Best slowlane "job" to get into...

[dreamer]

Would you agree that one of the best "slowlane jobs" to get into would be becoming a real estate agent and selling homes?

I guess it CAN be Fastlane if you become super successful, however you're STILL trading your time for money.

I'm getting my real estate license right now as something I can fall back on. I'm hoping to eventually run my own successful business online, but I've been trying to do that for a few years now and so far no such luck. So I figured selling real estate is at least somewhat of a stable job and it's not sidewalk!

What do you guys think?

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[jockinbox]

Would you agree that one of the best "slowlane jobs" to get into would be becoming a real estate agent and selling homes?

I guess it CAN be Fastlane if you become super successful, however you're STILL trading your time for money.

I'm getting my real estate license right now as something I can fall back on. I'm hoping to eventually run my own successful business online, but I've been trying to do that for a few years now and so far no such luck. So I figured selling real estate is at least somewhat of a stable job and it's not sidewalk!

What do you guys think?

Re read the book

 

[MoneyDoc]

Re read the book

What I was going to post before I clicked on the thread.

 

[Thriftypreneur]

Having just re-entered school after nearly twenty years, I'm a complete slowlaner at the moment. I'm going into software development because it is decent slowlane path and also has great potential to double as a fastlane path once I'm able to start writing my own side projects. I don't know much about real estate but I would imagine it could double in use as well if utilized correctly. Good luck.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Writer]

I'm going into software development because it is decent slowlane path and also has great potential to double as a fastlane path once I'm able to start writing my own side projects.

My opinion, so don't get offended. Not really a good plan. Sw/hw dev/design jobs are moving to Asia quicker than Americans and Europeans realize due to costs and speed. I can assure you that even softwares that fall under ITAR and/or MIL specs have good portions coded in Asia. Tech field is very uncertain at the moment.

 

[SteveO]

I think that anything in sales is good for learning.

 

[jon.a]

If you want to get into real estate, I'd recommend one of the construction trades or property management to start with.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[DeletedUser12]

Get into new construction sales -- you'll want a base pay + commissions when you are just getting into real estate.

 

[masaldana2]

what about an work from home job? that has its benefits

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Sounds like you think real estate is the "next shiny object" you can try. Success doesn't work like that. Calling @Red.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[Red]

98% of people who earn their real estate license don't renew it for a second round (which is anywhere from 1 - 4 years later). There is a reason for this. If you think that beginning in real estate is "steady" or will be "easier" than other ventures you've tried, you may just want to save your money & put it towards your online businesses.

Unfortunately, most real estate agents think that selling a home is showing people a few houses & then sitting back & collecting their paycheck at closing. Reality TV shows further this stereotype. The things you don't see on television:

Getting up before the sun comes up to drive 45 minutes to beat rush hour traffic to cut cables from your listing's neighbors house who is stealing their utilities, taking photos of said cleared lines & submitting them to the bank so the underwriter will approve the loan application & fund for closing.

Re-keying a clients house out of your own pocket because an appraiser lost the key while doing an appraisal.

Hunting down the snowbird president of an HOA in Iowa to sign some paperwork that the property management company refuses to provide so that your client may actually get the loan completed & close on their first home. Did I mention the Loan Officer sat on this for two weeks doing nothing while withholding pertinent updates? And that I had to draft a legal document myself to cover me, the HOA guy & my buyer because it was a government loan?

What? You didn't see any of that on TV? Because it's not glamorous. It sucks. But it's part of the job & putting other people first. And if you're not a Put-Others-Before-Yourself person, don't go into this industry. If you can't hang when the situation goes to shit but you still have to make things happen even though there's a good chance you're not going to receive a paycheck, don't do it. If you are influenced or swayed by money in your pocket vs. your client's best interest, don't you dare do it.

If you can honestly say "yes" to all of this & then still be okay with the prospect of doing everything right & well by your clients & sometimes still not receiving a paycheck because the buyer got laid off 24 hours before closing & the bank revoked the loan, then yes, I think real estate could be rewarding for you. It's a nice way to earn a living, but starting out is anything but smooth & usually does not mean regular income. The "nice living" comes after building up your client's relationships & trust. That comes from taking care of people well. And that comes from knowing your shit & going the extra mile. All that takes time. Only you can decide if this is the right path for you. I can only try & give you a proper perspective on the reality of the job.

