Hello, New Trainee From Atlanta, Ga

[JTip]

That's because you still work a "9-5"

True, and I get ample vacation and personal days, available in increments of 15 minutes.

I bet 90% of the time I took off in '16 was for.........fee work......

I can't afford to buy a Ferrari

You can't be 'flexible' and afford a Ferrari.

Great thing about this profession it that it has a speed control.

Like Mike (I'll pick on him), he is exclusive VA and, I believe, likes to do 3 a week. That's a sizeable chunk at the end of the year and impressive for his youthful appearance and bionic knees. Not many jobs will allow a young shaver like Mike to exceed the household income of average Americans.

Or you can pump the volume up to 10 and make 6 figures. Perhaps a staff job and fee work (like me). I can have/buy anything I want (no Ferrari though). I have benefits, retirement portfolio and cash in the bank; I'm truly blessed.

Beauty part about this profession is you can eek out a living and work on you golf handicap or you can be greedy and make money a priority whilst the gettin' is good. Fees are up, jobs are plentiful; I get perturbed if I miss a cookie because my well planned schedule is full for weeks.

Here's my tip for you: At the interview, do NOT say 'flexible'. Remove that from your vocabulary. A trainee is 24/7, at the beck and call of the supervisor. Plan on hitting in the 90's for the next 6-8 years until you can set your 'flexible' schedule and focus on your short game.

(I like the ol' Doc avatar, makes me feel 'spicy')

 

[Michigan CG]

..................where working from 9 to 5 turns into 9 to 7 or 8, plus week-ends.
I can't afford to buy a Ferrari, like sometimes midlife crisis translates into, so here I am, changing careers instead

About to finish taking my trainee exams now.......................

I am going to give you some "negatives" to think about just so you know what you are getting into.

We all would love to know 20 or 30 years ago what we know now, heck I would be very rich if I could take the knowledge of me now and apply it to me 25 years ago.

I notice you are in Georgia. The internet is a wonderful thing and my internet connections tell me that fees in Georgia, especially the metro areas are low, low beyond anything I would ever accept. So the question becomes WHO would hire a trainee right now when fees are too low for a one-man shop yet alone for a one-man shop and a trainee?

It is my personal opinion (and a very biased one) that almost anyone hiring a trainee for residential work in areas with depressed fees is NOT a person I would want training me or anyone else. Typically these people are going to teach you very little other than how to fill out that form very fast with a whole bunch of canned comments to meet the AMC requirements. The goal of the fast and cheap crowd when they hire a trainee is to make more money without really training the trainee. Additionally some of the people hiring trainees are at most mediocre appraisers themselves and have no business being a mentor.

You are taking your trainee exams right now. How did you choose a provider for education? When I started I took classes from the now defunct Lincoln Institute because I could take them cheap. They taught us how to pass a class. I was VERY fortunate to find an MAI mentor and he made me take AI classes. If you are looking for a mentor and they don't ask about your education provider I would be hesitant about working for that mentor.

I don't own a Ferrari although I do have a very nice truck. I don't work 9-5. I start my day at 7:30 after I take the kids to school and many times work well past 7 PM. I will not work this weekend but will most likely work next weekend. Last year I worked 6 days a week for about five months. Yes I have a 6-figure income but it is not achieved between 9 and 5, Mon-Fri.

 

[JTip]

I took classes from the now defunct Lincoln Institute....

Ahh.....Lincoln....

I took a few from them. My most favorite was 'Residential Report Writing'.

The instructor came in, first thing in class, and said "It's simple, follow USPAP and write out the reports in words. See you after lunch."

After lunch, he then said, "open up a blank word doc and tell the story of the subject. Thanks for coming, have a nice evening." Everybody got an A.

Note to self: Always bring your golf clubs when attending a spring/summer/fall class just in case you get a great teacher like this.

 

[ChristianG]

True, and I get ample vacation and personal days, available in increments of 15 minutes.

(I like the ol' Doc avatar, makes me feel 'spicy')

Thanks for the tips. It makes sense.

As about "you can't be flexible and afford a Ferrari", maybe you were just harsher than you intended.

I shouldn't have brought it up at all. I did it because that's some people buy when they have the midlife crisis. It was meant as a joke.
I don't want one, and I definitely didn't expect to work 9 to 5, much less be flexible and drive luxury cars.

 

[ChristianG]

I am going to give you some "negatives" to think about just so you know what you are getting into.

Thanks, CG.
It makes sense. It's important to know the negatives.
It's probably not a good time to become appraiser.

My supervisor is family (very close family), so I'm not worried about that part (him not teaching me)

 

[JTip]

It's probably not a good time to become appraiser.

It's a great time.......there are 73,000 active appraisers and there won't be many more for awhile.

I got an email from a client asking availability over the 'holiday' weekend.....Flexible? Yeah, I'm available. Good Friday will be good; I have two inspections. Enjoy your Cadbury eggs, I'm going to make $50 shy of a G. I'll eat the week old Peeps when I cash my check.

 

[ChristianG]

It's a great time.......there are 73,000 active appraisers and there won't be many more for awhile.

I got an email from a client asking availability over the 'holiday' weekend.....Flexible? Yeah, I'm available. Good Friday will be good; I have two inspections. Enjoy your Cadbury eggs, I'm going to make $50 shy of a G. I'll eat the week old Peeps when I cash my check.

Happy to hear that.
Just heard on the Crawford podcast that all this "appraiser shortage" argument was manufactured by AMCs, that's why I said "not a good time"
Thanks for replying