No College Degree for Cert Generals or Residential Appraisers

[Fernando]

I also think our education system in this country is completely broken. It's about aligning students to the prevailing group-thought of the day, not teaching them how to think critically. I have a Master's in Finance and Real Estate, and used precious little of that in appraising.

Our public school system is set up to give general skills since in past many didn't go to college.
It was when I went to college that I learned so much especially being Woke in history and politics.

For me, the degrees did nothing but open doors that would otherwise have remained shut. I still had to prove I could do the work, and that was mostly through job experience.

Same as today. Unless it's a professional degree, a liberal arts degree is most effective in getting the first job and then getting the experience.
Coming from a selective college also helps because of the perception.
My daughter didn't really learn that much from Stanford except networking but after getting out of college, the Stanford degree has helped in moving to higher paying jobs.

 

[IlliniApp]

Our public school system is set up to give general skills

Saw a video that stated 1 out of 8 incoming freshmen at UC-San Diego this year had the math skills of 8th grade or lower.

 

[chad hampton]

I don't disagree that learning to hustle and hard work goes a lot farther than a degree. And I certainly agree that a college degree isn't what it used to be. But still, if you want to argue that a liberal arts degree is worthtless and shouldn't count and therefore, no degree should count, I think that's flawed logic. If that's the case, then say what degrees or coursework should count, and make that the minimum standard of entry. Some colleges even have RE degrees. I know several people, engineers/developers than have masters in RE. I think everyone would say it was beneficial.

Adds a level of professionalism to the profession. Assuming that's what we want. Which I know for a fact isn't what the taf/revaa crowd wants. You're labor, they're the professionals.

 

[glenn walker]

The American college system is broken beyond repair. Glad to see the degree requirement getting dropped, and I say that as someone with the degree (BBA in real estate). A very large percentage of "degrees" are useless and overpriced and don't prepare students for the workforce. We should transition to more focused trade schools.

You mean my Degree in Sociology and American History aren't required to be in Real Estate-- my God what's going on imagine how are the boomers going to fill out that dreaded 3.6 form or the CG with a Degree in music and dance.

This is some serious **** happening and there has to be rallys and protests now warning the public of the danger. Lmao)

 

[Fernando]

Saw a video that stated 1 out of 8 incoming freshmen at UC-San Diego this year had the math skills of 8th grade or lower.

When you think about it, appraisers need to know at least geometry.
UC requires student there to take calculus which I found not necessary for most non science majors. Haven't used calculus since college.

 

[RCA]

Those fat pigs that have been running Appraisal Leadership for decades are a case in point. Most of them are not that bright at all. Somebody really smart, very likely, is not interested in managing idiots or doing boring work that nurtures dead minds.

That's just the way it is. Why would I want money to buy a Lamborghini - when all I really want is a nice Ford F-150? Now, if you want to give me money, certainly I'll take it - but only after I have ensured there aren't any strings attached. I kind of get by with less rather than more in most cases. ... The same with a lot of people.

Now, if I had inherited a lot of oil wells from my parents that were still producing, I think that would be nice. Not so sure it would make me a better person, however.

You have to ask why people choose occupations that reward only in income at the cost of having to lead rather boring lives. Sometimes, they just want the prestige!! They dream of being able to walk around in society and have everyone admire them. You know, they want to be a doctor because, in their minds, people worship doctors (well, indeed, if their life depends on it ...), or some doctors they happened to know of when they were children were very wealthy. In reality, many doctors lead very boring lives, struggle to make ends meet, - if they happen to have chosen the wrong speciality for high income. Some doctors who do very well financially work extremely long hours and in conditions that ruin their health over the long term. ....

 

[Fernando]

You mean my Degree in Sociology and American History aren't required to be in Real Estate-- my God what's going on imagine how are the boomers going to fill out that dreaded 3.6 form or the CG with a Degree in music and dance.

This is some serious **** happening and there has to be rallys and protests now warning the public of the danger. Lmao)

Sociology and History are easy majors at least for me.
Sociology and History help in understanding neighborhoods why they are the way they are and hopefully appraiser be less bias.

 

[Overimprovement]

I would speculate that many people with high IQs are more motivated by curiosity and intellectual challenges than acquiring wealth or power.

Grok:
"That's a plausible hypothesis, and there's some empirical support for it.

Research on intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation does suggest that highly intelligent individuals often show stronger preferences for intellectual engagement, autonomy, and mastery over purely material rewards. The concept of "need for cognition"—enjoying effortful thinking—correlates positively with IQ, and people high in this trait often self-select into careers that are intellectually stimulating but not necessarily the most lucrative (academia being the classic example).

There's also an interesting selection effect: someone with a 140 IQ could likely succeed in investment banking or corporate law, but they might find the work tedious and gravitate toward research, engineering, or creative fields where the puzzles are more interesting to them—even at lower pay.

This connects to what economists call "compensating differentials"—people accept lower wages for non-monetary job characteristics they value. If high-IQ individuals disproportionately value intellectual stimulation, they're essentially trading potential income for curiosity satisfaction.

A counterpoint worth considering: the correlation between IQ and income, while modest, is still positive. So on average, higher IQ does translate to higher earnings—it's just not as strong as one might expect if raw cognitive horsepower were the dominant factor. This could reflect your point (preferences diverting talent from wealth-maximizing paths), or it could reflect other barriers and frictions in how labor markets actually work.

Your own career trajectory in software engineering combined with the specialized domain of appraisal methodology seems like it might exemplify this—decades of deep work on intellectually interesting problems rather than, say, pivoting to maximize equity compensation in Silicon Valley."

So...per Grok, maybe it's the skippies working for peanuts who are the smartest appraisers...

 

[Fernando]

Those fat pigs that have been running Appraisal Leadership for decades are a case in point. Most of them are not that bright at all. Somebody really smart, very likely, is not interested in managing idiots or doing boring work that nurtures dead minds.

Only you have audacity to criticize the fat pigs. Good for you. True they work symbiotically with the lenders so they have self interest.
As long as many still working under USPAP, many would not criticize those who make the rules.

That's just the way it is. Why would I want money to buy a Lamborghini - when all I really want is a nice Ford F-150? Now, if you want to give me money, certainly I'll take it - but only after I have ensured there aren't any strings attached. I kind of get by with less rather than more in most cases. ... The same with a lot of people.

Now, if I had inherited a lot of oil wells from my parents that were still producing, I think that would be nice. Not so sure it would make me a better person, however.

You have to ask why people choose occupations that reward only in income at the cost of having to lead rather boring lives. Sometimes, they just want the prestige!! They dream of being able to walk around in society and have everyone admire them. You know, they want to be a doctor because, in their minds, people worship doctors (well, indeed, if their life depends on it ...), or some doctors they happened to know of when they were children were very wealthy. In reality, many doctors lead very boring lives, struggle to make ends meet, - if they happen to have chosen the wrong speciality for high income. Some doctors who do very well financially work extremely long hours and in conditions that ruin their health over the long term. ....

True, my son in law is a resident and hospital makes him work late night shifts which ruins anyone's health.
He works long hours and his pay is still much lower than my daughter. As the lease agent said when he saw the rental application, "I know who has the pants in the house."
He has to plan his limited vacation time in advance for coming year so I don't get to see him that much.
Only good thing is that once becoming a full paying doctor in their 30s, they have job security since our colleges are set up to have a low supply of doctors graduating each year.

 

[glenn walker]

Funny in 1990 it was the Institute and the appraisers fighting licensing and formal education or degrees and today the last of the geezers practicing are wanting everyone to have a degree to practice a trade when outside of specialized real appraisal practice it's a trade and not a profession.