<p>You seem interested, motivated and driven. I think you should get your real estate license and just do it. Try to get a job in an area with expensive homes. Go for it.</p>
<p>26 and living at home? Time to try something. If real estate appeals to you, give it a try. It’s the right niche for some folks. If that doesn’t work, rather than GWU, I’d suggest looking to see what 2 year programs you might like at your local community college. Many who aren’t as interested in “college” do well with those programs and get decent jobs afterward.</p>
<p>I think that real estate agents that do well know how to relate to the people they are selling to. Those who buy expensive houses that generate high commissions tend to be people who are educated. They look for salespeople at their level in intellect and education, i.e., college grads.</p>
<p>The one real estate agent I know who is making a high salary after 4-5 years has a law degree and an amazing sense of design and is married to an architect. She also has a ton of personal connections and knows her territory (which schools are strongest, which neighborhoods are about to turn, etc.) like the back of her hand. I’m using her right now for a couple of development projects.</p>
<p>The last time we identified a prospective project it was on a Friday. She was scheduled to leave on a family vacation but instead spent Friday afternoon at the Building Department checking permits and conservation restrictions. She said her family was going to “kill her” because she’d cancelled or delayed vacations before.</p>
<p>She spent much of the first few years manning the phones. It’s what junior agents are stuck doing. Remember that you’ll spend the first few years as a sort of apprentice to a RE broker. You won’t be able to do much on your own for a while. Her earnings the first year were negative-she spent more on her RE career than she made.</p>
<p>RE can be a great career but you shouldn’t go into it blind.</p>
<p>Well I am somewhat educated. I have an Associates Degree in Paralegal Studies and Paralegal Certification. All from an ABA approved community college. I graduated Cum Laude and even did an internship with a Congressman… Problem is… There aren’t any Paralegal jobs. Plus after a year into the program I realized how much I really didn’t like law that much. It’s okay… But definitely not a passion.</p>
<p>Have you found a real estate broker willing to take you on?</p>
<p>Do you already network with people who are looking to buy expensive houses? If you don’t, how do you expect to find your customers?</p>
<p>And do you know people who are looking to sell expensive houses? Do you know how to convince them you are the best person to help them sell the house?</p>
<p>If you think there’s no law in real estate, you’re sadly mistaken.</p>
<p>I do have a broker that’s willing to take me on. How do I expect to find customers? Cold calls, mailers, door knocking and other prospecting tools that all other agents utilize when starting out. Clearly there is a distinction between “some law” in real estate and working in law exclusively as a profession. There’s some math involved in being an ice cream man too…</p>
<p>OP, I think you need to do your research here. If it’s possible to get your license and give it a try, this is the ideal time of your life, before you have a family to support and while you can live at home with your parents. But you would do well to talk with residential real estate salespeople before you commit to spend the time and money to get started. </p>
<p>People who are, by personality, good salesmen/women can usually do well selling whatever they decide to sell. If you have the personality and the plusses and minuses of this kind of work suit you, then maybe you should give it a try. But if you’re a good salesman and you want to make a lot of money, maybe you should look into the world of finance.</p>
<p>I’ve been successful at sales in the past so I am confident I have the personality for it. Finance… Eh… Terrible at math. If I went for Business it would have to be for general Business Admin or Marketing.</p>
<p>Why become a real estate agent when you can go to college?</p>
<p>It sounds like this might be a good career for you. I would caution you, however, that cold calls, mailers and door knocking are rarely, if ever, successful. What works is to have connection, both within your RE firm and outside it. The vast majority of listings will come from another broker/agent or from word of mouth referrals. A few will come from the aforementioned phone duty.</p>
<p>^ Poor job market, debt, time lost, and having to work for somebody else the rest of your god forsaken life.</p>
<p>Nothing wrong with not going to College. Real Estate has traditionally been done by lots of women (and guys) without college degrees. But I would guess to be really good, you would have to understand contracts and the Real Estate Laws, and be able to understand what sells and doesn’t and why. College, even political science, and especially courses like Philosophy, have a way of teaching people to think in critical terms, which I believe would be necessary to be really good in any sales job, including real estate. There are lots of real estate people who make a marginal living at best, and the fact is that the Real Estate Market will likely die over the next ten to twenty years anyway based on changing demographics of the population.</p>
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<p>There is something called “survivorship bias,” which is a fancy way of saying that you’re not counting the numbers of people who tried RE, failed at it, and would never mention to you that they had tried it. </p>
<p>It’s a great living for a few, okay for some, but I see an awful lot of people who do it because they prefer saying it’s what they do rather than saying that they’re “not working outside the home.”</p>
<p>If I do decide to go back to college… Do you guys think it would be a wiser investment to get a Political Science Degree from George Washington University or a Marketing Degree from Saint Joseph’s University (Haub School of Business)… These are the 2 schools I have been accepted too… I have interest in both topics about equally but mainly care about reality of the job market and making money.</p>
<p>Do you realize how many real estate agents have at least a bachelors degree in something? You can do both.</p>
<p>“Can’t do math”- do you realize how much is involved in closing real estate deals? From what you’ve posted I certainly would not trust you to my home’s listing. When we recently went through buying and selling houses we relied on the agents for a lot of information and market analysis. For selling we had to substantially lower our asking price due to market conditions. We did this after our agent showed us a lot of (boring) numbers. When buying our agents surprised us with where we should start the negotiations (relatively much lower than the asking price than I would have thought)- they had a good feel for the numbers aspect of it. </p>
<p>I would enjoy looking at houses with people. However- there is so much more. The rich real estate agents have often spent decades building their careers. They get the listings because they did a good job with customers. I also noticed how many agents swelled the ranks and then disappeared with the changes in the housing market.</p>
<p>Your time is not your own- it is the buyers and sellers. In order to profit from the deal you also have to have the training and required licensure. Perhaps shadowing a real estate professional is the way to start. Be prepared to meet timelines and not at your convenience. Be prepared for headaches with unreasonable buyers/sellers. Be prepared to answer a lot of questions about mortgages (that’s math).</p>
<p>A political science degree is not a marketable degree for the most part, but it IS a degree that evidences the ability to write and hopefully think. A marketing degree is probably about the same, although it might give you an advantage of getting a job with a business over a poly sci degree. In the end I would personally go with the school allowing you to avoid debt and providing the biggest bang for the buck. In the end, anybody who thinks clearly, writes well, is personable and is willing to work should be able to get a job, sooner or later.</p>