50% of College Graduates are jobless.
Makes you wonder about the value of a college degree — not to mention the cost.
A recent report from Education Data Initiative stated that “The average cost of college in the United States is $35,720 per student per year.” (Hanson)
There is no doubt that college can be the right step for many fields, but it is not the only gateway to a successful career.
Real Estate is one of the fields that a college degree does not guarantee success and the cost to get into real estate is considerably lower. The following costs are examples and estimates which will vary from state to state.
- The tuition for a real estate course and course exam expenses can be as low as $500.
- Establishing your license with the state can be as low as $200.
- Initial memberships in trade associations are around $800.
- Initial marketing materials (signs, business cards, etc.) range from $500-$1,000.
Compare these costs to the average $35,720 per year cost of college.
The good news, “The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the top 10% of real estate brokers and sales agents earned more than $178,720 in May 2019.1 However, it’s worth noting the bottom 10% of earners made less than $23,600. That’s the pitfall with commission-based work.” (Doyle)
If commission-based sales are not for you, here are just a few other jobs in the real estate industry available in both the government and the private sector:
- Real Estate Clerks (sometimes called an assistant)
- Inspectors
- Leasing Agents, Leasing Professionals
- Leasing Coordinator
- Property Managers
- Assistant Property Managers
- Real Estate Asset Managers or REAM
- Real Estate Specialist
- Right-Of-Way Agent
- Resident Service Specialist
- Housing Bookkeeper
Salaries can range from $28,000– $53,000 and more.
Real Estate sales isn’t for everyone, but there’s not much financial risk to explore whether this is for you. If you decide selling real estate is not for you, there are many non-sales real estate industry jobs in which the Principles of Real Estate course would be beneficial as a step in the right direction. This course gives you the fundamentals of real estate that will assist you in a broad career as well as enrich your personal life
Hanson, Melanie. “Average Cost of College & Tuition” EducationData.org, November 15, 2021,
https://educationdata.org/average-cost-of-college
Doyle, A. (n.d.). Moving on up: Types of jobs in real estate. The Balance Careers. Retrieved
December 28, 2021, from https://www.thebalancecareers.com/real-estate-job-titles-2061505