Entering the World of Real Estate: Prominent Career Paths to Consider
One of the most common career paths considered by both college students and seasoned professionals looking for something new is real estate. This is particularly due to the fact that there are a myriad of career options in this field which have a decent amount of overlap, meaning a person isn’t necessarily locked into a single option.
With jobs in real estate expected to increase by 5% over the next decade, there has never been a better time to start considering a career in the field. Learn everything you need to know about real estate, including the most prominent career paths to consider.
How High is the Barrier of Entry to Real Estate?
Compared to other potential career paths, real estate has a generally low barrier to entry. For many jobs in real estate, a college degree isn’t even required, rather external education on real estate specific topics. Generally, the biggest obstacles those looking to enter real estate face are a lack of experience, no customer loyalty, not enough investment into personal knowledge, and other similar items.
5 Notable Career Paths in Real Estate
When looking at a real estate crash course there are five primary career paths that will continually pop up as potential options for those looking to enter the field. Each of the following careers come with their own requirements and their own barriers to entry, so do additional research if one jumps off the page at you in particular:
1. Real Estate Agent
Serving as one of the most well-known professions in real estate, an agent is the person who helps facilitate the transaction between a buyer and seller in the home purchase process. Say a person wishes to list their house for sale but doesn’t want to tackle the matter themselves. They will hire a real estate agent who will organize activities such as open houses which show prospective buyers what a home looks like.
2. Real Estate Broker
Real estate brokers are another common type of professional within the industry. In fact, they are often confused with real estate agents despite the fact that the two professions are distinctly different. While all real estate brokers start off as agents, they are required to complete additional coursework and take a separate exam. This allow them to employ agents under them at a brokerage firm. Currently, there are over 100,000 brokerage firms operating in the United States.
3. Commercial or Residential Appraiser
A lesser known career path in real estate that a person should consider is that of a commercial or residential appraiser. This is the person who, when a purchase or refinance of a real estate loan occurs, comes in and appraises the property to determine its market value. This value is then used by either a lender or home seller. The difference between residential and commercial appraisers is that the former specializes in homes, apartments, townhouses, and other similar abodes, whereas commercial appraisers focus on large property buildings.
4. Property Manager
A property manager is similar to a landlord, but they are actually hired by a landlord themselves. The owner of a property hires a property manager when they do not have time to maintain the daily workings of that real estate property on their own. Property managers can be companies or people, depending on what property is being managed. A common example of a property manager could be a person who is hired by an apartment building owner to run the day-to-day operations as an interim landlord.
5. Real Estate Developer
Finally, one of the most challenging careers in real estate is that of a real estate developer. These professionals manufacture residents, commercial, or industrial sites for later development and use. They also work on refurbishing existing properties to make them more enticing to potential buyers. Being a real estate developer requires a keen eye in regard to predicting market value of a location and how it will change.
Launch a Career in Real Estate Today
A career in real estate certainly will not be the right choice for everyone, but it has provided many people around the world with a respectable living. It’s worth noting that the success of professionals in the real estate industry largely hinges on the success of the real estate market as a whole. However, with enough drive and motivation anyone in the real estate market can establish themselves in a solid career with plenty of long-term growth potential.
