You can earn over $200,000 without needing a bachelor's degree while working from home if you're willing to work with numbers.
Loan Officers Being No. 2 in Indeed's "Best Jobs" Ranking
Loan officers ranked as the No. 2 spot in Indeed's "best jobs" annual ranking in the U.S., with its high earning potential and growing demand across various industries.
Helping individuals and businesses with loan applications, assessing financial documents, and guiding borrowers through the application process, loan officers receive an average salary of $192,339 and makeup at least 75% of listings in Indeed's database offering remote or hybrid options.
Rising Demand for Loan Officers Due to Inflation
The need for loan officers' services has increased over the past months as real estate, education, retail, and e-commerce industries face challenges due to inflation and a more competitive housing market, according to Scott Dobroski, Vice President of Global Corporate Communications at Indeed.
Due to concerns about recession, banks could implement stricter lending standards, but demand for mortgages will remain high. Hence, Dobroski emphasizes that the need for loans will persist, even if it varies over time.
READ ALSO: U.S. Companies Ditching Degrees, Now Prioritizing Skills Over Diploma
How to Qualify for The Job
Here are the steps that may vary by state to become a loan officer without a bachelor's degree:
- Register with the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System and Registry (NMLS)
- Complete pre-licensure courses on federal law and regulations, lending standards, and ethics
- Pass a state or national license test
- Find an employer to sponsor your license
To become a loan officer, you need to be at least 18 years old and have a high school diploma or GED, or you must find an employer, such as a bank or credit union, to hire and sponsor your license if you want to work as a loan officer, according to Indeed.
Once you finish the pre-licensure courses, many companies are open to hiring you as a "loan officer in training.," where you'll assist in different aspects of the mortgage lending process. However, according to Ciara Glover, a mortgage loan officer in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, you won't handle drafting or servicing loans directly.
The 37-year-old quit her position as an academic coordinator at Louisiana State University in September to become a full-time loan officer at Canvas Mortgage, a residential mortgage division of Merchants & Marine Bank, seven years ago. Glover started working as a loan officer part-time online gig to earn additional income during her free time. It took her approximately two months to complete the required coursework and secure an employer to sponsor her license before she could begin working.
"It's highly flexible," says Glover, where you can arrange your schedule around client meetings, who mostly support working from home, a common practice for loan officers even before the pandemic.
A "No-Ceiling" Type of Work
Loan officers get a fixed salary or an hourly rate, while others earn a commission based on sales in addition to their regular pay. According to Indeed, most loan officers earn between 0.2% and 2% of the total loan amount in commission. For instance, if a loan officer secures a 1% commission on a $500,000 loan, they would receive $5,000 for that transaction.
In many jobs, there's a maximum limit on your earnings, but for loan officers, "there's no ceiling on how much you can earn," says Glover. Your income depends on your effort - you can expect a substantial paycheck if you work hard.
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