Real Estate

nbg127
Sun, 14 Sep 2008 15:52:06 +0000

I echo all of the above. My husband and I own our own Real Estate company - in business since 1985- both of us worked in the business before that. My degree is general studies and my husband has a degree in business BUT he feels that the degree was only useful in that he took courses he was interested in. The career is all about people skills, organization skills, motivation and follow through. I would recommend getting a degree - mainly for your own growth and development, in an area that really interests you. This will develop your sense of self in that you have greater depth of interests/discussion in the classroom with peers and profs. I feel this in turn develops self confidence which will follow you for the rest of your life.

Our state requires Real Estate courses with clock hours to get your license. You can take these online or in class setting and do not have to wait to get your degree. If you are really motivated, I would suggest getting that license and trying for part time work within an office while getting your degree. This will give you a chance to see how it all works and if it is something you really want to do. Our most successful agents are great with people and develop good relationships with their clients and the have a high level of motivation - their degree really has no bearing on income. Also, they are independent contractors which means they own their own businesses but “rent desks” in our office. We mainly work with residential so the commercial side may require more weight on the aspect of a degree.

Bottom line- if you think you can handle the ups and down of cyclical markets, be conservative in spending when you have good years, and have a high level of motivation to stick with it, then you can have a very successful career.