Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I am a 26 year old male who has been in the tax accounting profession for 4 years now, and quite frankly, it sucks. I'm on my 3rd job, which I started back in April 2010 and it sucks just like all of them. I get good performance reviews and nice raises and bonuses, but I just don't like the content of the work and some of the people that I work with. So, my question is, would a career in real estate be good for me?
I ask because it interests me in that it is concerned with tangible, real property, and I know the Hartford metro area very well, as I have lived here the vast majority of my life. My father is a real estate investor and has been extremely successful, with no college degree. I hold a master's degree in accounting, however. I am good with numbers, but not to the intense degree that is demanded by accounting. It gives me a headache. I also have excellent communication and writing skills, although I am a reserved person and would not describe myself and outgoing.
What do you think? Is this a good profession to get into? What are the pros and cons of being a real estate agent/broker or whatever? What are the hours like? Is it a competitive field to break into?
It's a good career, but may be a bad time to get involved. The biggest key to real estate is networking. You have to know people or get to know people. A lot of people. Not to mention there are a lot of realtors who already know these people....
Remember, you have to pay for your own benefits/retirement. You may go a long time with no profit. You'll work nights/weekends.
It's a good career, but may be a bad time to get involved. The biggest key to real estate is networking. You have to know people or get to know people. A lot of people. Not to mention there are a lot of realtors who already know these people....
Remember, you have to pay for your own benefits/retirement. You may go a long time with no profit. You'll work nights/weekends.
Ouch. That sucks! I guess it's definitely not for me then. I am not Mr. Sociable and have a very small professional network. Plus, I would absolutely hate working nights and weekends.
Ouch. That sucks! I guess it's definitely not for me then. I am not Mr. Sociable and have a very small professional network. Plus, I would absolutely hate working nights and weekends.
Also, why is networking so crucial to finding a job? I thought qualifications were more important. It just doesn't make much sense to me. I understand that it helps to know people, but shouldn't the ideal candidate have good qualifications? Stupid how this world operates that way.
Networking primarily helps getting you opportunities that you might otherwise not know about. Sometimes companies don't publicly advertise positions. That's why it's nice to have friends who can forward this information on to you when they know you're looking for work. Think of it as increasing your probability.
By the way, can you tell us a bit more about your personality? You said you're less sociable, so I'm guessing you'd want a career with little personal interaction. If that's the case, any sales-related position might not be great for you. How important is salary to you?
I'm thinking there are technician positions where you can work out in the field and have very little contact with people. I worked at a company that did non-destructive testing. It's more of a blue collar field, but you might be able to make some pretty good money in it. And as a tech, you have very little interaction with customers.
Google NDT (non-destructive testing) and see what you think. There are different levels of certification you can get that offers higher pay grades. I think the certification is done through NADCAP or ASNT (Certification at the American Society for Nondestructive Testing).
I completely agree that the social aspects are key to making a decent living in real estate sales -- from being "nice enough but not too nice" to the wives of clients for men, to be "fun but not flirty" with with male clients for women I honestly believe these are the biggest helps for newer agents as they get out an meet with potential buyers and sellers -- it is a lot like going on "blind dates" where the goal is to get a "second date".
Of course if you don't know the market or have poor negotiating skills or chafe under the sometimes relentless pressure of clients expecting you to be immediately available 24x7, 365 a great personality won't really help...
There are opportunities that are little more "numbers oriented" in commercial sales and leasing, but you need to have some good "chops for business people" too -- whether you are pitching an office building (where raw numbers and quality of the building / commute distances tend to dominate) or various retail offerings (where a good understanding of the demographic draws are vital) or commercial / industrial space (where knowledge of infrastructure and workforce issues are key) or multi-family (where average rents, occupancy and labor market numbers rule) or even raw land (where an special kind of vision for development helps) you still NEED to "connect" the folks with the money to the folks with the real estate -- primarily a "people skill"... Tough thing right now is that so much inventory exists from the over building of the previous decade is that compensation for a "newbie" is pathetic -- honestly there are guys selling cars because that pays better than some commercial real estate...
