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
Plan my path to this →How to qualify
EstimateCost to qualify
$40,500–$153,000
Time to qualify
4.5 yr
Renewal
—
- 1
Bachelor's degree
DegreeFour 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
Industry certification (optional for many roles)
CertificationRole-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
Real Estate Brokers Intern
Internship
$36,000
~4 mos to advance
Junior Real Estate Brokers
Entry / Junior
$37,110
~2 yrs to advance
Real Estate Brokers
Established
$73,220
~3 yrs to advance
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
Explore all- University of Pennsylvania6% admit · $112,000 grad pay
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology4% admit · $124,000 grad pay
- Harvard University4% admit · $119,000 grad pay
- University of California, Berkeley11% admit · $97,000 grad pay
- New York University12% admit · $84,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.