Hi, I'm 35 years old, worked in a computer industry, customer service, web design, etc..I have been a teacher for the past 4 years but with the current teacher situation in the state of California I'm looking at unemployment for the next year. One field that has always been in the back of my head is real estate. With the college degree that I have I understand I can go for broker license right away. However I still plan on working as a sales agent. My question is would having a broker license make it more difficult for mo to find a job as a salesperson? Would brokers see me as a potential competition?
Thanks

Even with a College Degree . . . . (and even in California), unless it is a J.D. or an LL.B, you still need specific courses germane to Real Estate in order to become a Broker.

A Bachelor of Arts in Underwater Basket Weaving, by itself, won't cut it. The pertinent Coursework is outlined in the following Link to the:

California Broker Educational Requirements

No Broker worth his salt will ever be threatened until you have provided evidence that you're a Un-Stoppable Listing and Selling Machine in the Marketplace . . . . and even then, your success can only further his/her success. So, don't let that worry you, because it won't worry them!

It's unlikely brokers and agents will be forced to find other employment. It takes years of developing relationships and networks along with sales to be noticed in an industry inundated with talent and experience in closing deals. Take your best shot at the top agent in your company and see if you can garner a sweat from them. Seasoned agents thrived on competition. It only makes them better.

Sorry Vermont, you're wrong. I believe he was referring to not having to wait two years to sit for the broker's exam. with any college degree, you can get your brokers license in California, just need to take the brokers coursework instead of the salesperson coursework. They can be taken online and finished in a couple of months.

It is a little confusing. I eventually called Allied Schools and they verified for me that yes I can jump right in and take 8 courses required + the state exam for brokers license. Or If I take state sales person exam which is 3 courses + state exam the 3 courses (counting I pass them all) would count towards my brokers license courses.

Ok, in simple terms so all can understand:

To sit for a broker's exam, you need the required coursework and 2 years experience as a salesperson. 8 courses taken online or in a classroom. two months work of "college level courses". If yo have a pulse you can complete them.

If you have a college degree, the 2 years experience is waived.

If you have a JD, the coursework is waived.

Just like I stated in my post.

I am licensed in the state of CA so I know a little about this.

That's sad that you can be a broker in California that way.

School books do not train you for the real world period.

In GA you have to be actively licensed for at least 3 years and then go through all the extra coursework and pass the coursework test and the state broker exam.

I believe the GREC would benefit from putting a production level on it as well along with the other requirements before getting a brokers license in my state but that is just me.

Missouri now requires two years' experience as an agent before moving on to the broker steps.

I agree with Super, though. All states would do well to require agents to have X number of closings, either as a principle or under a mentor arrangement, before sitting for the broker exam. Way too many people are poorly prepared as agents, and it simply is not acceptable to have poorly prepared brokers!

I received a contract offer today FROM A BROKER that had so many mistakes on it that I could not even begin to process it. I had to send it back to her with instructions! She left the buyer's name off of page 1, the EM amount was not legible, she skipped the entire financing section, she did not fill in any info about her brokerage or sign as the selling agent. . . And all of this on a day when I forgot to take my BP medicine.

Get some real experience as an agent before trying to be a broker!

I firmly believe that most agents have never even read the contracts, and if they have, have no clue as to their meaning. I think the final exam of the state test should be for an agent to be able to fill out listing and sales forms in a logical and coherent manner.

And an IQ test wouldn't hurt either.

It seems that some even struggle with correct spelling of "IQ"!That's never a good sign.

Agree 100% that no broker should have a reason to feel threatened by a newbie broker. Sure, if you really started to get some traction then a broker might start to project into the future. But I think it would take a least a year or two before this would happen, not from the onset.