College degree for real estate agents ??

[Jordan Lucas]

I am 16 years old and want get my real estate license at 18. Real estate is my passion and I dedicate time everyday to learning about it. I’m not sure if I want to go to college because I think those years could be better learning directly in the business rather than a class. That saying I am willing to put in the work to make it work and far from lazy. Questions- Do you think a broker would hire an 18 year old without a degree? Do you have a real estate/business degree? Do you think you could have been where you are without the degree?

[Nathan Gesner]

@Jordan Lucas This isn't 1892 or even 1962. Back then a college degree meant something. You should take a minute to look at the kind of classes people took back then and what people are taking now. College has become a money-making venture and the best way to make money is to make class easy and fun for the masses so you can collect their student loan funds before they give up or get smart and walk away. 

Real estate has a very, very low bar of entry. My wife took 500 hours of education to be a massage therapist in Colorado but it only took 50 hours to become a REALTOR. You would obviously have more than 50 hours of education in college but a lot of that education will involve nonsense classes that don't apply and you'll spend $30,000 and four years of your life instead of the $2,000 and two months that it normally takes.

The difficult part is becoming a successful agent at the age of 18. It can be done. I know a local REALTOR that started at 18 and it was tough but she plowed through and has been at it for over 20 years. However, she started with her family business and that probably helped her get started.

The overwhelming majority of agents to not have a real estate degree. However, most of them do have a degree. Most of them have decades of work experience and experience as an adult. The average age is 52 so while you may be smarter at SnapChat and some other tools, you won't have 1/3 the life experience the average agent does and that will be tough to overcome.

You can do it. Stay humble, listen more than you talk, find a mentor, and hustle. Good luck!