looking for entry level work in property management - is working as a leasing agaent/admin assistant necessary

I have unsuccessfully been searching for entry level work as an assistant property manager. I was under the impression that this position is a common entry level start in this field. I have experience in both residential and commercial real estate sales as well as in finance, but no direct experience in property management.

I would prefer to avoid a pure sales job (ex. leasing) and am hesitant to "settle" on lowering my expectations, as I'm concerned if this really IS a legit path up the chain. (i.e. something akin to working as the school janitor when you want to get into teaching)

Am I being unrealistic in looking to start as an assistant property manager? Any input would be appreciated.

I would not consider leasing as a janitor type position. Leasing is a critical skill in order to become a property manager you must be able to lease and teach others how to lease potentially. Definitely start at leasing and prove yourself. If you show you can turn vacants into occupied units with ease then any property manager will want you on their team. It took me two months of leasing when the site manager realized how skilled I was and how helpful I would be to the property manager that I became her assistant at the corporate office. It didn't take long but I learned as much as I could then went on to do all the financials for six apartment complexes and oversee the site managers. You have to start somewhere and leasing is key. You can always get into very small complexes but you will not learn as much about how to do things correctly. I would say pick a place with at least 200 units so you can get rapid high volume experience. In that scenario they don't care that much about a real estate license but will definitely be needed at the corporate level. As a professional real estate professional you should be working your networks.