Selling anything requires a huge amount of "personal risk" and the ability to get people to sorta "click" with you. Some people are just better at this than others and those that realize that the only way to get better is to practice make more money. Pro athletes still need to practice their skills and so to is "networking" a huge part of the skill need to connect to people in the way that is needed for any sales oriented job. I know a few real estate agents / brokers that rely on some kinda dweeby "sales assistants" to handle much of the detail of preparing contracts, scheduling showings, handling financing and similar less people oriented tasks, but with few exceptions even those not "in front of the public" have to be reasonably good at remembering names, asking about how the kids are, are doing all the social things that help to build a business.
When I look at firms that do a lot of "electronic marketing" via Facebook or similar things I see the most successful firms using these "networks" the same way that some folks could "work" the country club or Lions Club or Chamber of Commerce or Moose Lodge -- you have to be a little charming / funny, a little warm / family oriented and subtly but CONFIDENTLY focused on the financial & business aspects of things. I can't tell you how many times I would go to get a sandwich with an "old pro" and we would see half a dozen or more "chums" of the pro -- sometimes she'd say something "Sally, you look great, are you playing more tennis? Hey, I got a new listing that is right up the street from the Park District courts, you really should think about it. Great price. And your home would really be in demand for some one with high schoolers..." Betty, still whipping up gourment meals? -- I know you still love your place but I just got a listing for a place with a kitchen right out of Bon Appetite. You should see it, and hey with all the cabinets in your place some big family would LOVE it!...
Tom, you should see the listing I just saw downtown -- high rise building. You could be steps from the office, use it on weekends. You and Mary could get down to see more musicals. Be a great investment too..." AND that was usually while we in the doorway!
The best sales people really do put themselves around the most likely buyers much more than those that sit in an office and wait for business to come them.
Networking primarily helps getting you opportunities that you might otherwise not know about. Sometimes companies don't publicly advertise positions. That's why it's nice to have friends who can forward this information on to you when they know you're looking for work. Think of it as increasing your probability.
That's stupid that a company would do that. By limiting themselves to people ONLY within their social network, they are robbing themselves of potentially good people that may be outside of their social network.
That's stupid that a company would do that. By limiting themselves to people ONLY within their social network, they are robbing themselves of potentially good people that may be outside of their social network.
You may think it's "stupid" but it successfully works for many companies. As far as real estate is concerned, I think you've been given good advice which indicates that that profession probably wouldn't be a good fit for you. There are plenty of sites which can explain to you the licensing requirements and procedures for RE agents and brokers in CT but there's no question that you do have to have a personality suited to the field and basically have to be a "people person" and have the ability to "read" both sellers and buyers.
That's stupid that a company would do that. By limiting themselves to people ONLY within their social network, they are robbing themselves of potentially good people that may be outside of their social network.
I don't think I made my point very clearly, so let me give you an example.
Say I work at Acme Gadgets. Lorraine in accounting is getting ready to quit in a couple weeks and your boss is getting ready to post an ad for the position. But wait, I know my good buddy nep321 is looking for a job and this position would suit him just well. So I go to nep321 and get a copy of his resume and cover letter. I bring this in to my boss and I vouch for nep, since I know him well and realize he has a great work ethic. I give my boss a brief introduction of your qualifications and leave it at that. Now you're resume is in the front of the line AND the boss has you in the back of his mind even before the job ad is posted. They will probably go through with some interviews anyway so that they can get a fair assessment of what's available on the market. Now they're down to two candidates: you and John Q. Most things being equal, the boss decides to go with nep321 because of the good word that was put in by me a few weeks prior.
No one's getting cheated in this scenario. Networking just gives you a leg up in some cases, like the one I described above.
I don't think I made my point very clearly, so let me give you an example.
Say I work at Acme Gadgets. Lorraine in accounting is getting ready to quit in a couple weeks and your boss is getting ready to post an ad for the position. But wait, I know my good buddy nep321 is looking for a job and this position would suit him just well. So I go to nep321 and get a copy of his resume and cover letter. I bring this in to my boss and I vouch for nep, since I know him well and realize he has a great work ethic. I give my boss a brief introduction of your qualifications and leave it at that. Now you're resume is in the front of the line AND the boss has you in the back of his mind even before the job ad is posted. They will probably go through with some interviews anyway so that they can get a fair assessment of what's available on the market. Now they're down to two candidates: you and John Q. Most things being equal, the boss decides to go with nep321 because of the good word that was put in by me a few weeks prior.
No one's getting cheated in this scenario. Networking just gives you a leg up in some cases, like the one I described above.
Okay. This example makes sense.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
