<p>Most successful agents work on a team so they can have some weekends off. Usually two senior agents and a trainee/runner support person or two.</p>
<p>I just have zero interest in a field so banal.</p>
<p>Isn’t accounting and law even more “banal” though? Doesn’t get much more uninspiring then counting beans…</p>
<p>When did emberjed say that they wanted to do either of those fields?</p>
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<p>When I’m hiring, the resume from Slippery Rock would likely not get you an interview. So the answer to your question is yes.</p>
<p>But, you really don’t seem to get it, at all.
Please give your spot up to someone who understands the whole point of gettting an education. You really seem to not understand the difference between college and a trade school.</p>
<ol>
<li>No financial security.</li>
<li>I suck at selling stuff.</li>
<li>I like learning, and even though I do tend to learn a lot on my own, there are things I learn better with teachers.</li>
<li>I really do suck at selling stuff.</li>
</ol>
<p>Let me ask this… What has better value?</p>
<p>George Washington University - Political Science Bachelor’s Degree: $50,000 in debt.</p>
<p>Liberty University - Paralegal Studies Bachelor’s Degree: 16,000 in debt.</p>
<p>What do you think… Keep in mind my Associates Degree is a Paralegal Studies degree from an ABA approve community college.</p>
<p>I don’t see Liberty’s accreditation: [Virginia</a> - Paralegal Approved Program Directory - ABA](<a href=“http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/paralegals/directory/va.html]Virginia”>http://apps.americanbar.org/legalservices/paralegals/directory/va.html)</p>
<p>Why are those the only two choices?</p>
<p>^ Liberty’s doesn’t have ABA approval. But my community college where I earned my Associates does… and I already have my certificate from there as well. So I’d just be completing the bachelors degree as a check mark for employment.</p>
<p>Bo, how about this question: why use an agent when you can sell your house without one?</p>
<p>And, Abraham Lincoln? Seriously? </p>
<p>BTW, accounting is a great field to go into if you want to be employable and make a decent salary. You do not need to be good at math. You do need to be willing to learn from data and from others who know more than you.</p>
<p>Few people are well-equipped to sell their own house. If your house is not on the MLS you miss the bulk of the buyers. It can get to be very time consuming and frustrating. You are unlikely to get the best price.</p>
<p>My $0.02:</p>
<p>Like most business sales careers, personality, ambition, sincerity, and hard work usually trump having a college degree. Do you need a 4-year degree to be a successful Realtor? I know many incredibly successful Realtors who do not have a college degree. I also know many unsuccessful Realtors with advanced degrees (MBA, JD, etc.). That said, having a 4-year degree, especially in a relevant field (marketing, finance, etc), can be a big plus and shows that you have additional expertise beyond those who didn’t go to college.</p>
<p>Also, let’s say you’re a real estate agent who is working with a Google engineer who graduated with a PhD from UC Berkeley and she asks you where you went to college. Your response, “I didn’t go to college.” Awkward silence ensues. Is that a deal breaker? Not necessarily if you’ve proven yourself with many years of experience and success in the real estate field. However, it’s almost always more comfortable if you, too, put in the time and effort to get a BS or BA.</p>
<p>Learn a trade. Become a plumber.</p>
<p>Take those research skills you honed getting your paralegal certificate and investigate who recruits at GW, what kind of roles they hire for, and who gets those jobs. You don’t get a Poli Sci degree at GW and waltz into a great job- you do internships on the Hill for a committee or for a Senator, you spend a summer working for a political polling company, you do another internship editing a policy newsletter for Brookings or another major think tank… and then you get a great job with a GW poli sci degree.</p>
<p>If none of these things interest you, then don’t go to GW. The amount of debt is really irrelevant.</p>
<p>@barrons: I was speaking from personal experience. We sold our house ourselves and bought from a couple selling on their own for a combined savings of $22k to us. I like keeping money in my own pocket! I have a BS in accounting, BTW. :)</p>
<p>I live in an area where the market is not such that one needs a broker, so it may not be the best approach for others.</p>
<p>You never can know what the other outcomes would be. Stats indicate brokers pay for themselves. I have done the same but have MBA and 40 yrs in the business. Still would not claim I got best deal possible. Just a good enough deal.</p>
<p>^yes, kind of like brain surgery…looks easy enough until you get in there 
It’s what you don’t know you don’t know that gets you! Having seen a lot of fsbo deals go sideways in my tender youth, I get a kick out listening to folks focus on what they’ll be “saving.” The attitudes of triumphant DIY tend to simmer down a little in some cases once they’ve experienced an FHA inspection or a clear-eyed mortgage appraisal </p>
