When it comes to planning your career, there’s no shortage of options.
You likely want to focus on a career with some stability that offers financial success and freedom.
Real estate is one career path that can offer quite a few incentives.
If you want to get started down the real estate career path, then you may wonder if it’s a good decision or not.
Here are 10 reasons real estate is a good career path.
Is Real Estate A Good Career Path? (10 Reasons It Is)
1. College Degree Isn’t Required
One of the best advantages of a real estate career path is that you typically don’t need a college degree to land a job.
While it can help you land jobs at more competitive agencies, not having one usually isn’t something that bars you from getting the job.
This is a huge benefit because it means you’re essentially able to start working in real estate as soon as you graduate from high school.
Most states do require real estate agents, for example, to at least have a GED or high school diploma.
They also have to be at least 18 years old.
Otherwise, the only thing you need to get started in real estate as an agent is a license.
The requirements of that license differ by state.
However, the course essentially helps you understand the real estate industry to ensure you’re successful.
If you do want to pursue a college degree, then you also don’t have to worry about studying anything too complex like chemistry or physics.
Finances, business administration, and even graphic design are all great degrees for working in real estate.
Communications can also get you far.
Since college isn’t required, though, you can start your career out without any student debt on your shoulders.
This allows you to focus all of your finances on your real estate business which can give you quite a head start.
Real estate is a good career path because it doesn’t require you to go to college.
2. Competitive Career Path
While some people may not like the idea of a competitive career, others thrive in it.
If that’s the case for you, then you’ll find that real estate is a good career path.
In particular, if you work as a real estate agent, then you often have other agents trying to work in your area, too.
Since the number of homeowners in a given area is always small, it becomes a race and competition between all of the agents in that area to determine who can attract the client to them first.
If you’re someone who loves to go above and beyond for people, then you might find it easy to get clients.
Having a career that’s competitive means you always have to be on the go.
You always have to be at the top of your game.
If you have an off day, it could strengthen your rival.
Not everyone is able to handle that sort of pressure.
Real estate is a mix of fast-paced and slow-paced work.
If you’re able to adapt quickly and have the drive to outdo others, then you’ll likely find real estate to be a satisfying challenge.
The rewards you receive are monetary gain and more clients than your competitor.
The more you’re able to help your clients, the more likely they are to recommend you to their friends and colleagues.
Staying competitive means you always have to be ready and innovate your services and yourself.
If that’s the type of atmosphere that you love, then you’ll find real estate to be a great career path.
Real estate is a good career path because it offers a challenging and competitive field.
3. Work Independently Or With Others
Another great thing about working in real estate is that you can either work independently or with others.
You can even do both.
For example, if you wanted to work as a real estate agent, you could choose to open up your own agency.
You can even work out of your own home.
All you need to do is start building a client list.
To do that, all it takes is to get your name out there for people to find when they’re looking for real estate agents.
Thanks to social media, it’s easier than ever to build up a following.
You can post on Twitter, get an Instagram account, reach out to people on TikTok, or even start a YouTube channel.
By growing your followers, it’s easier than ever for clients to find you.
The type of content that you post can also work as evidence that you know what you’re talking about.
If the client agrees with your content, then you have already sold them on choosing you to represent them.
The great thing about working independently is that you get the full percentage of the sale owed to you.
You don’t have to share it with anyone.
That said, you can also work in a real estate agency.
This is a great option for those who know nothing about real estate.
You can work alongside other seasoned realtors and gain an understanding of the field.
They can help you make sales since everyone is working together to support the agency.
While this does mean that a cut of your commission goes to the agency, it also gives you an easy way to find and take on clients.
An agency does a lot of the hard work of getting your name out there for you.
Real estate is a good career path because it allows you to work on your own or with others.
4. Decent Job Outlook
When choosing a career path, one of the most important things you can do is determine its lifespan.
If the career path is dying out, then there’s no sense in following it.
You’ll likely find yourself unemployed in a few years if you do.
When it comes to working in real estate, such as working as a real estate agent, the job outlook is positive.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that real estate agents have job growth of 4% over the next 10 years.
While that may seem small, it’s still positive growth.
This indicates that the need for real estate agents is continuing to rise.
That makes sense since people are always going to be trying to sell or buy homes.
While some may choose to do it themselves, they’ll quickly discover that coordinating with other owners and figuring out the finances of it all can be quite daunting.
Working with a real estate agent makes the process easier.
A positive job outlook also means that you can expect some job stability.
If you work with an agency, for example, then it means you’re not as likely to get the boot when things get tough.
There’s a demand for your service.
It also means that it’s a bit easier to find a job.
While some markets may have a high concentration of agents, you can always find work by offering your services in other places in your state.
As agents retire or move elsewhere, openings form.
You’ll have an easier time getting hired because the field is growing, albeit slowly.
Real estate is a good career path because it has a positive job growth percentage over the next decade.
5. Set Your Own Schedule
Another great thing about real estate as a career path is that you’re able to set your own schedule.
That said, your schedule often revolves around the availability of your clients.
If you don’t have the time or right schedule to meet with them, then you’re probably not going to be very successful.
That said, you are able to decide how available you are to your clients.
For example, if you have a young child and want to be there for their first school play, then you have an easier time rescheduling an appointment as a real estate agent than you would in some other fields.
Real estate agents also work a lot of hours.
A lot of the work they perform is in their home or office.
They have to search for various listings and get in touch with other agents to learn more about the homes that they’re representing.
You’re able to do this type of research whenever you want.
If you want to impress your clients, then you’ll work fast.
However, it really comes down to you on when you do what.
For example, you can always do most of your research when you’re home and the kids are in bed.
This enables you to spend time with your family during the day and keep from missing out on anything.
