on independent brokerage because they \u201cweren\u2019t getting enough leads.\u201d I was on the phone this week with an institutional investor and we were both having a laugh at how many fucking people CBRE brings to a tour or it takes to close a deal. There\u2019s teamwork, there\u2019s dealflow, but fuck, it just seems like a total rip off to spend 15 years at a firm until you\u2019re making north of $500k-$1 mil year in income.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "i4ytaqd", "text": "Are you really good at fucking with the same financial models 40 hours a week though?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4x33bv", "text": "Analyst. People that start out as agents really don\u2019t know much about RE until a few years in, and even then don\u2019t really understand the \u201cowners perspective.\u201d Starting as an analyst will put you at the top 10% of agents/brokers in terms of knowledge after like a year or so in my opinion. Source: currently analyst on principal side, started out as researcher supporting brokers. I really didn\u2019t know shit about RE when I was in research,and in my opinion, most brokers I deal with aren\u2019t very knowledgable about RE unless they\u2019re in that top tier of producers. Once you get your wits as an analyst, you can always become a broker at which point you\u2019ll have the skills to truly connect with an owner and understand how to maximize value and actually help with strategic planning. \n\nJust my opinion! Hope it helps. Feel free to DM or reply with any questions.", "replies": [{"id": "i4ywf2r", "text": "Owners perspective is HUGE!!! HUGE!!! It took me a long time to figure out. Compound to that that all different buyers have different models for making money.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "i4xoih0", "text": "Broker for 17 years and I don\u2019t know what an analyst is / does.  Pretty sure I\u2019m my own analyst.", "replies": [{"id": "i4yvwg0", "text": "I do a ton of development deals. I just watched my counterpart work 4 months on architectural, planning, permitting, cost modeling, proformas etc. to have his cap markets team pull the plug at the last minute. He knew it was a six figure payday for me an apologized profusely but he was the dude doing the REAL work\nand I don\u2019t care if I\u2019m getting paid to do that stuff, having the plug pulled at last minute on all that work has to be demoralizing.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]