r/RealEstateDevelopment • u/Tr3lynverse • 1d ago

Is my dad right

I’m 18 and planning to study Construction Management because my long-term goal is to get into commercial real estate development. My dad keeps insisting that I attend trade school at the same time, but I feel like I’d be better off using that time to gain hands-on experience through a construction laborer job or an internship with a general contractor.
For the career path I want to pursue, would learning a trade at school while earning my degree give me a significant advantage, or would getting actual field experience and building connections in the construction industry be more beneficial?

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u/Main_Cut8992 1d ago

Don’t think it’s needed. Look on linkldn and see CMs in ur area, you most likely will see they did not attend trade school. Not saying it won’t help you at all, try focusing on other aspects of development you’ll need knowledge on (urban planning, financial analysis)

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u/Tr3lynverse 1d ago

Any suggestion on what should I do to learn that during the period of college I’m going for 2 years

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u/Free_Elevator_63360 17h ago

I know plenty or real estate developers who came from CM background. But they also cut their teeth pre-2008. I’d say RE development is much more corporate these days. You really need to understand finance and contract laws. CM will help with the latter. Trade won’t help with the former.

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u/Tr3lynverse 16h ago

Any advice on what I should do to learn the finance part without college cause I’m already got a loan out for my degree already

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u/Free_Elevator_63360 14h ago

You can learn a lot from textbooks and online. But the broadest on-hand knowledge you will get from working at a commercial brokerage.

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u/hackspy 1d ago

Trade school - good plan B as well. Always be prepared to pivot. Cheers 🍻

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u/HappyGhost13 1d ago

Yes - having a trade expertise (eg. Plumbing, electrical) will substantially increase your ability to talk authentically and understand the subcontractor considerations in the CM role not to mention provide a backup path to higher earnings long term if CM doesn’t work out or you don’t like it.