Have you or your parents been to banks or financial institutions for a Mortgage Loan? For say, have you ever heard about keeping the car or someone’s house for a mortgage because they need a lot of money urgently, and the guarantee for the payback lies on the assets they are mortgaging in? Mortgage loans are very popular and are saviors when it comes to needing a lump sum of money at a time in urgency. Sometimes, life brings us in front of situations where there’s an urgency of money, and there is literally no one to help with it. In this case, you can always receive help from banks or trustable financial institutions but, you may have to keep your most valuable assets at stake. When you reach the bank for a mortgage loan, the person you need to come across is a Mortgage Underwriter. To be honest, this person is hard to impress, is skilled in analyzing and investigating whether you are really in need of money, and will repay it in the future. This professional is the only person who can grant you the loan. As you can see, mortgage underwriters are really important to people as well as to financial institutions.

Have you ever considered becoming a Mortgage Underwriter? Do you need a lucrative career where you hold an important position, have close relations with banks and their clients and help people with loans? Then, there cannot be a better career path for you than this. Not only are mortgage underwriters always in high demand, highly paid, they also have many career growth opportunities and even numerous alternative career options. A job that gives you opportunities to enhance your personal skills, receive high pay, and offer a healthy work environment is undoubtedly an ideal career path to choose. If you are curious by now to know more about this career path, stay glued to this article till the end.

1. Who is a Mortgage Underwriter?

Let’s get to know in detail who is exactly a Mortgage Underwriter and why this person is so important to all of us. When you reach the bank to obtain a mortgage loan, it is a mortgage underwriter who listens to your demands, determines what will be the best mortgage for the amount of loan you are about to receive, how much time you will receive for paying back the money to the bank, and what shall be its consequences if you don’t. It is the mortgage underwriter who lets you through the formal process of receiving the amount of loan one desires.

Some mortgage underwriters may work for banks or lending institutions that focus on particular types of loans, such as FHA, VA, etc. These loans may require that the underwriter be certified to work on them.

2. What does a Mortgage Underwriter do?

The job of a mortgage underwriter is not very easy because it really requires skills to analyze clients, investigate their possessions, whether they are telling the truth and are genuine, whether there is a chance of receiving this money back, the asset they are keeping as a mortgage, does it really belong to them? As you see, the work is not that easy at all, but for sure it is very interesting.

A mortgage underwriter calculates all credit risks before letting you into the loan cycle, and it is not that easy as it looks. The work is sure stressful, but at the end of the day, everything is worth it, and as a mortgage underwriter, you will actually be helping people overcome their financial issues.

3. How can you become a Mortgage Underwriter?

Now comes the question, how can you actually become a mortgage underwriter? Do you require any specific qualifications or degrees? Well, the survey says, most of the professionals who began their career as a mortgage underwriter had completed their bachelor’s in a relevant discipline that gives them the idea of finances, loans, banks, and other financial institutions. Many professionals were also seen to have landed up with a job in their desirable bank after completing their master’s. An associate’s degree is not enough to land you up with this position, but a bachelor’s or master’s degree is always appreciated.

4. What skills are Required to become a Mortgage Underwriter?

As a mortgage underwriter, you really require some basic and personal skills to prevail in the long run. But what are these skills you need to possess or adapt? Let’s have a look:

• Ability to analyze risks.
• Know what Underwriting is or how it is done.
• Firm knowledge about Banking.
• Proficient in mathematics.
• Organization skills.
• Communication skills.
• Data Analytics skills.
• Giving more attention to details.
• Problem-solving skills.
• In-depth knowledge about the loan process.
• And Credit Analyzing skills.

These are some of the key skills that you need to pay importance to in order to become a successful professional.

5. How Many Job Openings are there Every Year?

Every year, across the United States, approximately 10,000 new openings are available for students like you, who wish to begin their career in a rewarding career path like this. The survey of BLS says, between the years 2018 and 2028, the career of Mortgage Underwriters is expected to grow by 8% and produce about 24,300 job opportunities across the U.S., which itself is great news for those about to begin their career, or have just begun.

6. What are Some Common Qualifications for a Mortgage Underwriter?

If you are wondering, what are some common Certifications that can help you land up a job easily, then you may pursue these to be more assured of your future in the banking/finance industry:

• Life Insurance License
• FINRA License
• Series 6
• Series 7
• PMI Certification

And many such courses that can help you grow in the future.

7. What is the Average Salary?

Here comes the most important question, how much on average does a mortgage underwriter make? And the answer is as high as $32.94 per hour, which makes around$68,519 a year. Isn’t this sum great? Your average income per year is going to be much more as compared to initial job positions in other industries.

8. Job Outlook

As a whole, your job position as a mortgage underwriter is going to be a 9 to 5 job, but don’t worry, it is not going to be that monotonous as it seems. Since your daily work will introduce you to new clients and new cases, you are actually going to enjoy your position and get to learn a lot of things too. Since the expected growth rate for this industry is around 8%, you have a high chance of having a lucrative, rewarding career in this industry. If you can reach the position of becoming a loan officer, not only are you going to receive higher pay but also many rewards and opportunities that come with it.

If it is your wish to rise to the position of Mortgage Loan Officer, then you must obtain a Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) license to reach that position. To obtain this license, you must complete at least 20 hours of coursework, pass an exam, and submit to background and credit checks. Licenses must be renewed annually, and individual states may have additional requirements.

9. Is there Any Growth Opportunity?

As mentioned before, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has stated in its survey that between 2018 and 2028, new career opportunities are expected to grow by 8% and give rise to 24,300 job opportunities across the United States. So, you will definitely come across numerous growth opportunities in the near future once you step into this industry and begin working as an underwriter.

10. Can I have an Alternative Career Option?

This is a concern of many. Suppose you end up disliking your job position as a mortgage underwriter or suddenly want to seek new opportunities in fields closely related to your work. Will you have alternative career options? Will you have the opportunity to switch? And the answer is “yes.” The knowledge and experience you gain as a mortgage underwriter can be used in establishing a new career in fields that are closely related to finances, loans, and banks such as, you may switch your career to Life Insurance because by then, you will already have much knowledge about insurances, loans, shares and other stuff like these.

You may get established in areas such as stocks or bonds that usually revolve around investments. You may work as an Insurance Underwriter, who are similar to loan underwriters except they work in the insurance industry and decide whether or not to provide insurance to clients. Tax Examiners is also a good alternative option; these professionals work for governments to process tax returns and ensure payments from citizens and small businesses. So you see, you also have numerous alternative career options and can switch any time.

Final Thoughts

These were all the important questions and areas that you needed to know before beginning your career as a Mortgage Underwriter. You must have got enough reasons by now to choose this rewarding career path and get established in an industry that is all about money. So, without any hesitation, you should listen to what your heart says and begin your career the way you want to.

If you know of someone who would also be needing an article like this, do not forget to share it with them and help them out in taking the biggest career decision of their lives.