anyone know anything about real estate appraisal career

[Cassyniner]

Hi,

I am hoping someone out there has some advice for me...I am being laid off from my job in 4 months. I have checked into real estate appraisal as a new direction to go into. I know I would enjoy it and have the apptitude to be great at it. I can complete the required 75 hours of coursework before my lay off takes place. The problem is that I will then need 2000 hours of experience, (about a year) of working for a licensed appraiser, before I will be allowed to sit for my licensing exam. I have been burning up the phone lines talking to licensed appraisers in my area and am finding to my dismay that most of them are independent contractors, or work in small firms with just a partner. As one guy put it, they just don't feel the "hassle" of an apprentice is worth the small amount of extra income they can realize by having an assistant, and being able get more work done. Feels like being between a rock and a hard place!

[DoorMouse]

Look into possibly receiving unemployment for your downtime from your job if that is an option in your area. Try and find grants or other 'free' money to pay for your schooling and see if you suceed. Some real estate companies don't like taking on interns or trainees because they're either too small, too busy, or they don't like competition. Don't give up on your dream. See if you have any extended family possibly in the business or, maybe they know someone. It never hurts to ask.

[Cassyniner]

Thanks for your input doormouse, and your encouragement! It looks as though it will take a lot of "knocking on doors" to achieve my goal... Because of the income from my current job, I will not qualify for grants to pay for my courses. I probably with a bit of belt-tightening will be able to swing the cost while I'm still working. With my severance package, and unemployment, maybe that will allow me a bit of cushion to really be persistent with the attempts to get someone to give me a shot...Though I'm wondering if it will be worth the expense down the road, if I'm unable to get the supervised experience I need, and I use up all my cushion while chasing a pipe dream. I agree that in this industry it seems as if not many are willing to take on an apprentice, knowing that after that person is licensed, they will be a competitor. But there doesn't seem to be an excess of people doing this in my city...Wish I were part of the good old boys network

[Borashi]

Yeah, it seems like a lot of professionals in certain careers are unwilling to teach others. A great example is here in Minnesota I heard on a radio show that although the demand for nursing is huge, becoming a lic. nurse is getting to be more difficult, because they are in shortage of instructors willing to teach nursing classes. The reason they figure is why teach class and get paid less, than they can get doing there real job.