To really learn the business you should be joining a smaller company not a big one
I see so many posts on here by people looking to break into the industry.  Most of those people talk about joining big companies , but that is not your best bet to learn this business.

Joining a smaller firm , where someone is actually willing to mentor you and teach you the business is your best choice.  At bigger firms you will be nothing more than a tool brokers can use.  At a smaller firm you may actually get to learn from a professional that may actually care if you succeed.

I am not saying every small company has this, but if you actually take time and find one that cares it will go a long way to breaking into this industry.

No one can do it on there own without learning from someone who ACTUALLY WANTS TO TEACH YOU.  Not just use you as a tool in there tool belt
[{"id": "hkhg19e", "text": "Depends on what you want to do. I work in principal side, the knowledge and experience I\u2019ve gained working for huge companies is far far better than what I would\u2019ve gained working for an operator. Top companies hire top talent because they can pay for it - there\u2019s a flight to quality. Sure maybe at a smaller company you\u2019ll get more hands on experience but at a larger company you\u2019ll get more experience working on super complicated things with really smart people. You\u2019ll learn more in one year at a large institutional investor than you will in 5 years at an operator. \n\nAnyways my $0.02 coming from the private equity side of the business.", "replies": [{"id": "hkio7wo", "text": "Positives and negatives to everything.  \n\nBig company, more variety and scale of projects but more narrow role\n\nSmaller company, niche work and smaller budget projects but exposure to lots of areas of the business.", "replies": [{"id": "hkiubp0", "text": "It depends on your role. When I was an analyst / associate at a megafund i was expected to manage the execution of everything - the MD would develop business plan and negotiate stuff, but it was on me to actually manage the documentation process / underwriting / 3rd parties / everything. I worked like 100 hour weeks every week - there was literally never a slow minute and the expectation was that you would work even if you were like in active labor with a baby (well maybe not then but definitely on vacation). I got exposure to every area of the business - investment team is the beating heart of the organization. Even internal stuff like tax / legal / structuring / accounting whatever I got pulled into for onboarding. \n\nHonestly as a buy side professional I really don\u2019t see any downside to working for the biggest organization you can at a young age, you\u2019ll pick up skills that will allow you to run laps around the guys at small shops and operators. Work life balance sucks but it pays off in the end.", "replies": [{"id": "hkj85t0", "text": "Good feedback.  Sounds like you had a great gig.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hkhja0p", "text": "I disagree.  It's better to initially go work at a bigger, reputable company to learn the ropes and then swim downstream to a leaner team.  At a bigger company, there are more resources and eyes to check your work and teach you.  At a leaner company, you are basically on your own unless you have a direct boss who isn't a VP.", "replies": [{"id": "hkhkruo", "text": "You also have the name value factor on your resume", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hkhuxoe", "text": "You mean use you as a runner\u2026.. tell me how that\u2019s learning the ropes ? \n\nYou clearly didn\u2019t read what I wrote.  You have to find a mentor at a smaller company that\u2019s willing to teach you\u2026.. \n\nThese big companies could care less about you and you learning \u2026\u2026", "replies": [{"id": "hkhwn52", "text": "&gt;At bigger firms you will be nothing more than a tool brokers can use.  At a smaller firm you may actually get to learn from a professional that may actually care if you succeed.\n\nI did read what you wrote.  This sentence above makes absolutely no sense and reads as either you got fired from some large institution or couldn't break into any of the larger firms.  I am speaking from experience coming from a larger firm and now working with a 5 person lean team.", "replies": [{"id": "hkmfzpo", "text": "Love guys like this.  Has to get his little shot in.  \n\nI\u2019m sure you are doing great!!", "replies": [{"id": "hkmhwdv", "text": "Have to get my little shot in?  Lol I hope you have enough savings at 30 bro.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nhttps://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/997hwl/at\\_30\\_years\\_old\\_how\\_much\\_should\\_i\\_have\\_in\\_savings/", "replies": [{"id": "hkvy63s", "text": "[https://planterina.com/blogs/get-planted/dos-and-donts-of-brining-home-a-new-indoor-plant](https://planterina.com/blogs/get-planted/dos-and-donts-of-brining-home-a-new-indoor-plant)", "replies": [{"id": "hkw2ey7", "text": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEHlQ2C1Hqc", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "hki6o7i", "text": "Dude unless the person you\u2019re working for at a small shop just bagged out as a Senior MD at like BX your learning experience is going to be limited. The big shops pay more $$$ so there\u2019s true flight to quality - if you\u2019re going to work for like 3 guys with a shingle who haven\u2019t put in the hours at a major firm your education is going to be super lacking - and that\u2019s not a dig on these people, they just won\u2019t have the depth of experience. Also in this scenario you\u2019ve outlined you\u2019re still just the runner for the senior people who are mentoring you, you just don\u2019t get the breadth and depth of experience that comes with working for a huge shop, nor do you have the same level of career opportunities.