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Career Advice on How to Become A Real Estate Appraiser

General Career Information

One fact is certain the real estate market, like all markets, can certainly see its fair share of ups and downs.  However, as with all industries, there will always be a need for people to handle infrastructure related issues.  One such job in the real estate industry is that of real estate appraiser.  A real estate appraiser does exactly as the name would indicate in that he or she evaluates and appraises real estate.  Real estate appraisers work to give a rough estimate of the value of a piece of restate for the purposes of future real estate transactions.  In short, a real estate appraiser is the person that says, “Your house is worth this amount.”  Which is often followed by the statement, “You are a grown man, stop crying.”
 

Career Facts:

A real estate appraiser is seen as an expert that can literally walk in and notice all the small details that can either decrease or increase the value of your home.  Often these are smaller details, such as unique type of molding or a common type of mold.  Depending upon which is being discussed, either molding or mold, the impact on price can vary dramatically and painfully.  Due to the fact that a great deal goes into the overall price of a home, it is not surprising that the work of a real estate appraiser calculating this value can get tricky.  Factoring in the value of neighboring homes, the overall safety of the neighborhood, the look of the home, the look of neighboring homes, architectural style and quality of construction are only a few of the considerations that are involved.  Quality of construction and location will usually be two of the largest overall factors.

 

Career Opportunities and Job Outlook- Poor:

So should you add real estate appraiser to your job search or career planning agenda? Between 2008 and 2010, the job growth rate for real estate appraisers is expected to be around five percent, which is considerably lower than the ten percent national average for all jobs.  This can be somewhat explained by the fact that computers allow less real estate appraisers to do less work.  Yes, those computers are at it again!
 
Job Outlook is Poor
 

A Day in The Life:

If you like writing reports, then you will probably enjoy working as a real estate appraiser, as they spend a good deal of time creating reports based upon the data that they have collected.  The digital age and the Internet have greatly changed the work of the real estate appraiser.  Back in the ancient olden days of the 1980s and 1990s, people had to physically get up from their desk and engage in an activity commonly referred to as “walking.”  Using their legs for walking, one leg at a time, real estate appraisers would then reach their cars, which were by current standards, comically small.  Real estate appraisers would then go into buildings that physically stored real estate information.  Now all of that work is done with a chubby hand on a mouse and another chubby hand buried in a bag of high-fructose corn syrup disguised as a “snack.”  Today, much of the information that the real estate appraiser needs is literally available as soon as the last chubby finger strikes the “enter” key.
 

Average Salary:

The average salary for a real estate appraiser is about $48,000.

$48k

 

Career Training and Qualifications:

Real estate appraisers need to be certified by the state.  Most do have bachelor’s degrees often in related subjects such as finance or economics.
 
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