 

[biophase]

While I'm not a real estate agent... I personally think that this would be a shitty a$$ job mainly because in order to get paid, you have to rely on a whole bunch of moving parts coming together. And usually the people running the other moving parts all suck at their job. I would personally get a job where I can control more of the outcome based on my own performance because I know that I know my shit. The other guy... not so much.

 

[GuestUser113]

While I'm not a real estate agent... I personally think that this would be a shitty a$$ job mainly because in order to get paid, you have to rely on a whole bunch of moving parts coming together. And usually the people running the other moving parts all suck at their job. I would personally get a job where I can control more of the outcome based on my own performance because I know that I know my shit. The other guy... not so much.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[dreamer]

98% of people who earn their real estate license don't renew it for a second round (which is anywhere from 1 - 4 years later). There is a reason for this. If you think that beginning in real estate is "steady" or will be "easier" than other ventures you've tried, you may just want to save your money & put it towards your online businesses.

Unfortunately, most real estate agents think that selling a home is showing people a few houses & then sitting back & collecting their paycheck at closing. Reality TV shows further this stereotype. The things you don't see on television:

Getting up before the sun comes up to drive 45 minutes to beat rush hour traffic to cut cables from your listing's neighbors house who is stealing their utilities, taking photos of said cleared lines & submitting them to the bank so the underwriter will approve the loan application & fund for closing.

Re-keying a clients house out of your own pocket because an appraiser lost the key while doing an appraisal.

Hunting down the snowbird president of an HOA in Iowa to sign some paperwork that the property management company refuses to provide so that your client may actually get the loan completed & close on their first home. Did I mention the Loan Officer sat on this for two weeks doing nothing while withholding pertinent updates? And that I had to draft a legal document myself to cover me, the HOA guy & my buyer because it was a government loan?

What? You didn't see any of that on TV? Because it's not glamorous. It sucks. But it's part of the job & putting other people first. And if you're not a Put-Others-Before-Yourself person, don't go into this industry. If you can't hang when the situation goes to shit but you still have to make things happen even though there's a good chance you're not going to receive a paycheck, don't do it. If you are influenced or swayed by money in your pocket vs. your client's best interest, don't you dare do it.

If you can honestly say "yes" to all of this & then still be okay with the prospect of doing everything right & well by your clients & sometimes still not receiving a paycheck because the buyer got laid off 24 hours before closing & the bank revoked the loan, then yes, I think real estate could be rewarding for you. It's a nice way to earn a living, but starting out is anything but smooth & usually does not mean regular income. The "nice living" comes after building up your client's relationships & trust. That comes from taking care of people well. And that comes from knowing your shit & going the extra mile. All that takes time. Only you can decide if this is the right path for you. I can only try & give you a proper perspective on the reality of the job.

Thanks for your detailed reply. For a lot of the reasons you listed above, is why I'm thinking about getting into commercial real estate (possibly) instead of residential. Less emotions involved, more business talk. And my teacher said unlike residential RE where you're on call literally every day of the year, commercial you work bank type hours 8-5 Mon-Fri.

And my fiance holds a steady job... I'm well aware first time agents may only make one sale (or none at all) their first year. I have an EXCELLENT teacher who is also a local broker here in town who owns a "boutique" agency, and he already said he'd hire me.

I'm not looking for fast/easy money... But I do think that I can sell homes (or commercial property) as a slowlane business if I can't get my fastlane business up and going. Again this is a back up plan.

 

[LibertyForMe]

I say go into analytics and big data. There is a lot of job growth in that area, and the skills can definitely be applicable once your business gets out of the startup phase and is more mid-sized. Really knowing numbers, data, how to set things up optimally, and how to find insights can really give you an edge.

 

[Red]

For a lot of the reasons you listed above, is why I'm thinking about getting into commercial real estate

Did the guys you spoke with tell you that sometimes it can take years to get paid on commercial deals? Again, I'm just trying to make sure you have proper expectations here. The renewal rate failure for commercial agents is even higher.

