Mike emailed VAS graduate Charles about his experience at Veteran Adjusting School. Here is his response:
Mike (potential student),
Thanks for reaching out and I hope my feedback is helpful.
1. How was your experience at the school?
The school experience was awesome. The training is top-notch and VAS really understands what is important to focus on and when. I had the privilege of sharing the rental home with 2 of my classmates and they made the experience way better as we got to learn and interact together. Being able to discuss and bounce things off of your peers while learning all this stuff is something you don’t want to miss. Be prepared, it is a lot of information and skills that you learn in 6 weeks, but it is so worth it. In my old life, I was a Regional Director in financial services, so I was prepared to closely assess how they train. They were really great and surpassed all my expectations.
Biggest advice…..listen to exactly what they say and follow their lead. They teach a specific process that will help you be great in the field. I was fortunate to be immediately deployed to a hail storm right out of class in November no less. I was a little nervous at first, but I was better prepared than I realized. Put what I learned into practice and rocked it out without any hiccups.
2. If you could change anything about your training, what would you change if anything?
I guess if I had to say I wish I had more of something, it would have been more opportunities to climb a roof and assess damage, but I learned that what they did have us do was more than sufficient to go live in the field and It worked out great.
3. Do you feel the tuition is worth what you received in the training now that you are working out in the field?
No doubt, the tuition amount is the scariest part when making this decision. But, I think it was well worth it and then some. But once I saw what I was being offered and taught, and the immediate network I was tied into for being a VAS graduate, I would have paid more if required. You simply cannot put a true price tag on how well you will be prepared if you follow the VAS way, and you sure cannot receive this training and experience anywhere else.
4. How is your experience working now that you have been out of training awhile?
I graduated in November 2016, and went to work right away as I mentioned…that was truly awesome and I grossed more than I paid for school in less than 30 days. Now that being said, I live in Lubbock, Tx so finding a lot of claims during the winter was very difficult. My first deployment ended in mid-December, and I was not deployed again until late March. This was to be expected as that is the slow time for this industry. I have been steady-busy since my deployment and even though the deployment itself has slowed down, I have received consistent work every week. I have had the opportunity to work for multiple firms and that means multiple insurance company guidelines. The best part was seeing that the VAS way prepared me for every one of them, as all guidelines have slight variances from each company.
Another big part I want to mention is the ongoing mentorship. Having a constant line of communication with Guy and the other trainers is imperative to learning about what you see live in the field. Whatever you might think that will be like, trust me it is better. VAS is not a sales school just trying to earn tuition $. They genuinely care about the success of their students and will help open doors wherever they can. If you really want to be an Adjuster, VAS is the way to go.
Sorry if I threw too much information at you. Mike, feel free to call me if you want more information. I know there are probably questions going through your mind as there was with all of us. I am happy to share with you all that I know and give you the pros and cons of my experience and the experience of my classmates. VAS is a decision not to be taken lightly for sure. I loved the school and the Sedona experience, and I love this career, but like you, I was as skeptical as anyone else could possibly be. I did the research and talked to other Adjusters and VAS graduates, and like I said, it exceeded my expectations….which is very hard to do if you knew me 🙂
I look forward to discussing more with you if you like. Don’t hesitate to reach out or throw more questions my way. I promise you it won’t be a bother at all. I know how important a decision this is and the need for more information before making the commitment.
Have a great day!
Charles –VAS graduate Nov 2016
