Manage property sales, oversee agents, and guide clients through buying and selling real estate.
You may also see this posted as: Broker, Managing Broker, Realtor, Broker Associate, Designated Broker, Real Estate Associate.
Offices, showings, and client sites
Often evenings and weekends
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.
Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.
May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.
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 54.5% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.
Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.
High school / no degree
Training path: Broker license after working as agent.
Related work experience: Less than 5 years.
On-the-job training: None.
Requires a state broker license, a step beyond the agent license that usually calls for experience and added coursework.
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.
Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.
The licensed step above a real estate agent, allowing you to run your own brokerage and hire agents.
Run the Reality Check — build the life you want and see the salary it takes, then compare it to this one.
Browse verified internships, fellowships, and programs — many paid — that lead into fields like this.
Free resume templates, interview practice, and getting-hired guides in the Careers kit.
Standard Occupational Classification 41-9021. 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.