If you truly want to make a go at commercial RE, I would find the biggest producer in your area & offer to be his gopher (ie: bitch) for free. All you ask for is to go with him, listen to his conversations & have him explain/teach you. This is a highly litigious industry & you will get your a$$ handed to you if you don't know what you're doing. This isn't something to dabble in part time or to use as a "backup" plan for income. This is not the industry for Plan B income generation. It's simply too much to know to do proficiently & starting out is always the hardest due to lag time in paychecks (commercial or residential). And if you think there's "less emotion" in commercial... well... you've never done commercial. Emotions come along with humans. Period. Knowing how to set expectations & preemptively side-step landmines is the best way to deal with "emotions" wherever they may pop up. Again, I'm not trying to piss in your cheerios, but I do wish to put things in proper perspective for you.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[mememan]

The job where you can do the least and have an office door that closes (none of this cubicle/open office shit).

 

[Vigilante]

There are generally two types of real estate agents. The first type are professional sharks that are at the top of their game and are into real estate because it is in and of itself a fast lane for the top 1% of agents. Red falls into that category.

The second type or people get their real estate license because it seems relatively easy to obtain and they don't know what else to do with their life at that moment in time. There is almost 0 barrier to entry to becoming a real estate agent. It's kind of like when you're lost and aimless and looking for a career direction… Become a real estate agent. You seem to fall into that category.

 

[dreamer]

There are generally two types of real estate agents. The first type are professional sharks that are at the top of their game and are into real estate because it is in and of itself a fast lane for the top 1% of agents. Red falls into that category.

The second type or people get their real estate license because it seems relatively easy to obtain and they don't know what else to do with their life at that moment in time. There is almost 0 barrier to entry to becoming a real estate agent. It's kind of like when you're lost and aimless and looking for a career direction… Become a real estate agent. You seem to fall into that category.

So what if that IS the reason I wanted to become a real estate, because it's easy to get into, I'm lost & aimless career wise, and decided to try this out.

Are you saying I'm NOT going to be successful just because I kind of casually fell into this as a career?

What if I find the right agency to mentor me and train me... where I live the average home price is a million dollars. I would only need to sell one house a year to make WAY more money than I do now. Although I'd like to sell more, I'd be fine with one a year.

I appreciate your guys' input and all, but it seems like you guys are just trying to bring me down :/ NOTHING in life is easy... I'm well aware of this. I was (actually still am) on the RN waitlist for the nursing program at my local CC. But I don't think I'm cut out to be a nurse for many reasons I don't want to get into. Real estate seems like it would fit my personality better I guess you could say.

I'd love some words of encouragement please... if anyone has them.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[dreamer]

Did the guys you spoke with tell you that sometimes it can take years to get paid on commercial deals? Again, I'm just trying to make sure you have proper expectations here. The renewal rate failure for commercial agents is even higher.

If you truly want to make a go at commercial RE, I would find the biggest producer in your area & offer to be his gopher (ie: bitch) for free. All you ask for is to go with him, listen to his conversations & have him explain/teach you. This is a highly litigious industry & you will get your a$$ handed to you if you don't know what you're doing. This isn't something to dabble in part time or to use as a "backup" plan for income. This is not the industry for Plan B income generation. It's simply too much to know to do proficiently & starting out is always the hardest due to lag time in paychecks (commercial or residential). And if you think there's "less emotion" in commercial... well... you've never done commercial. Emotions come along with humans. Period. Knowing how to set expectations & preemptively side-step landmines is the best way to deal with "emotions" wherever they may pop up. Again, I'm not trying to piss in your cheerios, but I do wish to put things in proper perspective for you.

Too late, cheerios is full of piss and I'm not eating them anymore

 

[Pete799p]

Thanks for your detailed reply. For a lot of the reasons you listed above, is why I'm thinking about getting into commercial real estate (possibly) instead of residential. Less emotions involved, more business talk. And my teacher said unlike residential RE where you're on call literally every day of the year, commercial you work bank type hours 8-5 Mon-Fri.

And my fiance holds a steady job... I'm well aware first time agents may only make one sale (or none at all) their first year. I have an EXCELLENT teacher who is also a local broker here in town who owns a "boutique" agency, and he already said he'd hire me.

I'm not looking for fast/easy money... But I do think that I can sell homes (or commercial property) as a slowlane business if I can't get my fastlane business up and going. Again this is a back up plan.

There can be some downsides to it being a business decision only. Like when a million dollar deal falls short because of $20k, the buyer wont move because he can get a better return else ware and the seller wont move because they are still making money so their response is well "i'll just keep it then". In those situations some more emotion could be nice, like your mortgage will only go up $100/month and it will really make your wife or family happy or I have to sell because I am moving out of state for a new job. Also as mentioned above whenever there are people there is emotion, in fact managing those emotions is often what makes a good agent a good agent. Ah the pros and cons of life.

