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Do not give up. I would first try to get on with a large contractor in your area that does insurance restoration work as this will give you some very good experience on scoping and estimating insurance losses from the large perils, fire, wind, water etc. Most contractor use xmate. If you have a license in NC contact Pilot, Ebrels, Renfro and Crawford and Co. they will take you on under some circomstances and train you as a cat adjuster. You chances of getting on as a local adjuster WITHOUT any carrier experience is very slim. Good luck.

Ray,

Thanks for the advise. But if you didn't notice I mentioned that the construction industry is out of work. If I were able to get an estimating job with any type of contractor I would have already done so. There aren't any jobs out there. The ones available are typically in industrial work or government contracts, which all require engineering degrees and the competition is unbelievable. That is why I am trying to transition into a related field. Would you recommend attending one of these three or four week training classes at Vale or Eberl or ACI to give me a better chance at landing a job with an IA firm? Also, what about the Claims mentor program would it help or how about attending one of the upcoming trade shows for adjusters? Thanks for the help.

I can say it a little softer than Ole ghost, but its does not change his post. I( think estimating is the easy part, its the insurance law and procedure that can not be learned in less than 2 years as a staff adjuster or a IA like Crawford and Company. The Vale school is excellant this is were the new staff adjusters go, but it would not help you. Wait until thousands of adjusters are needed and it comes along about ever 3-5 years.  BUT, you have very little chance of working until then.

Sounds a lot like my first couple years as an independent, Olegred. And I will certainly agree with you on the importance of showing what you can do when you get an assignment. That will make all the difference. Those adjusters who hit the bottle hard after hours, or take time off to watch the football game instead of watching it out of the corner of their eyes while continuing to work, or want the weekend off or to get back home as soon as possible will not be as impressive as those who just keep pushing themselves. And they will get far fewer assignments because we have to be better than the rest to get noticed and make the "A" team.

And.......yet......there are also the down times. Even people (like myself) who had a great start and those who become well respected will experience dry years where there just isn't any work out there. I had at least one year where I grossed (not net, mind you) six figures less than the year before. When we get used to living at a certain standard, living on six figures less the next year is problematic. I hope you put a lot of the money earned over the last eighteen months in the bank or other liquid asset. I will spare you the details. And I congratulate you on your good start. And I hope it continues for you. But, a word to the wise is sufficient. It really is a feast or famine business, and I had very good reasons why I came in off the road and took a staff position two years ago.

Olegred, its evident you did all this work yourself, not many adjusters like you.Stick with the one's who brung you.

Iworked my first catastrophe losses as an IA in the late 1960's Most of the job,s were  direct as a temp with a 1099 from the carrier and a handshake on a fee bill that was usally something like 10% less than the GAB billing schedule. We all knew each other and recommended other good adjusters if the boss ask you to recommend someone else.

Gab and Crawford started the large "core adjuster" system used today by many vendors.

But it was luck when you got a real good gig with 300 losses waiting for you when you arrived. Most of us would not leave home unless we got a promise of 100 when we got to the office site, and they did not fib back then.

Looking in my crystal ball I see:

Been a lot of changes some good, some the other way. It will change each month and each year. The squeeze will be on the number of losses assigned DURING a storm and sheer numbers who enter the biz. The one adjuster one house is not as ridgid as it was. Fee bills will all ways have sxtreme downward trends from unemployed people without a record. Super adjusters supervising less trained from afar using etransfer of all data will catch on.The big good vendors will get bigger and the "others" will fall off the vine.

Its still a good strong honorable industry and will be around as long as large weather events take place. Think of cat. adjusting as a hit and miss job and have something to fall back on when you get home.

Thank you for the more encouraging outlook. I have been looking into getting my AIC also. Can you recommend the best place to obtain the materials or did you take course work online? If you did perform online coursework whom do you recommend? Is it possible to get into Crawford and Co. if I go through there training programs? Or is there anyone out there that will take me on if I go through Vale or whomever' s training program? Thanks for your help.

What a way to spend a large part of my New year first day. Reading the old files in the archives. I found some back to 2002 in the Newbee adjuster questions. Great post from real sage's like Clayton Carr, Kile Anderson, Tom Toll and many others. History buff's hit it on the head. "it's all been ask before".

It was fun to read the super adjusters(self appointed) plans in 04 to overwhelm Florida Citizens with our talent(I was Trader back in those days) blow by blow on CADO. I think it was about 5-6 super adjusters leading the recruitment of 100 adjusters to commit and we fell apart before the 4 in 04. I remember I was the first dismissed for my strong opinion. And one or two quit the biz. and I may be the last poster from this group.

Summation: All the questions about getting into this biz. is on this site.

My opine on Estimatics: All can be learned from all software providers on a trial basis for free. Exactimate is very complex to learn and you could learn from a one or two day school and gain speed on your off time or your first storm(time is $) Exactimate schools have gone down from $125.00 for 7 hours to $99,00 for 7 hours=$14.14 per hour.It exactimate can be taught for a class of 15 for $7.00 per hour would you attend? Private messages only.