I want to get an entry-level CRE job. Wondering where to start.

[Mitch Rusten]

I want to start cutting my teeth in CRE. Whether that be full-time, part-time, an internship, you name it, I just want to get started. I studied Biology in college in the hopes of going to med school. I even got as far as taking the MCAT, which I scored well on, but after experiencing a tragedy I had a paradigm shift and decided I didn't want to be a doctor anymore. Fast forward a couple years and I have a decent job working in the medical device industry, but what I really want to pursue is a career in CRE. I have passed REFM level 1, and plan to pass the next 2 over the coming month. Outside of this, the only thing I've done in the business/finance/RE space is a business 101 class and a handful of books I've read.

My question is, what would I need to do to get my first CRE job and get a chance to prove myself while learning the business? I don't want to invest the time and money in another 2-3 years of school to get a degree in finance like some things I have read online suggest if I don't have to. Is there any type of training I can receive that I can power through on my own schedule that would prepare me to land a job in CRE without getting another degree? Or perhaps, is there a role I can start in that my background would be enough to qualify for? I am very confident in my ability to learn the necessary material and start proving myself, but I am lost as to what the most reasonable/efficient next step is for me. I'd love to work as an analyst or something similar.