This board is a great resource - thanks to all who pass on wisdom/info!

I live in the Atlanta, GA area & am considering becoming an agent. At this time, I don't wish to be a F/T agent, I have a 9-5 & need that steady income. However, I am interested in the r.e. profession & plan to go F/T in about 5-7yrs.

I have several friends who are relocating to this area & all ask for recommendations for agents, mortgage brokers, etc. I really wasn't happy with the 3 agents we dealt with since moving here & wouldn't recommend them, so figured why not become an agent myself. In addition, we eventually will be looking for a new home and/or investment property & figure why should I pay a commission for something I "think" I may be able to do myself (notice the quotes on think lol ) I did a lot of the searching, etc. on my own when we were looking & actually found our house myself, the realtor we had basically only had the access to open the home's door for us. NO OFFENSE to the realtors out there, I am not trying to disrespect your or your profession.
So I am hoping to get some input from anyone willing to help me out.

Is becoming a P/T agent a realistic option? Also, I was told that in order to retain a r.e. license here, I'd need to have a brokerage sponsor me. Is this even probable as a P/T employee?

In order to get a sponsor, do I need to go from brokerage to brokerage, asking for someone to sponsor me? Or is this something advertised in the newspaper's want ads.

Thanks for any help anyone can provide, I really appreciate it.