Is a College Degree in Real Estate a Waste of Time?

Deciding on whether or not to invest in a real estate degree is not always easy. There are several pros and cons to both decisions, so the right answer depends on quite a bit on a few different factors. You don’t want to find yourself struggling for years to pay off insurmountable debts from your student loans, but you might need the degree if you want to work in a particular market. This means that you need to have a good idea of what your ultimate goals are when it comes to a career in real estate. The life of a real estate agent is very different than that of a real estate developer. So make sure you have a clear vision for your future. Here are some factors to consider when trying do decide if a college degree in real estate is a waste of time for you.

It Depends on the Market

Selling real estate in Malibu is very different from selling real estate in Wichita. You are going to be dealing with a completely different type of clientele, and a completely different type of architecture. If you want to appeal to the Malibu market, you need to know your architecture, you need to know your furniture designers, and you need to be at least as educated as your clients. So, you’ll want to earn your degree from a decent college. If you’re selling tract homes in Wichita, you won’t have nearly such a demanding clientele, so you won’t need such a formal education.

It Depends on What You Can Afford

Can you actually afford to pay for a degree in real estate? If you can’t, then you shouldn’t rely on student loans to get you there. The truth of the matter is that you only need to take one class and pass one test in order to earn your real estate license. From there, you will be able to make it if you find a strong mentor and if you are tenacious. Essentially, you can bypass the degree, but you’ll still have to maintain a very strong work ethic.

You Could Get a Head Start Without a Degree

One thing that is great about going the independent route is that if you really are a go-getter, you could get your career started long before the rest of your friends finish college. This way you will be out of your parents’ house and earning real money much sooner, and you won’t have any student loans to pay off, so you will have more seed capital if you want to start your own real estate business.

You Might Change Your Mind

If you do have the money to earn your bachelor’s degree without spending a decade paying off student loans, then you might want to go for it, simply because you might not want to go into real estate after all. A good majority of people end up with careers that have nothing to do with their college major. If you start in real estate and find that you aren’t crazy about it, then you will at least have a college degree, which will open doors for you in other careers that might be peripherally related.