Breaking into CRE as an Acquisition Analyst Out of College
Does anyone have any tips for becoming an acquisition analyst straight out of college?  It seems as every job posting wants someone with multiple years of experience.  I majored in Real Estate and have a short internship at a RE investment firm, yet it has still been difficult for me to get opportunities. 

Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.
[{"id": "iojf4fb", "text": "Pain in the ass to train someone fresh out of undergrad for that role and there\u2019s enough people out their that already understand underwriting. How about the firm you interned at? \n\nAlso, what are your career goals? Broker might be an easier way to break into the industry. If you\u2019re dead set on being on the buy side eventually, those skills will transfer over", "replies": [{"id": "iok6joe", "text": "I\u2019ve found too many undergrads are enamored with the idea of being an acquisitions analyst. It can be really mundane work in my experience compared to other avenues in CRE", "replies": [{"id": "iokcap0", "text": "What other avenues do you reccomend?", "replies": [{"id": "iokq3kt", "text": "Honestly I think broker is the best place to start out a career if you can afford to carry yourself through the first couple years. Really get to know an asset type, a local market, bankers, landlords, tenants, potential LP\u2019s, and other brokers. You\u2019ll learn how to put a deal together, which will pay dividends if you move to the buy side. Brokers get a reputation for being unsophisticated, but the good ones know more than their clients and are able to think like an investor.", "replies": [{"id": "iolxg6w", "text": "Strongly disagree. How does a broker that has zero underwriting experience add any value? In addition, any brokerage shop worth working for is not going to hire a producer straight out of school. It actually is usually the other way around with people wanting to be an investment sales broker with no analytical experience. For transactional buy side roles the best paths are typically being an analyst at a good investment brokerage or debt shop or being an asset management analyst for a buyer. For 99% of people there\u2019s not a fast lane where you can avoid excel modeling, putting together presentation materials, working after hours, and generally learning deal processes.", "replies": [{"id": "iolz900", "text": "To add- a half a point on a $50M sale is $250k commission. You think the LP that controls the seller entity is willing to award that contract to someone \u201cgetting to know them?\u201d. The best brokers are sophisticated because they have years of experience that 99% of the time started with an analytical role.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}, {"id": "ioqkwf0", "text": "Agree completely. Get an in entry level analyst job with a developer and be prepared to be the data geek for capital markets/finance team or evaluating/underwriting deals for development team.", "replies": [], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}, {"id": "iovw3xr", "text": "Private credit is going to be the most interesting/busy spot to be in the next ~12 months. Guessing lots of asset management jobs will be available on the equity side, but not everyone\u2019s cup of tea.", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "iokda3z", "text": "Acquisitions/Development seem to attract the widest audience out of college - what other less known (for undergrads) roles in your opinion lead to buy side but are just as valuable in terms of acquired skillset/industry knowledge?", "replies": [{"id": "iomp5o2", "text": "Lending, especially at a major LifeCo or Bank where you\u2019re looking at pref/mezz deals", "replies": [{"id": "iov78t4", "text": "This is the answer.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}, {"id": "itk6j7b", "text": "Any tips on breaking into lending?", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ioo9447", "text": "Put together a work sample of a model or pitch and submit it with your applications. Make sure its good ot it will hurt.\n\nBe agressive with applying and reaching out to people. Be hungry. Finding your first job is a numbers game because people have to take a chance on someone with no experience. The good thing is that its the same numbers game that acquisitions is. I look at 100 deals and make an offer on like 10 of them and close on 1-2. Same thing with getting your first job.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]