College degree for real estate agents ??

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College degree for real estate agents ??

Jordan Lucas
Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 94 votes

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?

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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
7y

@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!

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  • Jordan Lucas
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 94 votes
    7y

    @Robert Hodgson I love that advice thanks so much! How has the BRRRR method been for you ?

    0Reply
  • Robert Hodgson
    Rental Property Investor · Matawan NJ/York, UK · Member since 2015 · 8 posts · 4 votes
    7y

    It's working great. 

    To answer your question... you don't need to go to college.

    1Reply
  • Jordan Lucas
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 94 votes
    7y

    @Robert Hodgson thanks for your additional insight !

    0Reply
  • Nathan Boyer
    Real Estate Agent · Manheim, PA · Member since 2018 · 37 posts · 20 votes
    7y

    @Jordan Lucas

    Yeah I did it at 18. You can do it no problem if you have a willingness to learn!

    1Reply
  • Jordan Lucas
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 94 votes
    7y

    @Nathan Boyer thanks for sharing and I do have that!

    0Reply
  • John Krasner
    Bellevue, ID · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 33 votes
    7y

    I don't think you need a degree, perhaps a business diploma would equip you with the tools necessary. Real Estate is an easy industry to get into, with a minimum level of time and effort to get in the front door. 

    0Reply
  • Jordan Lucas
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 94 votes
    7y

    @John Krasner thanks so much for you insight? How’d you get into RE?

    0Reply
  • Andrew Cornstubble
    Rental Property Investor · Sedan, KS · Member since 2016 · 125 posts · 92 votes
    7y

    @Nathan G. Good call. Half of my friends with degrees are just working average Joe jobs because they hate their field or can't find work.

    I hate how I learned nothing useful in school besides basic math yet had to spend over a decade there.

    Why on earth would I want to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, etc when I can own the buildings they work in and the houses they live in?

    1Reply
  • Andrew Cornstubble
    Rental Property Investor · Sedan, KS · Member since 2016 · 125 posts · 92 votes
    7y

    @Jordan Lucas I beat out 12 temp people for a permanent sales job. All I did was do what they said to do and hussled. Never sold before. Once they started talking about the numbers I started working 16 hours a day. They would help make you two leads a day and the rest was yours. The fact that you are here and interested in real estate puts you far ahead of your peers.

    1Reply
  • Jordan Lucas
    OP
    Member since 2019 · 215 posts · 94 votes
    7y

    @Andrew Cornstubble thanks so much for sharing that and your insight !

    0Reply
  • Don Alder-LaRue
    Real Estate Agent · Palm Springs, CA · Member since 2016 · 81 posts · 112 votes
    7y

    Jordan,

    Good for you!   It's nice to see someone so eager at your age.

    I don't know of a state that requires a college degree in order to get a real estate license, but I can say this (all based on personal experience) if you have a college degree you'll be better off.  The degree is actually in business administration with a concentration on real estate.  Fewer than 1500 people across the nation get this degree each year, and there are positions out there that require it, but being a real estate agent isn't one of them.

    I've been licensed for over 20 years, and am now back in college at the same time I am working real estate.  I'm actually working towards my Masters degree in business administration with a concentration on real estate from the University of California at San Bernardino.  The best college in the nation to attend is San Diego University, but they're a little far away from me, and are expensive. $$.

    To cut the cost of the degree, I recommend starting at at Junior College.  One that has agreements with a local university to accept their students credits.   I did this, and went to college for 2 years and it cost me NOTHING!!  I got grants which paid for it all!  Even if grants didn't pay for it all, it's cheaper for those two years.

    NEVER let anyone stop you from getting a college education.  Even if you don't use the degree you majored in, it's very helpful in finding employment should you need to in a down market like what we saw from 2008 to 2013.   

    In order to get your real estate license, you can order classes online.  I wouldn't sign up for them until you're about 17 1/2.  Most states won't let you get the license until you are 18 as you need the capacity to contract.  In California 3 classes are needed to get your license.  Since you are young and in school, you'll probably do better than most people who have been out of school for some time.  You're used to studying.

    In addition to all of this, learn where ever you can.  If a local meetup group has a guest speaker - go.  IF someone is wiling to mentor you, let them.  Listen to the podcasts and webinars here.  Every bit of education is gold!

    Wishing you nothing but the best!

    Don Alder-LaRue

    Real Estate Agent in California, CalDRE#01244398

    1Reply
  • Sam Shueh
    Real Estate Agent · Cupertino, CA · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    Commercial, mba, CCIM

    Appraiser,  college degree-mandatory

    Realtor, no requirements. In our area most have a mba, ms, 20% Ivy League adv degree.  Very few do not have college degree.

    Broker, 15% has  JD, esq, ex-prosecuter. We got a MD, a few Phd.

    That being said a few top agents never went to college.  GED while serving terms.

    0Reply
  • Kristin R.
    Realtor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2019 · 22 posts · 21 votes
    7y

    @Jordan Lucas I would definitely consider getting a business degree or something like that. Some colleges offer degrees in real estate too. My only reasoning for this is that you are 16 and no matter how sold you are on something now, you’ll grow and change and you may decide you want to do something else and do real estate investing more passively. No matter what anyone says about the value of a college degree, it does give you a little something to fall back on (networks especially).

    I definitely am thankful I went to college instead of jumping right into the workforce. I am doing a pretty similar job to what I would have been doing, but I’m getting paid a hell of a lot more to do it, and now that I’m older and realizing I don’t want to do it much longer, I have an education, an alumni network and a lot longer of a financial runway to make the leap.

    You can still do some REI on the side to help grow your portfolio, develop credibility, and maybe help pay for school!

    2Reply
  • Robert Comstock
    Member since 2018 · 138 posts · 56 votes
    7y

    couple things

    You need to learn stuff about the career you want....if you need the structure of school to force yourself to do the work then go

    If you like learning on your own and your disciplined in your approach its not necessary.

    Either way you need to learn the material....you pick your poison

    Think of a degree as a ticket to a destination( usually a specific job)....dont buy the ticket if you dont want the destination

    1Reply
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