<p>In some cases, like bb mentioned, it can work out fine. In other’s the most valuable role of agency is just like any other form of agency…sure, I’m smart enough in theory to write my own will, do my own divorce, rent out my own income property, negotiate my own creative contract, select my own stocks to trade, or sell my own home. But I don’t. Because whatever I may think I know, I’ve benefitted from the experience of people who do these things every day and can approach negotiated situations with a wealth of situational experience, intuition, and the lack of my own blind spots or emotional triggers :)</p>
<p>Back to the OP.</p>
<p>If, at 26, you do not have a burning desire to go back to school to get a degree, don’t. You already have a vocational certification. Go to work and use it, and spend some time during this period considering what you’re passionate about. Or, if it suits your skills and risk tolerance, go into real estate.</p>
<p>The intangibles of advanced education – such as the life of the mind, the networking with similarly inclined people who share a curiosity or passion for a discipline – are simply not for everyone. The idea that academic pursuit IS for everyone is actually silly, and unfortunate. The world needs people with hard skills every bit as much as political scientists…probably more. </p>
<p>If you one day choose to go back to school for a degree in something you’ve discovered you love, and you want to do it for the sake of the learning itself, then its worth the investment. But if you’re doing it “just to get a job” I feel you’re barking up the wrong tree. Smart employers don’t hire on the paper alone…they hire on the person’s proclivity or fit to the corporate culture and role. Which means those who pursue a degree without the actual passion for the discipline end up betraying their intent and just aren’t as competitive as an applicant.</p>
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<p>In my opinion, the Liberty “degree” has zero value, so I guess the answer would be GW, but please don’t go as you clearly don’t understand entire point of education.</p>
<p>Why are the OP’s only school choices Liberty (unaccredited) and GW (extremely expensive). Are there no other schools the OP could consider?</p>
<p>Also, what are the costs of carrying himself in the real estate biz until he begins earning commissions? What outlays will have have to make on behalf of clients–things like licenses, listing fees, fees to his brokerage/office, photographers etc? What kind of income is OP looking to make? $20,000? $50,000? $100,000 plus? His income will be dictated not only by how “good” he is at attracting listings and closing sales, but by the number and price of homes/transactions in his area. If he can get and close a lot of transactions in Manhattan or South Beach he will make different numbers than selling homes in Detroit or Peoria.</p>
<p>I am not sure I understand real estate correctly, but aren’t commissions in about the 6% range, split between the listing and selling brokerages? and then the brokerage splits its share 50/50 with the broker involved? It could take a lot of $200,000-$300,000 sales to make a living.</p>
<p>If RE doesn’t work out, colleges aren’t going any where. OP can always go to college, he will just be a bit older–although other life choices may influence his parameters, like having a spouse with her own career, or having children. Of course, the converse also is true–if he goes to college now, and gets his degree, a RE career will always be out there for him should he choose to pursue it.</p>
<p>I have been a lawyer for decades. I don’t recommend paralegal studies as a Bachelor’s degree major, for anybody. </p>
<p>The very high-end firms tend to higher liberal arts majors from very high end colleges, who are seriously good writers, and they use it as a stepping stone before law school. Both sides understand this. They also have some career paralegals who often have masters’ degrees in library science. </p>
<p>The smaller, less well-paying firms tend to use paralegals who came into the field as legal secretaries, and showed particular aptitude for organizing bulky documents and nailing down details. Some of those people have paralegal certificates, often from community colleges. They become adept at helping with house closings, organizing medical records, etc., based on what the boss needs.</p>
<p>IMHO, to spend the upper level years of the Bachelor’s degree on paralegal studies is a bit of a waste. It probably won’t materially enhance your skills set beyond the certificate level, as a hands-on, ordinary-mortal-type-law-firm paralegal. And it won’t catapult you into the top firms. Those doors would more likely be opened by using the last two years to complete a degree from a really top-notch undergrad institution, where you’ve done a lot of writing, usually in a major such as history, English, economics, American studies.</p>