Should I Join Realty Company?

[Brandon G.]

I will soon begin taking classes to get my RE license. I understand that in order to become licensed I will need to "hang my license" with a broker. I'm not quite sure what this entails, but I assume if I join one of the realty companies such as Keller Williams, Remax, Century 21, etc. that they will serve as a broker for my license.

For those investors who got their license solely for investment purposes and not to become an agent, did you also join one of these larger companies or are their smaller brokers? 

If the larger companies are the way to go, which company is recommended? I talked to Keller Williams and they said they have a good referral program where agents refer leads to other agents for a percentage of the commission. This might be nice should I be unable to close a deal as an investor because the seller decides to sell retail. I could then make a referral and earn some cash. 

Your thoughts?