If you could do it all over, what would you do differently?
As the title states, I am looking to hear what you all would have done had you had the chance? Would you have started out in brokerage? Take a valuation/acquisitions analyst role? Boutique or big firm? I am in a place where I can do anything coming out of college, and want to hear what people would have done if they had every option open. Currently looking at boutique agency in suburban midwest with lots of opportunity the second I arrive, but having trouble getting past the small firm small city situation when I think I would like to be in an NY or Chicago in the longer term. The commission of brokerage also sounds great but worried that it is too much volatility for me. Advice is appreciated, specifically from those in larger urban markets or similar situations to myself that have made the switch from small to big firm. Thanks!

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Edit: Also would love to hear from those who went from brokerage to analyst type positions and what the time frame was
[{"id": "hyf49dn", "text": "Went straight into Brokerage at M&amp;M. Did pretty well. If I could do it over, I'd have gone to CBRE or JLL as an analyst, made that steady income for a few years, banking as much of it as possible, attend all the networking events I could, then transitioned to brokerage after the required timeframe (think it is 3 years at CBRE?). That way I'd have been going in with a good nest egg, some serious financial modeling skills, and a fair amount of contacts. Going in without any of that resulted in me taking a few listings that were dog shit because I needed a quick paycheck or which I didn't realize were financially non-viable because I didn't have the financial chops to understand them. UNLESS you want to do STNL, then go to a call shop and see if you have what it takes to make a billion calls a month.", "replies": [{"id": "hyf58ev", "text": "This was extremely helpful. I would luckily be avoiding the first year or so of cold calling as there are listings ready for me when I join the team as well as a salary so it's not sink or swim. Feel like the hands-on experience of this small firm will be unmatched but not great from a networking standpoint if I were to want to pivot to something like PE or development which is the ultimate plan. I don't graduate til summer so I am missing out on this round of hiring for companies like JLL and CBRE but I also know that my workplace experience is pretty solid. On the contrary, I go to a (better) state school with a semi obscure major and not sure how attractive I will be to those larger firms even when I am nearer to graduation.", "replies": [{"id": "hyfnyz4", "text": "JLL and CBRE hire as needed for the most part, it\u2019s not as set as you might think. Be in the look out for new job postings. Get in touch with brokers at those firms and start making connections. Associates and young VPs will be the most accessible. Reach out to current analysts, senior analysts and research analysts as well. Consider Research as an option for your first few years. You\u2019ll get a great view of the entire market, understand supply/demand dynamics, get a better view into the big players on the investment side of the biz, some insight into urban planning and get pulled in for large projects relatively quickly. A year and a half as a brokerage financial analyst, then a year and a half in research will give you a great foundation. Be sure to explore the rising technology platforms these firms are developing and deploying (3D mapping, occupancy planning, portfolio analytics). \n\nAs others said, join one or two industry groups once you land somewhere and go to networking events (ULI, BOMA, NAIOP, CReTech, etc). Your firm should pay for this, it will be cheap since you\u2019re a young professional. After a year or two, try to go to one of their national conferences.", "replies": [{"id": "hyvenkj", "text": "Do you have any advice on how to get an upper hand in the process outside of networking? I am not coming from a target school like many of the other analysts applying to major firms in big cities. I have pretty solid practical experience with three different internships but no big names to throw around", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hyfptbd", "text": "Said perfectly.  I started at M &amp; M and did three years there.  It was not for me.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hyf70q1", "text": "Following", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hyft2fw", "text": "whatever field you go into within RE, be likeable. Don't be a know it all, dont be lazy, and dont talk when its not your turn to talk. First of all be extremely reliable, then kind, and someone people want to be around. The opportunities in real estate dont open up because you are some master excel wizard, or wrote a thesis on the evolution of retail. Opportunities are given out to people that the boss likes. Evrything else like financial modeling or market analysis can be learned on the job. Being someone that people wanna be around is the intangible that is particularly important in the field of real estat.\n\nif youre goal is working for a developer or investor, investment sales/mortgage brokerae is a great place to start. Even if its a small firm you will get deal experience, and **experience talking to people that own commercial real estate**. You'll learn what motivates decision making for those people.", "replies": [{"id": "hyge1mf", "text": "I would add...   unless your family is rich, live at home while working in an analyst position.  Spend your free time learning golf or sailing. Go to the gym, but don't be a gym rat.   whatever you do, get out of an analyst position after at most five years.  Don't get trapped as an appraiser or underwriter.  Both are pyramid schemes NOT based on likeability and you'll be pushed out by 35, hate your life as a manager and out at 55, or succeed on your own.  The latter is difficult in many markets.\n\nEven if you join monsters like CBRE, always maintain your client relationships and assume you will have to go out on your own.  While being likeable is the most important thing, your colleagues are in the end your competitors and it is a ruthless business.\n\nMany I know got killed after the 2008 financial crisis and finding a new job at 40 is not easy unless you have a book of business.\n\nThere is much technological innovation right now, but most that is valuable is accessible to a small firm.  I'm turning 44 in two weeks, and while I was successful in my 20s, I did not plan for the kind of independence that would make my life much easier.  \n\nThe world is much more difficult today than in 2000 when I graduated.   I made a lot of money in my 20s, but blew too much of it on Manhattan rent, chasing girls, etc.  If I could live life over again, I would never have moved out of my parents' house until I turned 30.  Don't even THINK about marriage until 30.  \n\nIf you spend your free time wisely, reading books, learning golf, whatever to be interesting, fit, and have a large bank account, you'll be able to do anything.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hygchgl", "text": "Go work where you want to be now. Building relationships, connections and business in a city and then again in another city sounds like a good way not to make money.", "replies": [{"id": "hyglphb", "text": "Also very important.  Do not move from where your parents live until you're a millionaire.  I personally made this very mistake attempting to escape NYC, and ended up having to return.  Especially today, nowhere is easy.  The cost of living versus income is effectively the same everywhere unless you're maybe a physician.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hyv59te", "text": "Agreed, this is definitely a focal point of my decision making process. I am lucky enough to be in a place where I am well connected (most college friends from there, sister is at the #1 firm for real estate law in the country there) in the city that I would like to move to. Just not sure what type of exit opportunities I will have from brokerage even if I can put together an impressive string of deals in the first however many years.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hygl135", "text": "I\u2019d be born to billionaire parents that were very generous to give me my own billion US dollars when I turned 18 \ud83e\udd14 Smile, Azure", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hygr4k5", "text": "Started and maintained my database and made my business more structured. The M&amp;M model is terrific to learn the ropes, get your system in place and then leave...do it at another shop and keep more of your commission.  Unfortunately, I didn't start that way and 20 years later, I have missed out on a number of opportunities I would have had had I maintained my database and contacts.\n\nOther thing....bought more properties. Use your commissions to build your own portfolio of properties. Become a principal. This way, you have passive income going along with your brokerage business.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hyh661l", "text": "I started in an institutional acquisitions role where I\u2019ve gotten really solid experience and am pretty much mastering financial modeling. I really like this role a lot but would say my biggest regret is probably that I want to start my own shop one day and I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll ever be able to reach institutional quality assets (250+ MF units). Would be nice to network with more JV equity sponsors doing deals in the 15-50 units range, as this is probably what my bread and butter would be when I go off on my own. With that being said having institutional quality experience on the resume you can pretty much get a job anywhere after a few years", "replies": [{"id": "hyhaakp", "text": "If you don\u2019t mind sharing, what kind of institution was it and what was the role or roles you had there?", "replies": [{"id": "hyipy4u", "text": "Multifamily is the simplest asset class if only because the Capital market is the government.  Institutional is probably the worst place to be as Freddie Mac has so much data online the entire underwriting and valuation process can be automated today.  Most deals since Covid have been 2.75% amortized over 30 years with interest only payments for a decade with a balloon.  If you have the equity, this was stupidly easy.  Deal volume will collapse as rates rise.\n\nIndustrial will be the strongest sector by far in a young person's lifetime. For multifamily, the census bureau can prove demand and supply is easy to find and public record in most of the country.\n\nAlmost no one I meet has a clue about industrial fundamental economics and couldn't even discuss supply and demand variables.\n\nThe world is returning to a new Bretton Woods system.  This is what the war in Russia is about right now.  They will no longer sell their natural resources for vastly overvalued dollars.  CRE since Volker has steadily become filled with accountants, not economists.  For 40 years, one was guaranteed that over a ten year hold, interest rates would go down and Property values would increase.\n\nThis is no longer the case and few even realize exchange rates are political whether it is by treaty (The Bretton Woods Agreement Act remains the law and was heavily amended March 2020) or realpolitik.\n\nThis matters as the US cannot import most consumer goods as USD devaluation is real, today.  First you build the infrastructure and warehouses, then the factories.   This cannot be automated at all like multifamily can.", "replies": [{"id": "hyv0ai1", "text": "Definitely agreed that industrial is the sector of the future which will be most of my career. That's part of the hesitancy of taking the boutique route, I know that I won't be able to get my hands on the same type of large industrial/warehouse spaces that a national or multinational firm can", "replies": [{"id": "hyv6wtb", "text": "The market for small facilities is strong.  Much manufacturing requires far less space than logistics facilities.  I wouldn't worry, and you have to start somewhere!", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "hyuzyrp", "text": "This definitely seems to be a pretty solid blueprint from what I am seeing. Theoretically, do you think it would be difficult to make the switch to a more institutional type role or private equity with having a boutique agency as my experience? My thoughts are that I could learn a lot because my boss has offered lots of mentorship opportunities as well as put together a pretty solid transactional history. Just not sure how proof of deals would compare to time in an analyst position when it comes time to look for exit opportunities\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nEdit: I would be able to put together a solid transaction history pretty fast, not referring to my boss", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "hyh78p2", "text": "Focus on joining the best team. It takes a village to train you. Team gives you more experiences following the different people around. Doesn\u2019t actually have to be a fee sharing team just a group that works on the same product types", "replies": [{"id": "hyv5gmj", "text": "So I agree that this is the best way to go about it, but I am not sure where I'd be getting the best team. Taking the analyst route at a bigger company may put me in the room with people who handle bigger deals, but I would not receive the same type of individualized training and mentorship that I would at a boutique. Not sure which is more important", "replies": [{"id": "hyv7f7x", "text": "I would push to figure out who the big hitters in the office are and if they need/want a runner and just try and help them anyway you did. You\u2019ll learn way more.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]