A real estate broker primarily works indoors, though he or she may need to travel and spend time outdoors while showing homes to potential buyers or when meeting with clients wishing to sell their homes. A real estate broker may also work out of his or her own home rather than within a formal office setting.
Much of the typical work day for a real estate broker involves showing properties to clients and looking at properties to sell. The real estate broker also needs to do research on the real estate market in order to remain current within the industry and to best help clients find the homes they are looking for.
A standard workweek for a career as a real estate broker is 40+ hours per week, with weekend and evening work being common because real estate brokers are at the beck and call of their clients. The potential for high profits and pay does exist — particularly when the real estate market is strong.
Career advancement is possible within the field, with some real estate brokers becoming managers in firms. The main requirement for being a real estate broker, however, is to be able to interact with people and to handle the public in a professional manner.
Becoming a Real Estate Broker
Becoming a real estate broker requires obtaining a certain level of education as well as special licensing. Agents must also be at least 18 and pass a written test in order to become a real estate agent. In addition, a real estate broker must complete thirty to ninety hours of classroom training, and usually must spend one to three years selling real estate in order to obtain licensure.
If a potential real estate broker has a bachelor's degree in real estate, some of the requirements may be waived. Whether or not this is the case, however, depends on the state. In addition, increases in legal requirements for real estate transactions have required many firms to begin hiring employees that have college degrees.
Some college classes that are recommended for a potential real estate broker to take include courses in real estate, finance, business administration, statistics, economics, and law. Courses in real estate are generally easy to locate at most colleges. In addition, many local real estate associations are members of the National Association of Realtors, which sponsors such courses and provides additional education in mortgage financing, property development, property management, etc.
While working for a firm, additional opportunities and training to become a real estate broker are also likely to be available. The bigger the firm, the more likely it is to have such opportunities for training in this career. Licenses are usually renewed every year or every other year, but without requiring another exam to continue the job. Continuing education is usually the requirement for license renewal. Each state, however, has different requirements.
