Experience Pays

Well, at least it should.

I thought I had fractured my wrist playing soccer two weekends ago (turns out the x-rays say I just have a bad boo-boo). Apparently it takes a few days for the swelling, discomfort – pain – to present itself, so I went to the doctor (Northridge Internal Medicine at UVA (archived: 2010))

Thanks to my wife’s insurance, I went to the doctor to get a service – consultation, x-ray, interpretation – that no one has any idea how much any of that costs. That aspect aside, I was reminded that experience matters, and that one’s pay should be commensurate with one’s experience and track record.

She examined me, contorted my wrist, asked about my pain, asked how I injured myself, and before she sent me for x-rays asked me to “do this.” “This” was using my hand to assist my standing up out of the chair. When I couldn’t do it she shook her head, pursed her lips and said, “The last one I saw like that was a fracture.” The key here was that she’d seen it before.

As a Realtor, I’d like to think that I’m more competent, professional and experienced than I was when I was a newbie Realtor seven years ago. In my required BS classes, I learned very little; however through my experiences – my mistakes, my successes, my near misses, I’ve learned an extraordinary amount of knowledge that is applicable to my business and to my clients. To be blunt, I’d like to be paid for that experience; but our current environment doesn’t allow for that.

Putting aside any preconceptions about attorneys, the Virginia law firm of Allen, Allen, Allen & Allen have recently been playing an ad that speaks to my premise:

One of the problems with the real estate industry is this- very rarely does (in)experience pay. Experience matters, but it rarely pays – for one major reason – inexperience pays so well.

I don’t have a palatable solution (yet) to propose, but I welcome suggestions and inspiration.