While AI comes for high-paying jobs like coding and consulting, many Gen Zers are stuck on what they should study in college—or if they should even shell out for a costly diploma at all. Luckily, there’s one profession that doesn’t require a degree and can lead to multimillion-dollar success: real estate.
Industry powerhouse and Million Dollar Listing star Fredrik Eklund didn’t even have a bachelor’s degree in the profession when he touched down in the U.S.—he took a brief course, and was off to the races. But Eklund tells Fortune even that isn’t needed.
“There’s a four-year college degree to get your license here. I took an accelerated course [at] NYU, which is two or three weeks,” Eklund says. “So [going] to college? You don’t even need to.”
Despite moving from Stockholm to New York City with no job, connections, or real-estate degree—getting his start by selling paninis on the street—Eklund was able to make a name for himself in the industry. The 48-year-old has built his own real-estate empire, recording $3.77 billion in sales across New York, California, Florida, and Texas in 2023 alone. Some of his notable clientele includes Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez, Joe Jonas, as well as Hollywood power couple Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. And he’s proud to currently lead a $15 billion real-estate powerhouse of around 100 agents across global 10 markets with his Eklund-Gomes Team at luxury firm Douglas Elliman.
While Eklund hasn’t written off a four-year degree as a way to learn how to crunch numbers and get a foot in the real-estate world, he says there are a few crucial skills that industry hopefuls can’t learn in college.
“Of course, school is always good from a social point of view, and it’s really good to always learn. But what is the curriculum, and how is that [you’re] keeping up with today’s society?” Eklund explains. “For real estate, it’s a very data-driven job to know every address, know every co-op and condo board, know every street, and know every price point. And then it’s about communication skills and really learning to negotiate. It’s hard to learn all of those things in school.”
Success doesn’t always come quickly—but being on the ‘mean streets’ is the best education
While a seven-figure career without a degree sounds like a dream for Gen Z, Eklund also warns that success doesn’t always come swiftly.
The real-estate mogul believes it takes five years to really make it. He says it’s a super competitive industry, especially in a hotspot like New York City with an estimated 82,000 active real-estate salespeople as of April 2023. So it’s critical that young industry aspirants don’t get bogged down by the pressure of the job.
Just a few years in, Eklund says he wanted to throw in the towel despite doing relatively well for himself. But it took half a decade to really absorb the profession by constantly hitting the streets—learning things he wouldn’t encounter in a classroom, alongside people with invaluable industry expertise.
“It’s an art and it’s a craft, and the only way to learn is the hard way. You cannot really learn it in school,” Eklund says.
“[You’ve] gotta be out on the streets, the mean streets. That’s my first tip. The other one would be to start on a team, and just sit and learn and absorb all the knowledge. Because once again, you can’t learn it by yourself. I lost a lot of years by trying to do it myself.”
Gen Z ditching college degrees as the benefits dry up
Gen Z is turning sour on college degrees—for good reason. Tuition costs are soaring to unmanageable levels, once-stable education paths like computer science are now on rocky ground thanks to AI automation, and a diploma no longer guarantees a six-figure salary. In fact, 23% of Gen Z said they regret going to college, and 13% would have preferred a skilled trade or no-degree career, according to a July study from ResumeGenius. Only 32% were happy with their education path, and one in five Gen Z workers felt their schooling hadn’t paid off.
It’s understandable why so many are regretful about their education: AI continues to nab more and more entry-level jobs, boxing out humans who went to school from gainful employment. This has left about 58% of recent graduates stranded, still looking for their first job in the first year after getting their diploma, according to a report from Kickresume.
More in-person industries requiring human interaction—like healthcare, and even real estate—might be a safer route for success than majoring in consulting or engineering. Right now, jobs like nursing and equipment sterilization are seen as safe harbors from automation and recessionary impacts. For those Gen Zers not wanting to pursue degrees or take up trade work like plumbing and carpentry, real estate might be the play—if they’re willing to hustle.
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