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Insurance Agent

$62,280
median / year
$37,330 – $138,140
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Sell insurance policies, explain coverage options, and help clients file and manage claims.

You may also see this posted as: Insurance Broker, Sales Agent, Sales Representative, Insurance Sales Agent, Sales Associate, Underwriting Sales Representative.

Where you work

Offices, client visits, or remote; steady contact with people.

The hours

Full-time; evenings and weekends to meet clients.

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Customize insurance programs to suit individual customers, often covering a variety of risks.
  • Sell various types of insurance policies to businesses and individuals on behalf of insurance companies, including automobile, fire, life, property, medical and dental insurance, or specialized policies, such as marine, farm/crop, and medical malpractice.
  • Explain features, advantages, and disadvantages of various policies to promote sale of insurance plans.
  • Perform administrative tasks, such as maintaining records and handling policy renewals.
  • Seek out new clients and develop clientele by networking to find new customers and generate lists of prospective clients.

Good fit if you like…

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Social

helping, teaching, caring for, or supporting other people

O*NET job zone 4 of 5

High preparation—usually a four-year degree plus experience—is common.

Work styles that matter most

Social OrientationDependabilityPerseveranceAchievement Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Microsoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookAdobe After EffectsFacebookMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft PowerPoint

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$62,280
per year
Hourly median
$29.94
per hour
What most earn
$37,330–$138,140
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~47,000
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+3.7%
About average
Working in the U.S.
479,100
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 12.5% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: State license — companies train new agents.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

Requires a state license, earned by exam, for each line of insurance sold.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

Sales abilityCommunicationSelf-motivationCustomer service

The honest take

Commission work with a real earn-while-you-learn setup.

Standard Occupational Classification 41-3021. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.