Also your hours will depend alot on what product type you're selling and you will still be on call all the time. It's just much more acceptable to not work weekends.

 

[Red]

I'll put a note in my calendar to check in with you in a year. Good luck out there, as real estate can be very rewarding, even if it is a "real" job.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[RBefort]

The job where you can do the least and have an office door that closes (none of this cubicle/open office shit).

Haha this...get paid, work on your fastlane stuff, and produce enough to not get fired

 

[SteveO]

Thanks for your detailed reply. For a lot of the reasons you listed above, is why I'm thinking about getting into commercial real estate (possibly) instead of residential. Less emotions involved, more business talk. And my teacher said unlike residential RE where you're on call literally every day of the year, commercial you work bank type hours 8-5 Mon-Fri.

Most of the commercial agents that I know have college degrees. They are certainly expected to do some fairly complex calculations, forecasts, demographic reports, etc... I'm sure not all of them are college educated though. Most break in be being a gopher for some experienced agent doing all the grunt work for them and getting paid a small piece of the action.

 

[Andy Black]

Get a job in a digital agency running PPC campaigns for clients.

EDIT: Direct response campaigns rather than "branding".

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

So what if that IS the reason I wanted to become a real estate, because it's easy to get into, I'm lost & aimless career wise, and decided to try this out.

What if I find the right agency to mentor me and train me... where I live the average home price is a million dollars. I would only need to sell one house a year to make WAY more money than I do now. Although I'd like to sell more, I'd be fine with one a year.

It's because of your words in bold. If I'm going to sell my million dollar home, I ain't listing it with someone who is happy selling one house a year. Sure you can make money as a real estate agent. But going into it as if it's a temp job, or part time is not going to cut it. If you really wanted to get into this, just tell us thanks for all the warnings and showing me what to expect, sounds good to me, I am going to start tomorrow.

If our posts of hard work, potential low money and headaches detracts you, then you were probably doing it because of the thought of some easy money.

 

[GuestUser113]

If being successful is easy. I do not want any part of it.

 

[Thriftypreneur]

My opinion, so don't get offended. Not really a good plan. Sw/hw dev/design jobs are moving to Asia quicker than Americans and Europeans realize due to costs and speed. I can assure you that even softwares that fall under ITAR and/or MIL specs have good portions coded in Asia. Tech field is very uncertain at the moment.

Yeah, this has been my primary concern. I'm also learining japanese, which carries some slowlane opportunities overseas. However, uncertainty over deciding on a skill to learn in school has been plaguing my mind since I decided to go back. I'm too old to choose the wrong major/career.

I'm really banking on the versatility of being highly proficient at several coding platforms to aid me in fastlane projects down the road while using the slowlane to fund them. Hopefully, this won't turn out to be a huge mistake.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[dreamer]

Get a job in a digital agency running PPC campaigns for clients.

EDIT: Direct response campaigns rather than "branding".

Where exactly?? And I only have limited experience with PPC, could I still get hired?

 

[stairclimber]

So what if that IS the reason I wanted to become a real estate, because it's easy to get into, I'm lost & aimless career wise, and decided to try this out.

Are you saying I'm NOT going to be successful just because I kind of casually fell into this as a career?

What if I find the right agency to mentor me and train me... where I live the average home price is a million dollars. I would only need to sell one house a year to make WAY more money than I do now. Although I'd like to sell more, I'd be fine with one a year.

I appreciate your guys' input and all, but it seems like you guys are just trying to bring me down :/ NOTHING in life is easy... I'm well aware of this. I was (actually still am) on the RN waitlist for the nursing program at my local CC. But I don't think I'm cut out to be a nurse for many reasons I don't want to get into. Real estate seems like it would fit my personality better I guess you could say.

I'd love some words of encouragement please... if anyone has them.

Seems to me @Red, @biophase and @MJ DeMarco etc are trying to save you from yourself but you do not yet have the dispensation to understand where they are coming from.

They gave great advice in this thread and I want to thank them here for the insights they have provided.

You are taking their advice too personally.

Perhaps your next job should be something that help teach you how not to take things personally ?

Trust me it is a great skill to have.