Well that's why I said it would be good *in addition* to working at a title company/for a title attorney. I found that working for nationwide companies not only got my foot in the door with title companies and attorneys because I had already received training on reading documents (when you work in the data entry section, that's the first thing you learn and they drill it into your head), but I also got a better feel for what the banks/title companies were looking for as well as what the abstractors had to deal with in the counties. When I worked at title companies and with attorneys, they weren't as excited about taking in a newbie and training them, and when I was doing searches for them, I didn't get to talk to the clients so it was almost like a bad game of telephone trying to figure out what they wanted. Every company wants their searches done slightly differently... some want copies, some don't, some want you to send them everything, some only want certain documents... it's a lot easier if you have experience dealing directly with the client (bank/mortgage company/closer) than if you go into a title company as a searcher never having dealt with clients before. It also gives you a better understanding if you want to search in more than one county... or if you want to move at some point in your career because you have some knowledge of how other states/counties operate. If I had just worked for title companies and then moved to FL from NY, I would have no idea about FL homestead exemptions.... or if I chose to move to GA instead (as I almost did) I wouldn't have a clue that they mostly record assignments bank to bank... or if I went to Los Angeles to live with one of my friends, I wouldn't know that their copies are not only annoying to search, but also cost $15 for the first page and $5 each additional (give or take.. I know it's something like that). As far as I'm concerned, this is all necessary knowledge or you block yourself into a niche of only a handfull of counties and that's never good for business - especially with the amount of outsourcing and technology out there. Working at one of these companies for years isn't neccessary, but being in one for at least 6 months is highly recommended.

And I'll get off my podium now.

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