There are many reasons people choose to launch a career in real estate appraisal—including the potential to earn a high income, opportunity to work flexible hours, and low start-up costs compared to other small businesses, to name a few. Are you interested in starting an appraisal career? Or perhaps you’re a licensed appraisal trainee eager to upgrade your license and advance your career as quickly as possible? Here a five things you can do to help fast-track your appraisal career.
1. Start classes even if you haven’t found a supervisor
To become a licensed appraiser, most states require you to start out as an appraisal trainee and obtain a certain number of hours of experience before you can appraise real property on your own. A common hurdle faced by new appraisers is finding a supervisor to take you on as a trainee so that you can complete your on-the-job training.
“My advice for people who are interested in becoming an appraiser is to take control of your training,” says former trainee Lindsay Onuffer. “I would suggest for anyone who’s interested to start taking your appraiser trainee classes whether you have found a supervisor or not. Having all of that education under your belt can help you be more marketable as a trainee to a supervisor.”
If you’ve already taken all or most of your appraisal qualifying education courses before applying for a trainee position, it not only shows initiative, but also demonstrates that you won’t be starting from square one.
2. Take your classes online
Online education is a convenient and affordable way to fast-track your appraisal career. You can take your appraisal qualifying education courses completely online through an accredited appraisal school, such as McKissock.
McKissock offers two types of 100% online education: self-study and live stream (available in most states). Self-study allows you to complete your qualifying education courses at your own pace, on your own time, while live stream…