Real estate school director, Jan Secor School of Real Estate
Real estate school director, Jan Secor School of Real Estate
NAME/AGE: Jan Secor, 56
TITLE/OCCUPATION: Real estate school operator
EMPLOYER: Self
YEARS IN INDUSTRY: 34
SALARY RANGE: $30,000 to $70,000
What does your job entail?Jan Secor, a veteran licensed real estate agent, wears several hats. She plans, presents and teaches real estate courses; she's a local real estate school director accountable to the N.C. Real Estate Commission; and she owns and operates the Jan Secor School of Real Estate, established in January 2007.
Secor explains that agents who sell real estate in North Carolina must first receive a broker's license. To obtain the license, an individual must first pass a state exam, which requires considerable study and preparation.
"I teach the 75-hour pre-licensed broker course, which prepares students to sit for the N.C. Real Estate Exam after they pass the 75-hour course. Then they take three post-licensing courses for a total of 30 hours, and I teach those, too. I also teach continuing education courses. Eight hours a year are required for active broker licenses.
"I schedule the courses, do the budgeting for the school and run the school." A licensed real estate broker, Secor also "keeps up with real estate trends and laws and handles the school's advertising. We also do tutoring and one-on-one training and mentoring, and I teach a monthly exam cram for folks getting ready to take the state exam."
How did you become involved in this line of work?After selling real estate for 25 years, Secor said she was ready for a change. She taught real estate courses before opening her own school.
"I felt like students needed a school that was more student-oriented, rather than a mass production." Secor's real estate school limits class sizes to 20 students. "We want the small, close-knit environment where students feel like they can ask questions without being embarrassed or overwhelmed."
What training or education is required?To teach real estate courses, Secor says, you need training, experience and credentials in real estate sales. To be a real estate school director you need a four-year college degree and real estate sales experience and credentials.
What does it take to do your job successfully?"People skills, communication skills and listening skills. I'm a real good body language reader. I also adapt to different personalities and I can relate to students."
What's most challenging about your job?"Making difficult subject matter basic and understandable, plus putting a legal manual into layman's terms. It's also a challenge to help people understand the language of real estate, the terminology and concepts such as contract law, and protecting the public."
What is most rewarding?"It's rewarding to me when I see that a student has gotten it and they're coming back for the other classes. Also, when they pass the state exam, that's extremely rewarding."
Any advice for someone interested?"If you want to teach real estate courses, you need to take a good look at your people skills and your communication skills. You must be able to deliver the information effectively and have a passion for teaching and helping students learn. To be a real estate school director, you need management experience and experience as a real estate broker."
Editor's Note: Every other week in TriadCareers, our Job Talk feature focuses on a different job. We interview an individual in the Triad who has that job to help passive and active job seekers learn more about actual Triad-area careers. TriadCareers is always looking for Job Talk candidates. If you know a person who works in an occupation that would be of interest to job seekers, please contact Nicholas Brown at nbrown@news-record.com or 373-7144.
Realtor Jan Secor owns and operates her own real estate school i
