Career Options
Current third-year studying Finance/RE and read the [thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/CommercialRealEstate/comments/52fojq/are_there_any_brokerage_firms_that_offer_a_base/) yesterday about brokers only being paid commission. Is this true up north in Canada as well? What about other positions in CRE like development - I couldn't find too much information on Glassdoor on salaries. Thanks in advance - would also love any other advice related to landing internships or any other advice in general. Cheers.
[{"id": "d7lqeff", "text": "If you're not ready to jump into commission only jobs, look into being a real estate analyst. Analyst jobs exist in investment sales, acquisitions, development, lending, etc. I work as an analyst and my comp is about half salary and half bonuses based on deals closing which works well for me because there is 'pay for performance.' Working as an analyst gives a strong foundation in real estate. ", "replies": [{"id": "d7ltvsi", "text": "Yeah I was gunning for an analyst position. I've talked to a few analysts in development and from what they described it's exactly what I wanted. I'm just worried about the career trajectory after that though. ", "replies": [{"id": "d7lupvr", "text": "when you get up there, a lot of your comp will be commission. however, that really wont be until you've put some time in as an analyst. your job as an analyst shouldnt just be to learn the numbers, but to also develop contacts across the board. aligning yourself with a large brokerage (or even a small one with a steady niche market) will hopefully afford you many opportunities to develop contacts  both with borrowers as well as lenders. Once you've made a name for yourself, moving up to a principal shouldnt be a situation where you're wondering where your next check if coming from. Those brokers make serious paper.", "replies": [{"id": "d7lustm", "text": "also, just cuz you work on the brokerage side doesnt necessarily mean you're stuck there for life. I've met many developers as well as people working on the lending side who've started out in brokerages and have decided to take opportunities elsewhere. CRE isn't a very large circle. You'll learn that its all about relationships.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7lv97v", "text": "What are you worried about? You could probably go anywhere and everywhere after if you gain the experience and work hard. However, depending on the developer, your exposure to CRE may be limited and you may only learn that developers philosophy. For that reason, I like investment sales. We learn from everyone and we don't play with our own money. We just help sellers and buyers make money. ", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7megdt", "text": "There are no definitive career paths in the CRE industry. Definitely take an analyst job with an investment sales brokerage, developer (rare), acquisitions/PE, or even a lender. Understand the fundamentals of the industry and your market, network, and after 2-3 years you will have plenty of exit opps in the industry.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "d7xtlmb", "text": "This is good advice. There is no real way to avoid the jump to commission if you want the higher pay potential, but working as an analyst with a strong team of brokers will teach you many of the skills you need before you make the jump. They may also be willing to give you small assignments, small splits of their deals to gain experience.\n\nMy recommendation is to choose where to work on the strength of the team/broker you are working with and how much face time you'll be getting with them, not on the salary amount. In the long term, the experience is much more valuable.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7lsmyg", "text": "I work as a real estate accountant (people don't realize that every building is also its own business!) and don't work for commission. It's pretty fun. I get to be the CFO of several small companies!", "replies": [{"id": "d7ltxwv", "text": "Oh man, I was actually going through accounting recruit up until I talked to a few development guys. I was going to get my CPA, but I just hate the idea of auditing or filing taxes. ", "replies": [{"id": "d7lu8yp", "text": "If you work for a 3rd party property management shop, you won't have to file taxes. CBRE for example will also pay for a certain percentage of your cpa classes. I would recommend you shop around.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}, {"id": "d7lua24", "text": "But I'm not gonna lie. The money is in brokerage.", "replies": [{"id": "d7lwvld", "text": "Yeah the more people talk about it, the more the position becomes elucidated and appealing.