Hello BP! I'm wanting to learn more about real estate while in college and am hoping to gain some advice over the right internship to look for! I'm currently looking between commercial and residential real estate internships but I'm unsure which avenue will gain me the stronger insight to entering real estate myself. While commercial seems to be more analytical and statistical with large investment companies, the residential options allow me to go on site with buyers one-on-one. Both are equally important but I'm stuck! Drawing from this, is there any insight on wither I should lean more towards learning from a large commercial corporation or local real estate agency?
Specialist · Riverside, CA · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y
@Caroline Holladay this is a tough question, residential would likely be more relevant to you if you want to invest yourself (flipping, rentals etc.) but the job/ career experience will take you to a mostly or 100% sales and commission job which is not everyone's cup of tea. Commercial likely has little relevance to investment property an individual might get involved in but has more potential for career paths on a salary with an analytical and not a sales focus.
Specialist · Riverside, CA · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
5y
@Caroline Holladay this is a tough question, residential would likely be more relevant to you if you want to invest yourself (flipping, rentals etc.) but the job/ career experience will take you to a mostly or 100% sales and commission job which is not everyone's cup of tea. Commercial likely has little relevance to investment property an individual might get involved in but has more potential for career paths on a salary with an analytical and not a sales focus.
Investor · Edmonton, Alberta · Member since 2018 · 47 posts · 22 votes
5y
@Caroline Holladay I think it depends on what you are looking to achieve from real estate, and what are your end goals? Are you looking for a career, or looking to learn how to invest? A lot of people, myself included, start out in the residential sector and eventually move into commercial lending due to the glass ceiling on personal mortgagability. In my opinion you may learn more in the commercial space ( again, only my opinion). I feel that if you really take some time to look out in the future and figure out your goals, the answer usually becomes clearer. Then Ask yourself “ Does this move me closer to my goal or farther away from it?”
Depending on what area in real estate you want to be in is what internship you should go for. Your goals in the future could also determine what internship to go to because you will definitely be doing different task that don't necessarily translate from each other. Really think about what route you want to go through in real estate whether you want to be working more analytics or working more intimately with people. I wish you the best of luck in your journey!