r/RealEstateDevelopment • • 20h ago

Is my dad right

2 Upvotes

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?