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "d7m8hqx", "text": "I've really been wanting to learn about these types of opportunities. I've been thinking about getting my real estate license, (just for kicks and pure love of the industry), but I've been trying to figure out what jobs would slow either license to be a waste. \n\nAre you an independent real estate accountant or do you work for a firm or property management company? ", "replies": [{"id": "d7mm789", "text": "I'm a bit all over. I worked 3 years for a very large real estate company (largest in the world), in their third party property management division. It was AWESOME. I got to work with accountants for the big famous buildings everyone knows: Willis Tower in Chicago, MetLife building in NYC, etc. I also had a \"world-class\" property which gave me some good credentials and looks really good on my resume. We did accounting for about 11% of the NYC commerical skyline. Without divulging anymore, that company is the one who hangs up the flags that say \"Real Estate Capital of the World\" all over Manhattan.\n\nThen I went independent for a year, but it was ultimately unfulfilling because my clients were unresponsive. I found ways to cut costs by 3-4x of my annual pay, but instead they wanted me to focus on things like the width of the columns in my Excel spreadsheets, how to format my reports, etc. Real mom-and-pop type companies who didn't believe me when I would tell them things like, \"This is how GE and HCP handle x, it saves a lot of money and time in the long-run, you should do it too.\" So I quit. It wasn't accounting, it was simple bookkeeping and they gave all the real accounting work to a big 4 firm at year-end. I exhibit best practices, and didn't have the patience to things so painfully wrong per my clients' instructions.\n\nNow I'm back with a major company in another part of the industry (residential). I'm part of a small, but industry-leading team in a very niche part of the residential market (I believe we're the only major company in this niche and thus have no real competition). The only downside to working for a firm again is that they're putting me back in \"general population\" against my will in December or January and I will be back to doing accounting for randos instead of working with my awesome small team.\n\nAnyway, real estate accounting is what I plan to do for the rest of my life. The people on /r/accounting will refer to is as \"property accounting,\" but I call it REAL ESTATE accounting because I love buildings and real estate. Property is just too generic. A CPA will help you get your foot in the door, but I don't have one. A real estate license is almost unheard of because we do accounting for buildings in multiple states, so if you have say, a New Jersey license and then lose your only client in New Jersey, that license is now put to waste. Also, some states require you to have residency in order to have a sales license, and some require you to actually do deals if you have a broker's license (and there is no deal-making in the accounting department, unfortunately). A license does come in handy with things like how to legally handle security deposit money, pro-rations at sale, etc. Every state is different in that regard so having at least one license will also make you marketable.", "replies": [{"id": "d7mz0fd", "text": "Thanks for the detailed response! I'm really thinking about looking more into real estate accounting. I did more research on which, if any, companies have a major office in Houston. ", "replies": [{"id": "d7n3kmo", "text": "Sure, take a look at Greystar. They have a few spots open in Houston right now:\n\nhttps://sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Search/Home/Home?partnerid=26315&amp;siteid=6795##keyWordSearch=&amp;locationSearch=Houston,%20Texas&amp;loggedIn=false", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7madbi", "text": "I work as a research analyst for a PERE firm, but my first job out of college was working for a national retail tenant. \n\nMost retailers will have a real estate department and they will all pay salaries.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "d7oensm", "text": "I'm an analyst at a commercial mortgage banking firm and it's great. I graduated from university last year and have been here just over a year. It's a smaller company which is nice as the learning curve is very smooth with the various producers helping out. What I love the most about it is that I get to see all property types. We help place financing on industrial, office, retail, multi-family, single tenant NNN, mobile home parks, self-storage, and the list goes on. \n\nOur clients range from mom and pop retirees that own a single property that acts as their retirement income to multi-millionaire families with massive portfolios to developers of all sizes. You get to make these contacts along the way which can (and will hopefully be) very beneficial down the road. \n\nI have a base salary, plus allowance for car and cell phone (I have to expense the phone bill, but not the car). Depending on the producer, they also shoot me some of their commission for working on the deal (they are purely fee/commission based) which is awesome. \n\nYou get to be a part of the entire deal process which provides a ton of experience and is something I would highly recommend right out of school. \n\nedit: a word", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]