Changing Careers

[Kim Randall]

Hello everyone! I think I finally found a place to get my questions answered. I am currently an English teacher and really feel like I need a career change. I have been researching the Appraisal field and I just have a few questions before I jump head first into the training.

First of all I live in central Minnesota and I have been looking for job postings to see how readily available jobs are. I can't seem to find any companies that are hiring. Is it hard to find a job?

Secondly, I have found a training program through Prosource and it seems to only take 2-3 weeks for certification. Does this seem right to everyone? It doesn't seem like that long of a period of time.

Finally, this profession seems extremely interesting and fun but, will I be able to make as much or more than I make currently as an educator? Is it consistant pay?

I would appreciate any help that anyone could give me. I really would like to feel comfortable enough about starting a new career to start my training when school wraps up for the summer. I only wish I could be gauranteed a job when I finish... but knowing where to turn for help would make me feel 100% more confident in my career move.

Thank you for any help or advice you can give me!

Kim

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Welcome, Kim!

First, go to this thread and read through it.

http://appraisersforum.com/forum/index.php...=ST&f=10&t=6767

Next, read through as much of the this Newbie/Wannabe Forum section as you can. I think we've pretty much answered almost every question you might have.

Regarding being certified in 2-3 weeks. Nope! That just gives you an Appraiser Trainee license.

Pay is low to begin with, no benefits (or hardly ever), years to become relatively competent and make enough to support yourself if you appraise correctly - if you don't learn to appraise correctly you'll always have the potential of being brought before your state board for discipline - in some states, you'll have that hanging over your head even if you do do your job correctly. Please be very careful regarding who you go to work with, if you can find someone competent to take you on.

If you find you can survive the first couple of years and truly LOVE appraising, you can do well.

Good luck!

 

[Michael T. Hiester]

Kim,

I concur with Pam. Listen to her, as she is a Queen Appraiser around these parts.

I would add that you might consider starting part-time. I would think that a teacher's career might be conducive to doing both. It will be a challenge, but it is doable. My career is in the National Guard. I get off work 3-4pm every day and have a flexible leave (vacation) policy. This allows me to do my research after work, pull comps in the evenings, do inspections on days off or evenings (depending on the homeowner), and do reports at night or on weekends. You won't be doing 10 appraisals a week like this. I do two or three at most. But I don't have the stress of needing to make a certain amount of money.

Please consider finding a mentor before investing time and money in this career. I love it and encourage all who like problem-solving and are analytical to puruse it. Just do so with both eyes open.

Good luck.

 

[Kim Randall]

I hate to sound cynical here but all the advice that you two have given me has led me to believe that you can't make money in this career in the beginning, it's harder than anyone expects and that I should not go into it. I don't understand where to go to find a "mentor" to help me. You can't very well go into a company that you have never been into before and ask for a mentor to follow around.

Can anyone give me some positive aspects of appraisal? I really felt interested in this career and thought that I had found a spot to help me but I'm feeling like I should choose a more supportive career field.

Kim

 

[DavidBrown]

Hi there,

As a teacher, you must have done Student Teaching at some point. In that situation, you probably paid a full Semester tuition to work for free in a School System. In teaching, that is the price that needs to be paid by most to get started. In appraisal, the price is a period of struggle, both emotionally and financially.

I have been Appraising full time for just over two months. In that time, I have made $600. I have struggled to get one Appraisal done per week. I am working part time on my Graduate Degree in Computer Science. And, I can tell you that not many courses I have taken in that discipline have been as challenging as learning Appraisal.

My wife has helped by working extra hours and being my emotional support. Actually, my mentor told me I am doing extremely well, and is happy that I am on board. Am I upset that I am still pretty slow at doing the reports? Only when I send out my mortgage My mentor is being great. I believe I am learning the right way to do things and that will certainly help me down the road.

As to finding a mentor. A mentor loses so much time working with a new trainee that I am surprised anyone ever takes one on. I would suggest highlighting your background in English. Report writing is a huge part of this job. Also, the fact you went through an education program means you are willing to make sacrifices.

It will not be easy. I know much of what I am saying is disappointing. For goodness sake, my wife would be the first to tell you she wishes it was not so hard. But it is. However, both my mentor and many here have said that if you keep focused and survive the initiation that you CAN make a decent living doing Appraisal. 2 or 3 years may seem like a lot, but I feel getting through it will be a MAJOR life accomplishment. Before coming to these boards, I thought I was not cut out for Appraisal. I heard so many say they were making big bucks right away. But, I have learned here that my experience is more typical than I initially believed. I hope I do make it, because it is a worth while profession. If not, it wont be because I did not give 100%.

My second job, which I work about 20 hours per week, has really helped financially. So, think twice about leaving teaching, but dont give up your dream to Appraise.

Dave

 

[Pamela Crowley (Florida)]

Kim,

It's up to you if you really, really want to be an appraiser.

So many people see an appraiser come to their house, measure, walk around looking at everything and taking notes.... looks like a fun and easy job!

Reality is, the visit to the property is what I call the 'fun and easy 10% of the job'.

If you've read through the newbie/wannabe forum, you've been given both the facts, a wide range of opinions, and lots of ideas on how to find a mentor. It's now up to you to decide how badly you want to be an appraiser.

No, it is not easy.

 

[Vincent Arthur]

Kim,

I also concur I am a Firefighter and would like get into appraising ,but there is'nt a good starting point to begain and the negatives outweight the postives. I am still looking for a reason to invest a cert. program, but what are the guarantees ?

Vince.

