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Step 1
Take college courses. While a college degree is not mandatory, most employers do prefer an estate agent to hold at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Courses and majors should focus on finance, business administration, real estate, economics, statistics and law.
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Step 2
Contact a local chapter of the National Assocation of Realtors (NAR). NAR sponsors a variety of courses that cover both the fundamentals of real estate, and laws and regulations in your specific market. You can take courses about property development and management, mortgage financing and other specialized courses at various locations throughout your city or town (see Resources below).
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Step 3
Get your general real estate license. Every state requires estate brokers and sales agents to be licensed before they can make a sale and close contracts. The general sales license requires completing between 30 and 90 hours of classroom instruction, and passing a written examination. You can also enroll in an online training program from sites such as RealtyU.com (see Resources below).
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Step 4
Participate in on-the-job training. If you've been hired for an entry-level position with an estate firm or real estate brokerage, you will need to accumulate as much work experience as possible before serving clients on your own. Many firms offer their own in-house training programs that will give you a chance to learn the computer and database systems, work on sample client projects and shadow an experienced estate agent for hands-on experience.
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Step 5
Apply for a broker's license. After accumulating between 60 to 90 hours of formal training and about 1 to 3 years of selling real estate, you can take the broker's license examination. A broker's license allows you to open your own firm or work as an independent contractor.
