Students today are no stranger to the hustle.
Sometimes in college you have to get creative to make ends meet -- obviously there's nothing wrong with doing a little dog walking or bartending on the side, but we both know it's not really going to be a game changer on your law school application.
Wouldn't it be great to make that extra cash working part time, while simultaneously gaining experience that you would actually be proud to list on your resume when you graduate? Well it turns out, you can.
I personally worked in real estate as a college student, and consider it one of the best decisions I have ever made. Not sold yet? No worries, below I have outlined my four reasons why every student should get their real estate license while still in school:
1. College Students Can Cut The Line When Getting Their Real Estate Licenses
New York, among other states, eases the path of entry into its enormous, flourishing real estate market by allowing students to waive the educational prerequisites to becoming a salesperson (AKA, an agent). By law, aspiring salespersons must complete a 75 hour State-approved course, and only after its completion may one sit for the salesperson exam. The average price of this coursework hovers around $400.
However, there’s an exception that students can take advantage of: if you take real estate courses in college, you may apply for a waiver. If granted, the waiver permits you to sit for the exam without first taking a prelicensing course. This means your prospective degree does not even need to be related to real estate to take advantage of the waiver -- although, it might help. To boot, it’s easy to find a crash course to for under $100 that focuses on teaching you the exam shortly before you’re slated to sit for it.
For more information on the waiver process, as well as getting your real estate license in general, see our post on the quickest way to get your real estate license in New York.
2. The College Campus Is Full Of Rental and Referral Opportunities
Becoming a salesperson can translate into serious income for college students. Because students move frequently, and will continue to do so as they embark upon their careers, college students are well-positioned to act as agents to their friends and contacts.
Students’ social circles are valuable beyond conventional agent work like rentals and sales: enter the world of referrals. Referring – in the real estate world – simply means passing along the information of someone looking for housing to a real estate professional. If that professional executes a rental or sale on the referred person’s behalf, the referring person gets a cut of the commission. The sole catch is that only licensed salespersons can legally reap referral fees.
How much do you stand to make? Well, let's think about it this way:
- The typical commission paid to the salesperson and broker who rents an apartment is one full month's rent
- The typical commission paid to an individual who refers someone successfully to the salesperson is 25% of their commission
Let's say your friends are renting an apartment for $1000, and you have your real estate salesperson license. If you were to refer your friends you could make $250 ($1000 x .25) for simply making an introduction.
Multiply that by the total number of your friends renting, and you can quickly start to make some serious profit -- and that is just making referrals: handle the rental process yourself and you could be making as much as 80% of the monthly rent per transaction!
Want to learn more? See this blog post on profiting from real estate referrals.
3. Getting Your Real Estate License as a Student Is Great For Your Future Career
Beyond the financial upside, obtaining your license can be a credential, a resume builder. This is especially true for students aspiring to a career in real estate or one of its parallel industries (i.e., architecture, engineering, design, etc.), but also is relevant to anyone planning on pursuing a business career.My time working as a real estate sales agent while in college was always a great talking point during my job interviews post-graduation, and looks a lot more impressive to an employer than your standard unpaid-intern-gopher-gig during the summer months.
4. Working Part Time In Real Estate Is Conducive to the Student Lifestyle
As all college students are fully aware, having a full-time job during finals week is not an option.
Whatever your academic or career direction may be, working on the side as an agent inherently speaks to the lifestyle of college and the skills of its students. Agents work when they want and with whom they want, and successful ones leverage their social skills and connections to succeed.
This way you get paid to network and build relationships -- all while not having to sacrifice your social life and college experience in the process.
(Note: While most brokers will NOT take on part time salespersons, Minetta Realty is open to even the most unconventional working schedules. Click here to learn more about partnering with us)
Did you work in real estate as a college student? Share your stories below? Currently still in school and thinking about taking the plunge? We are happy to answer your questions!
