California realtor courses any good for career?

My son graduated from the University of San Diego in Arts and Science. After his studies, he got more interested to get into real estate business. He says he wants to study for getting a real estate license. He found some California realtor courses offered by Freedom business school in Calabasas, California, http://www.freedombusinessschool.com/scripts/welcome_real_estate.asp . I am actually a little worried about his change of mind. After spending all these years learning something else in college, he wants to get into real estate. I am worried about how will this decision affect his career and future. Can someone give me a word of advice I can pass to him?

 

Your son is an adult - and a university graduate. I think he should go after the career he wants. Successful real estate people do fine, financially. Hopefully, he will too. If I were you, I'd simply wish him well, say I've always got his back - and mean it. I feel your son should at least take the licensing course; by doing so, he may find out a lot about what to expect in his proposed career. About 30 years ago, I took a Canadian (Ontario) real estate licensing course, even though I had no intention of becoming a salesperson. I just wanted to be a little more knowledgeable about buying/selling houses - and the course was quite good in that respect.

I speak as the father of two sons - now in their 40s - who took their own career advice and did fine. Neither was hampered by any naysaying from me, although one had to endure plenty of it from guidance counsellors in school. He disregarded it all with my blessing, entered the college program "they" advised against and has never lacked good, rewarding work. That was 20-odd years ago. Both guys have done fine. I'm sure your son will too. He's obviously intelligent (university grad) and knows what he wants. Those are two big pluses. Regardless of his eventual career choice, I wish him every success -and hope you do likewise. :smile:

J.

 

When I was in high school I had a question for my guidance counselor that he couldn't adequately answer. I said:

"If I go to college and get a B.S. in Nursing, I become a nurse. If I get a B.S. In accounting, I can be an accountant. What do I do with a B.S. In Business?"

Very few degrees lock a person into a career. And I've never held it against a person who was working in a field different from their undergrad degree.

 

My life is full of sets, and the intersection is an awesome place to be.

So what if he hates real estate? He'll do something else.

 

Another anecdote: We have a woman working for us who has a degree in engineering. She hated engineering. So she went to work in HR recruiting engineers. She hated recruiting. So she got a job in payroll. Loves payroll and spent the bulk of her career there.

Granted, does it make new people raise an eyebrow that the payroll manager has a B.Eng.? Yeah, somewhat. But who cares? Very few careers move in a straight line from freshman year of college to retirement. They exist but the majority of people "try out" a few different career paths along the way.

All we've got is the journey. We might as well enjoy it.

 

Also, and this may sound a bit harsh, but what occupation do you imagine a degree in "Arts and Science" prepares you for?

As I've said before, there are jobs for people with undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, humanities and the natural and social sciences. Those jobs are just often not actually in those fields. Trust me when I say I became very, very depressed as a sophomore psych major when I realized that completing my B.A. would result in a $0.25/hr raise and virtually no other (in-field) prospects besides graduate study.

I think anyone with a degree in "arts and science" who is actively pursuing a career should be commended. Because a lot more of them are whining about how they have jobs in call centers as if some invisible hand is going to place them into a high paying, intellectually stimulating job with a high power company that demands no technical skills, experience, expertise or even unique insight. Doesn't happen. The degree "checks the box" but it is up to the individual to make a career.