Taking a shot in the dark here...

[azbassman21]

There are two well known posters on this site that are in OH, and only licensed, so that in itself is not a reason to not move forward.

However, read through some of the threads on this site about how everyone is starving for work, and that alone makes this NOT a good time to get into this profession.
Personally, 4th Q 2022 saw me have my 2 (and 3 of 4) slowest months ever as an appraiser. So unless things turn around quickly in 2023, may be really hard to even get enough work to get your hours in, even IF you find a mentor.

Best wishes to you though.

I'd be hard pressed to think a licensed appraiser could make an honest and sufficient living, regardless if two licensed appraisers from Ohio are on the forum.

 

[alebrewer]

I'd be hard pressed to think a licensed appraiser could make an honest and sufficient living, regardless if two licensed appraisers from Ohio are on the forum.

It would probably depend on how you define honest and sufficient. If I can make $60k doing something I enjoy - or $100k doing something I dislike - I'll take the $60k. And, while I agree that the current state of the industry is pretty uninviting, I do think we'll come out of this soon - certainly by the time OP gets his/her credential.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

I know several SL appraisers who did just fine. Two were employed directly by the bank on salary, with insurance and profit sharing... I bet they did better than I did. Another worked for a CR- don't know the salary but must have been adequate.

 

[Brian W Street]

Piece of advice, go do something else. Not because we don't want more competition or I don't want you to pursue your dreams, but because this job is not what you think it will be. This isn't a part time side gig, and you won't be able to get work with just a license, you need to be certified. I have been working on other things to get out of this profession for a couple years. I'm almost there.

I will disagree, I have been an LR for over 20 years and have plenty of work with fees typical to this area. I will also argue that if you can swing both jobs that starting out as a part-time appraiser is the only way to get into the field at this time as business has made almost all of us part-time appraisers.

Starting as an appraiser in the late 1990's I took a similar path, I was part-time and took what my supervisor could provide but it was slow and low pay so I did everything that I could, I had many jobs. Now, this is not to say that I would stay LR if that is even possible in your state, I would definitely get to CR at minimum. In fact, I am going to take this slow-down time to possibly upgrade my license after all of these years! While I don't think that I have to upgrade as I have less than 10 years left in my career it is just something that I think that I should do.

Personally, 4th Q 2022 saw me have my 2 (and 3 of 4) slowest months ever as an appraiser.

This is real, I can see many trainees and appraisers, in general, seeking a new profession over the coming year. Think long and hard before you invest your free time and all that hard work in this field as it does have periods where you might need to find another type of employment to make the house payment.

But on the other hand, it is a pretty easy job that I find to be very satisfying and decently compensated. I enjoy the challenge and the varied work environments along with working to my own schedule. But that also brings up other issues, being your own boss adds a whole new level of responsibilities that one does not deal with while being an employee. A lot of people like the work but do not like the office management part of being self-employed, which must be considered.

Best of luck!