The stress and overwhelm a lot of teachers experience everyday can be physically and emotionally unhealthy, and it’s likely the same no matter the school district or teaching position you’re in. For that reason, many teachers are thinking about making a switch from teacher to real estate agent.
But, a major career change is a difficult decision. Often we wrap our self-image in our careers. We let our careers define who we are as a person.
While we can’t address all of the fear and worry, we can help you along your journey in deciding if real estate is a good career for you.
In this article, we’ll cover why teachers make great real estate agents, how to get your real estate license, and what you need to do to set yourself up for success.
Why Teachers Make Great Real Estate Agents
Teachers make great real estate agents for a variety of reasons. You will be surprised to learn how your teaching skills translate into a career as a real estate agent.
A Teaching Focus
Teachers teach. That’s obvious. You might be surprised to know how much teaching is involved as a real estate agent, especially among first-time home buyers and sellers. There is a lot of overlap between teaching and real estate.
The real estate process can be very overwhelming. People don’t buy and sell homes every day. As a real estate agent, you will be able to rely on your teaching skills to make a complex topic easier to understand and more approachable.
By educating your clients, you will increase your trust and reduce the fears that many buyers and sellers feel during the real estate process.
As a real estate agent, you will need to teach clients about current market conditions, lending options, how to make an offer, how to value and price a home, and so much more.
You’re Good With All Kinds Of People
As a real estate agent, you’re going to cross paths with many different kinds of people. While most clients are a pleasure to work with, there are times you will cross paths with a difficult person.
It’s the same in teaching. In any given year, you will see a lot of students, each with their own backgrounds and personalities. You have to connect with them emotionally and on a human level to get them to learn.
It requires a lot of emotional intelligence and skill to adapt to the various people that you see as a teacher.
This skill transfers into real estate easily. As an agent, you will meet people with different backgrounds and personalities. You will have to adjust your method and approach.
I can’t think of anyone better than a real estate agent to handle this hurdle.
The Work Schedule
As a teacher, your work schedule allows you to be a part-time real estate agent. You can test out the career before making a full transition.
This is a great option if you’re worried about finances or making the transition.
A lot of real estate activities happen in the evenings, on weekends and during the summer. All times that teachers are typically off.
I’m not saying it’s easy to balance being a full-time teacher with being a part-time real estate agent. There are still going to be papers to grade and lesson plans to complete.
However, your schedule creates a unique opportunity that an average office worker on a 9-to-5 schedule doesn’t have.
How Does A Teacher Get Their Real Estate License?
Every state has various requirements for obtaining your real estate license. However, they all follow a process that looks like this:
Step 1. Take real estate related pre-licensure training. This can be a simple 40-hour pre-licensure course, like it is in Michigan, or it can be extensive like the three college-level course requirements in California. Real estate classes aren’t hard, but they can be a challenge. Anything is when it’s new.
Step 2. Submit to a background check, finger prints, and application. You will be required to do some variation of these items to apply for a real estate license. Since you work as a teacher, you shouldn’t have any issues with passing your background checks or in the application.
Step 3. Pass The Exam. You will need to pass a series of exams. In some states, there is only one exam. In other states, there are multiple exams you have to take. Passing the real estate exam is fairly easy, but it will take time to study.
Step 4. Find a sponsoring broker. In order to be a licensed real estate agent, you must practice under a sponsoring broker. You would need to work for a company like Exit Realty or Century 21.
How Teachers Can Be Successful Agents
Becoming a licensed real estate agent is fairly easy. Being successful and making a full-time living as a real estate agent is much harder.
There are two ways you can set yourself up for success in real estate. First, you will need to work on your mindset. Second, you need to align yourself with the right real estate broker.
Let’s explore each of these in more detail.
Your Mindset
Real estate is a mindset game. You’re going to face some mental challenges and hurdles.
First, there is the stereotype that real estate agents are salesy and icky. I hear you. That was one of my biggest fears getting started in this industry.
I did not want to be seen as salesy. Still don’t. But, I have learned that stereotypes aren’t true and there is a way to be a real estate agent without being salesy or icky.
There is a way to be my authentic self and still be a real estate agent.
Heck, you can see that mindset and personality shine on my homepage. The content focuses on people and I have a “compassion over commission” approach. I do what’s right for my clients before my paycheck.
Second, it can be challenging to go from a weekly or bi-weekly paycheck to working on a commission basis. Meaning, you only get paid when you have a closing.
To overcome that, you’re going to want to know your Big Why. The reason you’re doing this. You should have an emotional and powerful reason for why you want to be successful as a real estate agent rather than continue down the path of being a teacher.
Pick The Right Broker
Your success will hinge on choosing the right real estate brokerage for you. As a new real estate agent, you’re starting from scratch. You have to learn the ropes to a whole new industry.
It’s a good idea to align yourself with a real estate brokerage that offers a lot of training and support. This training and support can take the form of a mentorship, online classes, or in-person classes.
However, it is best if you can find a mentor or work with a company that offers a mentorship program. Just like teachers must go through a semester of student teaching, so too, should real estate agents.
They can learn a lot by sitting and watching how a real estate agent interacts with their clients. Go to listing appointments and showings with an experienced real estate agent or broker.
Why We Recommend Exit Realty
Exit Realty is focused on the real estate agent. You will find that most real estate brokers just hire you as a number. You join their company and they hope for the best.
At Exit, there is a different approach. There is a belief that real estate agents are trained to be great and it’s our job to help real estate agents reach their full potential. That means providing as much training and support as possible.
There is a lot of mindset training that will help you throughout your career. For example, these kinds of emails go out to real estate agents every single week.
Second, Exit is built to have a mentorship program. That’s not to say all Exit’s have a mentorship program, but other real estate agents are incentivized to mentor other real estate agents.
This can be extremely helpful if you’re looking for someone to take you under their wings.
Final Words
There is a lot of fear and worry over making a career transition. Luckily, teaching provides an opportunity to test it out. You can get started earning your license through our partnership with Aceable Agent.
If you’re already licensed, we encourage you to check out Exit Realty as your sponsoring brokerage. Get in touch with us and we can get you set up at an Exit Realty office anywhere in the U.S and Canada.
