Career
Real estate sales agents
Help people buy and sell homes.
$52,830
Median pay
+1.7%
Job growth, 2025–35
32,600
Openings a year
High school diploma or equivalent
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- Advise clients on market conditions, prices, mortgages, legal requirements, and related matters.
- Prepare documents such as representation contracts, purchase agreements, closing statements, deeds, and leases.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on persuasion & leadership, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Active Listening, Speaking, Negotiation, Service Orientation.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though moderate-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $52,830 a year and 32,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Real Estate DevelopmentCIP 04.1001
- Real EstateCIP 52.1501
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Real Estate Brokers$73,220 · +0.8%
- Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers$69,990 · +3.7%
- Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents$78,660 · +1.4%
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel$69,990 · +2.7%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.