An assessor’s function is similar to that of an appraiser, though assessors work directly for the government of their current jurisdiction. Their task is to assess a property’s value, taking into consideration all of the affecting factors, such as age, upkeep, in-process renovations, as well as various other less important factors. An assessor must be able to easily explain to a property owner the factors leading to his assessment, as well as be able to defend his judgment when confronted by the public. Assessors are sometimes responsible for some auxiliary tasks, such as hiring staff members related to a property, or assessing the monetary value of non-material aspects of a given property.
Assessors need to be well-familiar with the ins and outs of construction work and buildings, how to spot potential problems in a construction site, as well as be able to communicate with construction workers directly on some occasions, when assessing the value of an in-progress building. Assessors need to be well-acquainted in mathematics, in order to quickly calculate the various figures during an assessment. They also need good computer skills, especially database-related, as they tend to work with large databases of information on a regular basis.
An assessor can expect to make between $18,000 and $35,000 annually, depending on their level of expertise. The highest-paying assessors earn a bit over $35,000, making the job a not so attractive career choice in terms of gain potential. On the other hand, some assessors are able to earn substantially more when their situation provides the opportunity, though these cases are rather rare.