Do Teaching & Real Estate Go Hand in Hand?

As an educator, it seemed like a majority of my co-workers held additional jobs beyond the classroom. Personally, I tutored students to help make ends meet. Other jobs that my colleagues held, included childcare employees, cashiers at department stores, Scentsy consultants, and many more part-time jobs. 

 A 2017 National Center for Education Statistics report states that about 18 percent of teachers across the nation work second jobs outside the school system. More often than not, you will find that these teachers are working their second job to make ends meet.

When choosing a second job, you must think of how valuable your time is and if the second job will provide what you need. An industry that often seems to attract teachers is real estate. Some educators choose this as a second job, while others choose to leave the education profession to pursue real estate full-time.  In fact, many teachers are choosing to exit the education career path at an alarming rate.

Reasons Teachers Become Successful Real Estate Agents

Strong Communication Skills

Teachers and Real estate professionals must have strong communication skills. With sub-par communication skills, there can be a lot of stakeholders left in the dark. This is how students fall behind in class, clients leave angry reviews, parents become irrational, and you develop a reputation for being inconsistent.

The possibilities of the negative things that could happen without adequate communication are endless for both career paths. Therefore, these professionals are both known for strong communication skills because these skills assure that everyone involved in the process is educated on the information their client or student needs to know. 

Passion

In both of these careers, you will experience individuals with a passion for their clients and students. Real Estate agents are often passionate about helping others. Helping others find their new home, which many times has been something abstract for your clients until they started going through the home buying process, can provide a sense of joy for those who are passionate about real estate.

Teachers are known for their passion. It’s not uncommon to have students in your class who face many hardships outside of school. Someone who is passionate about education will work hard for all their students to help them learn in their own way in hopes of creating a lifetime love of learning. The feeling you get when someone is able to learn a difficult concept is unexplainable. 

Empathy

The best teachers are known for being empathetic and possess strong negotiation skills. Master-level real estate professionals also possess the same skills. It’s important in both career paths for you to meet clients and students where they are. That means listening to their story and educating them on the next steps. Put yourself in their shoes; think about how you would want to be treated and what information you would need.

Remember your early days when you didn’t have the wealth of knowledge that you do now because your client/student is probably in a similar situation. Building this connection with your client/student allows them to feel as though you have their best interest in mind.

Perseverance

In real estate, you are with your clients through some highly emotional times. You go through this incredible process with your clients, as they may be spending or receiving more money than they ever have before. Things go wrong, and you must navigate through those situations both for yourself and your client. You must demonstrate optimism as you are challenged with difficult problems to provide your client with the assurance, they will make it through to the other side.

As an educator, you are the cheerleader for your students. If they think you aren’t confident in their abilities, then their confidence declines. You must model the concept of perseverance to instill the determination to preserver through difficult situations. Both teaching and real estate require professionals to remain professional, even when chaos ensues. 

Adaption

As an educator, change was a huge aspect of my job. Things changed yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily and I was expected to go with the flow. You have an amazing, interactive lesson plan for your students, but when you walk into your class, you’re told your co-worker will be out, so you must accommodate a large portion of their class for the day. Perhaps you spend the entire school year learning how to properly use some curriculum and upon returning for the new school year, you’re told you will be using a completely different curriculum.

As a real estate agent, you must be ready to adapt at any moment as well. One day you get a phone call that the house your client put an offer in on has multiple offers and you’re asked to bring your highest and best offer. You must now communicate this with your clients and act fast as the clock is ticking. After looking at 15 houses in a specific neighborhood, your client decides they want to look in a different city. So, now you must adapt to the needs and wants of your client as you move forward in their search for a new home. 

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