Why Real Estate is the Best Midlife Career Change in Virginia

Are you feeling stuck in your career? Midlife provides a unique opportunity to reassess your goals and redesign your life. A new career could be just what you need to reestablish your old spark!

Does your ideal career path provide flexibility and high-income potentialReal Estate Side Hustle Flexibility And High Income Potential Blog? If so, a career in Virginia real estateCareer Real Estate Right You Blog may be the right fit for you. The Virginia housing market is growing by leaps and bounds, creating a demand for new real estate agents. Plus, becoming a VA REALTORVirginia How To Become A Realtor In Virginia Career Center may be quicker and easier than you’d expect.

Here are the top five reasons why real estate is the best midlife career change in Virginia.

1. Real Estate Provides Flexibility and Control

Real estate agents are typically independent contractors (not employees). While you will need supervision from a licensed VA brokerVirginia Finding A Real Estate Broker In Virginia Career Center, your broker isn’t your boss; they’re more like your support system. YOU are the one in control (within legal boundaries and reasonable brokerage regulations of course).   

You set your schedule, and it can be as flexible as you like. So you can work your career around your life instead of the other way around. Whether you have sports tourneys for the kids, an aging parent to take care of, or even a hobby you want to prioritize, real estate lets you have it all!

Plus, you get to decide where you work from. You can choose your market from anywhere in the state, working in the suburbs of the DC/Alexandria metro, the waterfront communities of Virginia Beach, or the mountains around Roanoke. Within your market, you can work from your broker’s office or work remotely from homeReal Estate Agent Excellent Remote Career Blog!  

2. Virginia Real Estate Offers Strong Earning Potential

Instead of earning a set annual salary or hourly wage, real estate agents generally earn commissionsNational How Does A Real Estate Agent Get Paid Career Center from their buyers and sellers as a percentage of the property’s sales price. This means there is no limit to how much you can earn! 

Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the average VA agent makes around $69,000Virginia How Much Do Real Estate Agents Make In Virginia Career Center per year. Not bad! Especially considering that this average includes part-time agentsDay Life Part Time Real Estate Agent Blog who naturally earn less than full-timers.

3. Skills from Your Current Career Can Help in Real Estate

Many of the skills you use today will translate perfectly to real estate. Successful real estate agents are patient, trustworthy, and reliable. They also have strong skills in areas like negotiation, communication, and time management.

Whether you currently work as a stay-at-home parent, CEO, teacher, medical professional, attorney, barista, factory worker, or literally any other profession, you’ve likely learned many of the skills you need to be successful in real estate10 Skills Successful Real Estate Agents Blog!

4. Virginia’s Real Estate Market Is Exploding

Two of the top five housing markets to watch in 2025Top Housing Markets 2025 Research are located in Virginia!

The Virginia Beach metro is expected to grow by nearly 30% in 2025 (around 6.6% in value growth plus 23.4% in the number of transactions). 

Similarly, the Richmond metro expects 6.1% value growth plus 21.6% transaction growth this year. 

The increase in transactions means more buyers and sellers for agents to represent. Plus, the increase in value means higher commissions for agents!

If you enter the industry while the market is hot, you increase your chances of landing new clients and hitting the ground running. By the time the market cools (which will inevitably happen at some point because of market cycles), you’ll be established with a list of clients who can provide repeat business and referrals.

5. Getting Licensed is Fast and Affordable

The biggest potential downside of a midlife career change is the time required to learn your new industry. Thankfully, real estate does not require a special college degreeNational Does Real Estate Agent Need A Degree Career Center. So you can transition into real estate comparatively quickly and without investing a fortune in education.

The only educational requirement for real estate licensees in VA is a 60-hour Virginia real estate courseVirginia What Covered Virginia Real Estate Pre Licensing Course Career Center. You can even take the course online, working at your own pace, around your schedule. 

Once your coursework is complete, you can take the VA real estate exam. Pass with a score of 70% or better, and you can apply for your real estate license!

The whole process can be completed in as little as two months, usually for somewhere between $400 and $800 (mostly depending on which real estate schoolAceableAgent you choose).

Become a Virginia Real Estate Professional with Aceable

Don’t settle for a midlife crisis when you could have a midlife glow-up! 

Aceable makes it easy to earn your real estate license by providing engaging courses that simplify complicated concepts and make the information memorable. Enroll in your online Virginia real estate class todayVirginia Real Estate License. In just a few short months, you could be launching your new career as a licensed real estate professional.