Becoming a real estate apprasier?

[Seth B.]

Hello all!

I'm not sure exactly where to post this so I thought I would try the off topic section first as it doesn't really pertain to investing.

Currently, I'm in a job that I don't really enjoy. I have always been very interested in real estate and have wanted to become an investor since I was 18. Well now I'm 26 and no closer to being an investor than I was 8 years ago.

I do plan on getting my feet wet here really soon, but I thought for starters I should try and get into a field of work that I really enjoy first. I came across real estate appraiser and it looks like a pretty good career path!

I reside in Madison, WI and I have been looking up how to become an appraiser and I wanted to ask all of you what you think the best steps to becoming one would be?

It looks like I have to pass a few certifications and have an internship with 2000 hours under my belt before I can become a full blown appraiser, but the thing that is keeping me from pulling the trigger is that there is some kind of schooling that I would have to attend for 150 hours? That sounds like it's as much schooling as a bachelor's degree!

Is there any ways I can go about doing this and getting the certifications on my own time, and more importantly study for these certifications by myself with some self study guides? My plan was to stay at the job I'm at and work up to getting my certs then getting the hours knocked out part time. Then making the transition.

Thoughts?

Thanks for reading my post!
Seth