Thinking of changing careers

[Bradley Pickens]

Hello everyone,

I am currently considering changing my careers and would like some insight on being/becoming an agent. I have a few questions and would appreciate any feedback. 

1. Is it possible to be a part time agent to learn the craft and gain the experience before making the transition? 
My biggest concern is that I have a good paying job and have been in the same field (Aviation) for the last 10 years since I joined the Navy (2012-2017) and civilian since then that I may lose too much money in the transition process or just simply getting started.

2. Do you believe your career is rewarding and would you recommend becoming an agent? 

3. Would it make sense to become an agent in California if I am planning on moving to New Hampshire in a couple years? Also, any information on being an agent in New Hampshire would be helpful. 

Thank you for the help

[Joia B.]

Hey Bradley, Welcome to BiggerPockets and thank you for your service! My husband is in the military as well :-)

Making the decision to become a real estate agent is definitely not something that should be taken lightly. As others have said I agree that joining a team right off the bat is a great way to get started because it can be extremely overwhelming at first. Burnout in this field is real so it's good to have a support system. I made the mistake of going solo in the beginning and wish I had joined a team sooner. A lot of companies have great training as well, some not so much, so I would definitely interview different brokerages before committing to one. As far as money goes, start up costs aren't too much- a couple thousand at most. NH has a required 40-hour pre-licensing course (now offered via Zoom since COVID), so if you become an agent in CA first and want to jump right into it when you move to NH I would definitely try to knock that out beforehand! Licenses have to be renewed every 2 years so if you leave CA after 2 years you could just go inactive if you do get licensed there first. I think becoming an agent is a great idea if you're planning on investing especially. Getting the commissions from your investment properties is a huge plus.

Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!