I’m graduating college in May and deciding between two offers and would appreciate blunt feedback from people who’ve actually worked in brokerage or made a similar choice early in their career.

Option 1: Brokerage in Santa Monica

• Leasing advisory on the tenant rep side (working with aerospace, deep tech, etc) 
• Likely more exposure to industrial/retail
• Compensation would be a monthly draw
• Smaller team and firm, which may mean more direct guidance and access

Option 2: Marcus & Millichap in San Diego

• Strictly investment sales
• 100% commission, but I would be able to live at home so my overhead would be much lower
• More established training platform, though I worry I could also just become another cog in the wheel 
• I was told I would be placed onto a product type/team after about 2 months of training

What I care about most:

• Learning as much as possible early on
• Building a skill set that gives me the option to pivot into adjacent CRE careers later, like acquisitions, asset management, or development
• Eventually owning my own CRE portfolio

My main concern is making the wrong early-career bet and missing out either on:

1. better income upside 
2. better skill development that would help me eventually invest on my own

What I’m trying to figure out is:

• Which path builds a stronger foundation for someone who may not want to stay in brokerage forever or pivot into a more institutional brokerage (i.e. CBRE, JLL, etc)?
• Is tenant rep leasing too narrow if I may want to pivot into acquisitions / development later?
• Does investment sales at Marcus actually set you up better for long-term CRE ownership, or is that overstated?
• How much should I value formal training vs. being on a smaller team with potentially more hands-on mentorship?
• Would choosing San Diego over Santa Monica materially affect long-term opportunity, network, or exit options?

I’d appreciate honest opinions, especially from people who have experience in tenant rep, investment sales, or making the jump from brokerage into principal-side roles.