\n\nMaybe for like the 1 in 100 super entrepreneurial types it might work out well at a small shop but 99% of the time you\u2019re far better off hanging with a big company. Oh and don\u2019t forget at small firms the founders take all of the economics, there\u2019s a lot more love to spread at big places.\n\nOh and I forgot to mention that the training programs for young employees at big shops are incredible. Working IB to start my career is a huge leg up, worked in a super structured program that taught me everything about valuation and analytics for credit and equity across all CRE sectors and then gave me a ton of awesome exit opportunities. And at the exit ops to huge funds wasn\u2019t pigeonholed either I was a generalist. I didn\u2019t start to specialize in anything until a few years after my MBA, the big firms want to mentor smart hard working people and let them figure out where / what they want to work on, and the only way you do that is through exposure to a ton of senior MDS working on a ton of deal flow across all sectors.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hkhwdf1", "text": "Respectfully disagree in the sense that at a large firm you are usually relegated to one type of asset class. At smaller shops they can go after anything and it teaches them each class better than a person on a single track at a large brokerage. A successful small broker will always be welcome at any big brokerage but a successful member of one niche in a big firm might have great trouble leaving for a smaller firm and having to handle more asset class based listings.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hki3jin", "text": "There\u2019s no set formula for the best career outcome. Big firm to small firm, small firm to big firm. It all depends on what you want, how hard you grind, what kinds of relationships you develop, what mentorship you seek out, etc. \nlots of big firms have associate training programs that will fast track you to a great career. Others will burn out out in an analyst role working nights and weekends and kick you to the curb. Same with some small shops. In my experience a small shop gave me the opportunity and exposure to deal early on that I probably couldn\u2019t have leveraged at a huge REIT. \nIt\u2019s up to you to find what works.\n\nThinking on this further. There definitely are career tracks you just can\u2019t learn at a smaller shop exclusively.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hkin1jl", "text": "There's always pros/cons of big vs small companies, and opinions always seem to be super biased based on experiences. \n\nWhen I was interviewing my biggest question was always \"what's your training program, in detail\". A lot of boutique firms wouldn't even have a set curriculum, understandable since the nature of their business fluctuates year to year. I went with a big company specifically because I was the most impressed by their program. During teaining I had shadow days with over forty people in every division, and our monthly sales meeting gives me market insight small firms dont have. I knew that the smaller firms would definitely give me more one on one with a single mentor, but all the time in the world doesn't change the fact that they have nowhere near the exposure to that level of deal flow. And it's not just seeing xyz leased property c, it's how they got the client/property, obstacles and takeaways, behind the scene info. I don't care that I don't have an hour meeting every morning, that would be a waste of both of ours time, I have a big support staff and teammates, anything important i get the time i need.\n\n I also believe, especially in large markets, it's best to become the best at one thing instead of trying to do everything. I occassionally have done deals outside my specialty, but I always try to partner with someone in that division, usually I prefer to refer them out.\n\nAlso cant stress the tools. I cant imagine working in this industry without the database CRM and access to all the subscriptions the company pays for, plus costar, customer databases, trade journals, etc.\n\nAt the end of the day, interview everywhere and let them tell you how their training is structured and make your own decision. Don't not apply to big firms because a post on reddit said they're bad.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hkiy0rh", "text": "Having worked at both, I learned much more at the smaller shop than big shop. I learned so much at the smaller shop that I ended up buying my own properties on the side and making money on my personal account. The bigger shop got me the job at the smaller shop though.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hkjdt0e", "text": "Wonder why everyone is focused on big v small?  I wouldn't suggest going to a one-man-band, but there are some moderate sized shops in my metro (med/large) that have a good history of taken in newbies. Where some of the teams in the larger shops have a history of burning young brokers.\n\nFood for thought after watching this for 20+ years.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hl5awn0", "text": "Preach, smaller you are exposed to more. \n\nI did small, publicly traded, private equity, and private equity. \n\nLearned the most at small, and that has carried me in my career.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hlnzba5", "text": "It does seam to me that a bigger company may not take the time to train you as well as a smaller firm. You may feel like \"just another employee\" .  At a smaller company, everyone can go to lunch together. I worked for an International Enterprise in the past and was trained very well in a few positions. Was everyone a good teacher? No. I believe it all boils down to the individual teaching you. Do they enjoy teaching/mentoring younger or even older people? Do they have patience? Bigger or smaller, it's the individual and their motives and personality that would make them good mentors.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]