Continuing education is a requirement for most professional licensees in the state of New York, including most areas of real estate practice.

Whoever said “when life hands you a lemon, make lemonade” must have been thinking about the times we live in today. Let’s face it, finding a great job, much less a great career, can be darned near impossible. Some industries seem to have vanished completely and others have changed so much since you were in school that they are barely recognizable. So how can anyone stay ahead of the curve and continue to improve their knowledge and translate that into an improved future and income? If history holds any value, this can be summed up in two words: continuing education.

Continuing education requirements are not put in place to put you into a hardship, they are there because your customers deserve the best service you can offer. Don’t think of them as punishment or a burden. Think of them as a valuable investment into improving yourself to be a better provider for your customers.

Laws, processes and practices seem to change faster than hands on a basketball in a tournament. Even for people, maybe like you, who have been in your industry and on the job for years, it can be very challenging to keep up with all of the changes. It’s often easier for new people coming into the industry because they just finished their required education, whether it is in real estate, appraisals, inspections, insurance, or other New York regulated industry, so they already know the new laws. The good news for you is this: There is plenty of continuing education that teaches up-to-date information relevant to your industry.

Real Estate Related Continuing Education

Real estate continuing education, for example, offers several different topics for CE credit to the student for their New York real estate license. Some of these classes may talk about changes in the mortgage industry and others may talk about different ways of spotting discrimination. Real estate may seem like something that would not change that often but it appears nowadays it changes faster and faster. Even things like green building materials and energy efficient properties are now an important part of the market. This is exactly why the Real Estate Education Center offers continuing education for real estate professionals and others.

Another industry which is almost unrecognizable over the last few months is the insurance industry. Here in New York, we now have our own healthcare exchange that comes with a whole new set of challenges. Learning new words and terms, understanding what policies are offered and how people need to compare worth through the exchange is something that must be understood by the insurance agent. Without continuing education, every New York producer would be completely lost when trying to work through these mandated healthcare systems.  It is worth mentioning that all insurance providers must complete a specialized insurance training course to get certified in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), aka “Obamacare.” But a nice bonus is that the classes also count toward the insurance agent’s New York continuing education requirements.

While there are several schools offering continuing education programs, we recognize how important it is to the student’s career to leave the class with more than “just their money’s worth”. Having the one-to-one interaction of a normal classroom where the instructor can help the students better understand the material is highly valuable. In other words, just getting a certificate so you can get your CE credits for the state is like eating cardboard just because you can chew it and swallow it. The most important people in the industry are the customers and if a professional, regardless of their industry, doesn’t completely understand the most current information, the customer may just go find someone who does.

Continuing Education Certificate for Completed Course Study at REEDC

Facts About CE Classes

Everyone has a busy schedule and offering convenient class times in good locations is just one more advantage of attending classes at REEDC. The cost for classes is small considering the value that comes by learning from instructors who are professionals from the industry and not just teachers because they passed some other class. Imagine going to class where there are 100 other classes on every topic from changing tires to hair cutting and how to paint with watercolors! It happens every day and night in these Boroughs. You need a place where the only topics are as related as real estate, mortgage, and insurance.

1. Continuing education is required for most professional licensees in New York.
2. Because the cost incurred is required to do business there are tax line opportunities.
3. Depending on your position in the industry, continuing education requirements vary.
4. Many classes are generally offered on flexible schedules including nights and weekends.

Because continuing education is required in most real estate and insurance related industries, the most important thing for you is to find a course that gives you the most power to succeed. That power comes from the best instructors and the best classroom materials combined with people who actually care that you do well. Your career means food, clothes and housing for yourself and maybe others, too. When you are looking for a continuing education class keep in mind that you always want to be the smartest and best at what you do. Ask the people at the school questions about the course material, about the instructors, about the location of the classrooms and the hours the classes are taught. You’re going to be the one writing the check so make sure you are satisfied with the value you are going to get from the time you spend learning new things about your old industry.