This is a bit easier to do when you’re working independently.
If you’re part of an agency, they might have an expected number of hours that you must work in the office.
Even then, however, you can arrange your schedule to your liking for the most part.
Real estate is a good career path because it enables you to create your own schedule.
6. Be As Busy As You Want
As you achieve further success as a real estate agent, you can start to become a bit pickier with your clients.
By that point, you should have amassed a decent amount of wealth.
You can work a bit more passively by choosing to invest in real estate instead.
To ensure you’re still generating wealth, you can continue working as a real estate agent, but you can choose which clients you want to represent.
For example, you might start focusing on wealthier neighborhoods to get a bigger cut of the profits.
You might even choose to take the winter off entirely and spend it with friends and family.
If you’re someone who loves to stay busy, then you might continue working with a bunch of clients.
At a certain point in your career, you can either slow down or continue at the same pace.
You may even decide to open up a chain of agencies and become even busier.
If you’re someone who wants to slow down, however, then real estate is a good career path for that as well.
Not unlike being able to set your own schedule, you’re able to set the number of clients that you assist at some point in your career.
Real estate is a good career path because it allows you to increase or decrease the amount of work you do as you progress in the field.
7. Wealth
If you choose to work as a real estate agent, then you can expect a fair amount of wealth.
Obviously, with real estate, it all comes down to the kind of houses and clients you become involved in.
For example, if you’re working with low-income housing, then you won’t get as big of a cut as you would if you were representing multi-million-dollar homes.
However, the average salary of a real estate agent is competitive.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average salary for a real estate agent is $48,770.
The great thing about working in real estate is that you can always try to increase how much you’re earning.
For example, you could take on more clients if you need a bit more cash.
You might choose to expand your reach to other neighborhoods or even other cities.
It really comes down to you to determine how much you want to make.
If business is slow in your local neighborhood, then you can always expand.
As your reputation grows, you can also start to represent wealthier clients with more expensive homes and earn even more.
It’s a lot easier to diversify your income in real estate than it is in other fields.
For example, if you’re using social media to expand your brand, then you can start focusing on making YouTube videos about the field.
You can generate an income from the number of people who watch your Youtube videos.
You can also become something of an influencer on Instagram or TikTok.
You’re able to get sponsorships and generate an income from that as well.
Real estate is a good career path because it offers decent pay, an ability to increase your pay, and different ways to diversify your streams of income.
8. Passive Income
There are tons of different careers that fall under the category of real estate.
One of them is being a landlord.
In today’s world, it’s easier than ever to start renting out units or vacation homes to people.
For example, with the rise of Airbnb and other similar apps, you can rent out your home for people to use as a vacation resort.
This helps you generate passive income because you’re not doing much.
At most, you need to check in on the house from time to time to ensure it’s clean.
You don’t even need to clean it yourself.
You can always hire someone to clean it up for you.
If you want to own a series of rental units or vacation homes, then you can even hire a property management company to handle most of the work for you.
You just make decisions and earn money.
Finding success with renting is a hit-or-miss situation, however.
It takes some understanding of your local area to determine if there’s something there to draw vacationers to the area.
For example, if you live in an urban area that doesn’t really offer much, then you probably aren’t going to attract vacationers or tourists.
Knowing where to invest your money is crucial in real estate.
It’s also crucial to understand the average incomes of people who might be interested in renting out your home units.
If they only make a certain amount of money in your area, then you need to ensure that the rent you charge isn’t out of reach.
Otherwise, you won’t have anyone interested in renting one of your units.
Once you understand the real estate market around you, it’s possible to start generating a passive income.
Real estate is a good career path for someone interested in generating passive wealth.
9. Insider Information
Another reason real estate is a good career path is that it gives you insider information about real estate markets.
If you work as a real estate agent, for example, then you will come to know quite well how real estate markets work.
You know which neighborhoods tend to sell well and which ones don’t.
You know the average household salaries in certain areas and the average amount that people pay in rent.
All this information is useful because it makes you a real estate expert.
It gives you insider information.
That’s information that you can use for your own benefit.
You can use it to invest in real estate development projects that you’re pretty sure will do well.
You can use it to advise others and charge them for the consultation.
You can even write books about your expertise and generate money from that, too.
It’s even possible to start a YouTube channel about the information you have or a podcast.
You can sell your information to investors and developers or even clients.
By working in real estate, you can set yourself up pretty well by obtaining the type of information that’s naturally accrued through your type of work.
Real estate is a good career path because it gives you insider information about the market which you can leverage to earn more money.
10. You Have An Impact On Families
A lot of people find work unsatisfactory because it doesn’t impact the wider world.
That isn’t the case with real estate.
No matter what career you choose within real estate, you’re impacting someone.
If you choose a more passive side of real estate, then you could impact someone’s life by providing them with a great place to stay for their vacation.
They may have the best vacation of their lives because of your vacation home.
If you’re renting out houses, then you might give a family their first taste of home ownership.
Even though they don’t technically own the home, renting a house can change their lives for the better.
Those who work as real estate agents have a direct connection with their clients.
They’re able to help their clients complete a milestone in their lives.
Whether it’s buying a home for the first time or buying a retirement home, you’re part of that process.
You make it happen for them.
Even those who only work as consultants or provide advice via social media are helping people change their lives.
The sort of advice you give can help people start to invest in real estate themselves, which can unlock generational wealth.
When you work in real estate, you have a significant impact on the lives of those around you.
Many people might find that very satisfactory.
Real estate is a good career path for those who want to make an impact in their local community and beyond.
Conclusion
When it comes to working in real estate, there are a few major careers like real estate investing or development and real estate agents.
However, you can also find work through social media as a consultant or influencer.
The factors listed above explain why real estate is a great career path.
