I'm graduating from Ball State University in December and decided I wanted to become a real estate agent. I'm going to real estate school through October in hopes of passing the state exam to become licensed by the end of the year. I considered posting this in OOT but figured it would not receive serious feedback. I'd appreciate any advice or thoughts on the school/exam process as well as any cool stories or advice about working in the field itself. If this is the wrong forum feel free to move it.

Hi there. I took my Salesperson exam a couple of years ago so maybe I can offer some basic info..

The process begins with a mandatory 40 hours of class time (for MA test takers, not sure about other states). You can take the test, issued from your state's Board of Registration of Brokers and Salespersons, at any time upon completion of the 40 hours. My instructor welcomed us to sit in on any of her future classes for review and several students in my class were doing just this. One guy sitting in was there actually recruiting for his own company and offered me a job after I passed the exam.

There are two sections to the test, general and state-specific. The "school" issues a binder with the various terms, laws, and scenarios you might encounter and your instructor should dedicate special attention to material that will be on the exam. I'm not sure about the credentials necessary to teach a class, my instructor was a RE lawyer.

I took the exam approx two weeks after finishing the class, though you could probably take it much sooner if you pay close attention in class. The test itself was issued in a dark room, on a computer, with about 7 other testees. Multiple choice mainly, with a few true or false questions. Two supervisors, a man and woman who appeared to be married, looked on through two large glass windows. I struggled with some of the material and felt as though I didn't pay enough attention in class. There were a few curveballs, though I can't remember the questions verbatim. I finished in about an hour and passed (yeah booyy). They immediately took my picture and granted me a brand new shiny sales license. I remember leaving and feeling like a million bucks.

Anyway, hope some of this helps, cheers!

I'm looking to get my license next semester. Please post your experiences throughout the process. Good luck!

Will do, and thank you.

I start classes next monday will update anything interesting or tips for anyone else interested in pursuing real estate.

I look forward to the updates. I've always been interested in becoming a real estate agent partly cause a college degree isnt 100% needed(hate school lolz) and I remember writing a paper in 6th grade about that what I wanted to do for a living.

So this is something I could see myself doing.


Let me know what you think the age range is in your classes

In the process of acquiring, waiting to hear from DRE in Cali. Hopefully soon. Good luck to you all!

The class is pretty boring, but you'll meet some interesting people. Depending on your age it's a cool insight on others thoughts.

The coarse and test itself aren't very difficult, just do readings and learn the material and you'll be fine. Just time demanding.


My dad is a huge broker in PA and the teachers knew me so it was kind of annoying when they would be like " oh ashipsomewhere's father was a master at this tactic etc etc" but the information you'll in real estate whether or not you become an agent is very important in every day life and will be a +EV decision in other aspects of your life. So it's def nice to just have it on the side and have a good understanding of real estate, money, and how other things in the market work.

As ashipsomewhere said the classes are a bit boring. I am taking a schedule that involves 3 hours a day M-F which is not too bad. While the content does get a tad dull it is interesting in that it is applicable to anyones life if they ever expect to own a home.

There are definitely some interesting people in my class, from a local musician, a college professor from the university I attended, construction workers looking for a new career, to your standard middle aged people that want to give real estate work a shot.

The course itself seems very easy to understand (I should note that I am taking my first test tomorrow so I will update as to if it was as easy as expected) and I feel that anyone that could beat 50nl+ online would have no problem understanding it as it's mainly focused on concepts such as discerning details, understanding simple economics (think supply and demand type stuff), and being able to do fairly easy math. Whether or not understanding the liscensure information and actually applying it towards being a good real estate agent have much in common is still a step I obviously have no idea about.

That's about it for this update, I'll probably post something small about how the test went sometime soon but I really don't have much else to mention at this point. As always, any real estate agents or people thinking about going into it feel free to chime in as I'm interested on others thoughts and experiences with the process.

Can you talk a little about the material. I'm assuming most of the material has practical application in the field? Do you see yourself using what you'll be learning directly or is it mainly just regulatory/theory?

Much of it is regulatory and would rarely be used in the field but it is important to know just in case.

Other material is very pertinent to the everyday of a real estate agent such as commission calculation, your fiduciary duty to a client, how to describe a property, what can and cannot be disclosed (and what must, by law, be disclosed) to a buyer or seller. There is some interesting/important topics on law covered (antitrust laws, material defect disclosure, who you can and cannot receive money from, ect.). Types of ownership (fee simple, life estate, joint tenancy, tenants in common) and what each means is covered and easy to understand but is something you wouldn't think of if you've never come across a non-standard form of ownership. It's a lot of content and keep in mind I'm only 1/3 of the way through the course.

The way it works in Indiana is you must take this preliscensing class and recieve a 75% or higher, once you do that you get a certificate that says you can go take the state board exam in which you must also score a 75% or higher. There are three tests of 100 questions each in the course I'm in so you must score a cumulative 225+ to pass (also you must attend 75% of the classes). I took the first test today and got a 95 though the instructor did point out that this has historically been the easiest of the three.

Once you receive your license from the state you have to hook up with a principal broker, you cannot just go out and start selling real estate. You interview with different brokerages and see what is a good fit for you. Some require a monthly desk fee (think of this as rent to work out of their office) which could be 1500+ a month, but you keep essentially all commission. Others offer a place where there is no fee to work for them but they take 50%+ of the commission up to a certain point. It's in your best interest to do your research and think long and hard about what will be best for you.

Most real estate agents are not employees of the company but rather independent agents that are having their liscense held by a broker. The agency you work for will not hold any of your taxes, pay you a salary, or offer you benefits assuming you are an independent agent but they do offer resources such as help with advertising, an extended network, a place to work from, and a respected name to tie yourself to.

Keep in mind that everything I just wrote pertains to my area (Indianapolis, IN) and there isn't a true universal norm with a lot of this stuff. My impression of the experience so far is that it's a good idea to do for anyone that has the time on their hands and has any interest in it. The class I'm taking only costed around $400 (including a text book) so it is affordable and is a field I could see many poker players doing well in if they need to transition from the online grind to a real world career. Keeping in mind I haven't actually spent time in the field you should take anything I say with a grain of salt but from what I do know from speaking with real estate friends and shadowing or experiencing what they do it seems to focus on understanding people while utilizing basic ideas of economics which should seem like familiar topics to most people reading 2+2.

Taking my test in January in California and let me tell you I'm extreamly nervous. Even college tests aren't this nerve racking. I did the Allied School course which is probably one of the most legit course next to college. Except for the fact that its online and I guess I waited to long since the course expired so I had to rent the text book from Amazon.com. If your situation is similar I'd recommend this going to a school and talking with them or someone in real estate. Just sit down with a broker and tell him/her they will understand. Buy a cheap real estate text book or rent one from library read it and see if you can recall this information. If you do this you will see how you will probably fair on the test. Just saying. Anyway good luck to you and your endeavor.

I took the test in November after going through Allied online. I don't know what I got but I passed. I just went through all the practice Q's

Thought I'd bomb this thread and field any more questions. I took the test and now work for a company out of Indianapolis. It's interesting and a fun job but starting out (as I knew it would be) is very difficult as it's obviously 100% commission and you have to go out and find your own leads.

Hi.. I am interested in becoming a real estate agent and now I am doing my course in California. In this march we have the final test. Can anyone suggest me the best way to prepare and pass this test to get my license. Please share your experience here so that i can know.


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Just pay attention in the course, take notes, and don't be afraid to ask questions. In indiana at least the class was very encompassing of the information that was on the final test and most people that passed the course passed the test on their first try.