 

[George Hatch]

I second the recommendation that you read as much of the "Newbies/Wannabes" forum as you can stand. We get this question almost every single week. You had a couple of specific questions about mentors, money and support. I can give you a quickie on those.

Mentors: Depending on your state, most appraisers with "Trainee" or other entry level license categories are required to have a fully licensed or certified appraiser to co-sign all of their work and supervise their first 2,000 hours of work experience, until such time as the trainee accumulates enough experience to qualify for permanent licensing. Hence the need for a mentor. In our business the supervisory appraiser is 100% responsible for any report they sign. This means that if the trainee makes a mistake or an intentional "error" their co-signer is equally responsible. Licensed and certified appraisers can and do get disciplined by their state boards for the actions of their subordinates on a regular basis. This discipline can include fines, license suspensions and revocations, at which point the supervisor is out of the business and must make a career change. Most ethical appraisers consider taking on a trainee to be a high risk proposition, requiring substantial investments of time and money before they can turn one loose with only minimal supervision. This leads up to your next question: money.

Since the mentor needs to accompany the trainee on all of their inspections and conduct substantial field training in the process (at least in the beginning), the assignments takes at least 30% longer for the mentor than if they had just done it themselves. Even after the trainee can essentially go through the motions on their own, the mentor must physically inspect the majority of those inspections because our clients will generally not accept work that the superivisory appraiser didn't physically inspect. The fee splits for fully licensed appraisers in an independent fee shop often top out at about 50% of the appraisal fee or so before taxes. So you can imagine that a trainee licensee is worth almost nothing to a fee shop until they get their first 2,000 hours behind them. This is why trainees make very little, especially in the beginning.

Supportiveness in our industry: The purpose of our forum is to provide us with a 'place' for appraisers to come and hang out with our peers. This newbie forum is a place some of us come to help beginners out a little. However, we don't come to AppraisersForum.com to support beginners. Appraisers are trained to be independent, and this independence is generally carried through in other aspects of our lives. We usually work alone, and to be successful we have to be very self-motived. Those people who aren't self-motivated usually don't make it in appraisal. I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but if a beginner or pre-beginner requires emotional support or encouragement to get in there and stay the course, they probably don't have what it takes to make it. A beginner can only overcome the obstacles that are in place if you have that burning need to be an appraiser.

It will be at least a couple years before your net income as an appraiser approaches what a teacher makes in salary and benefits (remember, self-employed people have no benefits), and that's only because our society doesn't pay teachers what they're worth. If you stick with it long enough, the potential is there. However, the stability is not. Our business runs in cycles, in tandem with the national economy. Some years are a lot better than others.

Lastly, there is your situation. Like Michael said, teachers usually have blocks of time during the year when their jobs are on hiatus. If you really want to give this a shot, you might consider taking the 90-hour prep course, sit for your trainee license and work for a fee shop during one of those breaks. I would think that after a month of being a trainee you could make an intelligent decision as to whether you want to fully commit. In other words, keep your day job until you're sure. Matter of fact, you would be well advised to start looking for a trainee slot before you commit your time and energy to taking the courses. Even if you get a trainee license, you won't get a permanent license unless you can find a mentor or supervisor to sign off on your work. Those pre-licensing courses only scrape the surface of what our job is all about. Only a fraction if trainee licensees ever make it through that 2,000 hours to permanent licensure.

Regardless of the decision you make, we wish you well.


George Hatch

 

[Mountain Man]

If you really, really want it.... go for it. I like my job because I set my own schedule, am not crammed in an office all day, and work at home to be available for my family. But I sense a good bit of doubt, so.... I'd say get some career counseling. I can understand the burn-out of teaching, my wife is a teacher, but someone with your back ground should be able to find a way to use your degree and certificate without actually teaching. Consultant, counselor, or something??

Not gonna kid ya’. Getting into appraising is a rough, grueling process that will not benefit you financially for a few years. It takes about 3 to 4 years to start making a living. Before that, you are pretty much a low wage helper trying to learn the ropes. It’s probably not until you are licensed, after 2+- years, that you will start working for commissions. Even then, you will be slower than experienced appraisers, which equates to fewer commissions. It’s a commission based job, a stable pay check is not a feature for this position. You have got to learn to save for the lean times.

Mell.

 

[Michael T. Hiester]

Kim,

I apologize if my comments appeared negative. If you browse the archives you will find that I have been pretty vocal about the need to be positive and not discourage newbies. I too am very new in this profession, so I definitely understand how hard it is to get started.

My comments were meant to be honest, not negative. I don't believe that you can make a lot of money right off the bat. If that is not what you want to hear, I am sorry. I do think you can be successful in appraising, and that is why I said I thought you could do it as a teacher. If you want to make a jump from one to the other and not miss a paycheck, I don't believe you can do it in appraising. I could be wrong, but my observations are it would be very difficult.

I was trying to be positive when I gave you a strategy of starting part-time while still teaching and get your apprenticeship out of the way. Then you would be licensed, experienced, and established and be better positioned to make the transition the way you want.

As for getting a mentor, hit the streets. Present yourself professionally and offer something others won't or can't. I have said this before in other threads, but I honestly believe that established appraisers want someone who is not looking to use them as a stepping stone. Offer potential mentors a committment of time. Not a couple years, but 5 or 10 or more if needed. Find a near-retirement appraiser and approach them. They can hand it off to you as they retire and you transition. Then you aren't taking their business. Another idea might be to try staff appraising. Not as much money, but you might get lucky in landing a job prior to or just after your training.

Hope this wasn't negative, because that is not how I intended it to be. I am sincerely trying to offer positive solutions.