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Business & Finance

Real Estate Brokers

Operate real estate office, or work for commercial real estate firm, overseeing real estate transactions. Other duties usually include selling real estate or renting properties and arranging loans.

Median salary (BLS)

$73,220

10th–90th percentile (BLS)

$37k – $143k

Job outlook

+3% (about average)

AI exposure

Early-career check: graduates of the matching programs below typically earn $112,000 ten years after starting college — an early-career figure, vs. the all-experience BLS median above. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard.

Plan a path to Real Estate Brokers

Education

Typical entry: Bachelor's degree

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How to qualify

Estimate

Cost to qualify

$40,500–$153,000

Time to qualify

4.5 yr

Renewal

  1. 1

    Bachelor's degree

    Degree

    Four years at public in-state rates — average published tuition & fees ≈ $11,610/yr, plus books. Private and out-of-state run higher; grant aid lowers most students' actual net price.

    $40,000–$150,000 · 4 years source

  2. 2

    Industry certification (optional for many roles)

    Certification

    Role-dependent — e.g. CPA, Series 7/65, PMP, SHRM. Not always required, but often expected for advancement.

    $500–$3,000 · 6 months source

Estimated typical U.S. route for "Real Estate Brokers" — built from BLS education requirements and College Board 2024–25 average published prices (public, in-state tuition + fees + books). Not yet verified against a specific state's licensing rules — confirm with your state licensing board or program.

Typical progression

  1. Real Estate Brokers Intern

    Internship

    $36,000

    ~4 mos to advance

  2. Junior Real Estate Brokers

    Entry / Junior

    $37,110

    ~2 yrs to advance

  3. Real Estate Brokers

    Established

    $73,220

    ~3 yrs to advance

  4. Senior Real Estate Brokers

    Senior

    $108,260

Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.

Key skills

A typical day

  • Sell, for a fee, real estate owned by others.
  • Obtain agreements from property owners to place properties for sale with real estate firms.
  • Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers over property prices and settlement details and during the closing of sales.
  • Generate lists of properties for sale, their locations, descriptions, and available financing options, using computers.
  • Manage or operate real estate offices, handling associated business details.

Fields of study

Any field

Top colleges for Business & Finance

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Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.