Real Estate

In today's fast-paced world, many parents find great difficulty in establishing a healthy work/life balance. The demands of the 9 to 5 workday, along with extensive overtime requirements, seldom take into account family responsibilities and demands that are common to most parents. This has lead many parents to pursue more flexible working arrangements, often attempting to start a business from their home, or pursuing work that allows them to schedule their workload and commitments around the demands of family life.

One field that has become increasingly popular is real estate and many real estate offices are capitalizing on this trend by highlighting their career opportunities as feasible alternatives to traditional employment. These options have sparked the interest of many parents who are now enrolled in training to become real estate agents in their communities.

Real estate offices are desperate for new agents and they make their training programs as accessible as possible. Often courses are divided up into smaller units to make real estate agent training more affordable. Many offices are also allowing students to access their courses online, broadening their scope of trainees to include individuals in remote communities and stay-at-home parents.

Though the world of real estate is very competitive, younger parents have a distinct advantage upon entering this field, since they tend to be more technically trained and inclined. Upon obtaining their real estate licenses, these 'techies' are able to offer unique services and features with their listings, such as 360 degree virtual tours, multiple photo listings and general access to online resources. This technical know-how, gives this younger generation a clear advantage over more traditional real estate agents, who tend to limit themselves to typical advertising methods such as lawn signage and newspaper listings, without venturing into the online world.

Of course, there are challenges to overcome for parents seeking to become real estate agents. This sort of career can dictate a hectic schedule and often demands the ability to meet with clients on short notice. This can prove to be problematic if parents do not have reliable and flexible childcare arrangements in place, or do not have exclusive use of a vehicle.

The real estate world can be cut-throat at times, and some individuals new to the field may have difficulty dealing with unethical practices by other agents and the challenges of being at the beck-and-call of finicky clients. However, with the right planning, the use of appropriate tools and the motivation to succeed, parents can definitely be successful as real estate agents, without sacrificing a healthy work-life balance in the meantime.