The real estate profession offers one of the widest career selections in the business world today. Helping people buy and sell homes, office buildings, industrial property and corporation farmland, property management, land development, mortgage banking, urban planning, real estate counseling, appraisal and research are all aspects of a career in real estate.

Advantages and Rewards of a Career in Real Estate

A career in real estate provides flexibility and freedom to set your own pace. Income directly reflects your efforts, with no limits on what astute, hard-working men and women can earn. Successful people in real estate are goal-oriented, persevering, self-motivated, ambitious, and people-oriented. The rewards of a real estate career are the potential for high earnings, status in the community, autonomy, time freedom, helping people, intellectual challenge, and satisfaction from those accomplishments.

Working in real estate allows for independence and choices of environment in which to work, such as affiliation with a large or small firm as a listed salesperson. With more experience, additional education, passing of an additional exam, a licensee can become a real estate broker. Brokers can own their own businesses and employ other salespeople.

Professional Requirements for a Career in Real Estate

Entry into the real estate profession takes preparation. As with other professions, licensing is required. Licensing requirements vary from state to state, but all require prospective salespeople and brokers to pass a written exam.  Learn more about RI’s requirements

Continuing Education in Real Estate

Formal education is available while working in real estate.  RI REALTORS offers many courses and programs aimed at assisting licensees at all skill levels and include national accredited designations.   Rhode Island Licensees must take 24 hours of approved continuing education (CE hours) each two years prior to renewing a Sales or Brokers license.

Real estate is a rewarding career, offering flexibility, freedom and the opportunity to build a secure future for yourself and also help shape the future of your community.   Below are some options in the Real Estate field.

Careers in Residential Brokerage

Helping people buy and sell homes is one of the most important and basic services a real estate licensee performs. Licensees are experts in the process of buying and selling property, financing, government programs, etc. The real estate licensee’s expertise facilitates the transaction, saving clients time, trouble and money. Real estate professionals need to have a thorough knowledge of such areas as real estate law, local economics, fair housing laws, types of financing, mortgages and government programs. Required in RI: Sales or Broker license. 

Careers in Commercial Brokerage

Commercial brokers specialize in income-producing properties, such as apartment and office buildings, retail stores and warehouses, shopping centers and industrial parks. To understand and explain why the properties are good investments, commercial brokers need to be aware of the growth possibilities of the area where the property is located, current income tax regulations and purchasing arrangements that give the buyer a greater return on investment. Commercial brokers may also have to arrange financing.   Required in RI: Sales or Broker license. 

Careers in Real Estate Appraising

Real estate appraisers determine the value of properties. Real estate is appraised to determine many types of values—assessed value for tax purposes, investment value or present value for a potential investors, "book" value of accounting purposes, rental value for income projections and insurable value. Appraisers need to know acceptable principles of appraisal and related information. They need to have practical experience, technical education, good judgment and some knowledge of mathematics, accounting and economics.  Required in RI: Appraisal license Learn more

Careers in Property Management

The property manager’s primary function is to maintain the property in order to produce the highest possible financial return over the longest period of time. More importantly, they are responsible for protecting the owner’s investment. Managed commercial properties are likely to be office buildings and shopping centers. Residential properties might be apartment buildings, apartment developments, condominiums and groups of homes owned by a single investor. Property managers usually work for real estate firms. However, other opportunities are found in the real estate department of banks and trust companies.   In RI, Property management requires a sales or broker license unless the property manager is a regular employee (W-2) of the property owner.   A salesperson cannot operate a property management company on the side.  He or she must be affiliated with a real estate broker.