The Least Prestigious Job in America: Real Estate Professional
It turns out that I have the least prestigious profession in America! Would you believe that an annual Harris Poll measuring the most prestigious professionals in America puts real estate brokers and agents consistently at the bottom – the very bottom – of the list. Even Bankers, Lawyers, and Members of Congress are rated as having more prestige than my lowly profession. Check out this chart:
Harris Poll Showing What Americans Thinks about Real Estate “Professionals”
Can I really say I’m surprised? No. But here’s what I can say:
What I do in The Least Prestigious Profession in America
It’s easy to understand why so many Americans think little of the real estate profession. One very evident problem is that it’s very easy to get a real estate license. It’s far easier to get a license allowing you to sell a $5,000,000 house in California than it is to get a license to become, say, an esthetician. A bad haircut from your barber is one thing – a bad haircut on the sale of your home, now that’s quite another.
It’s the profession of first resort, in many cases. Laid off? Hey, become a Realtor! It’s seen as a job anyone can get, an easy way to make a lot of money, without requiring a lot of skill or training, in a short period of time. Being a real estate agent must be a piece of cake – everyone’s doing it! How could a profession like this have much prestige?
Many are called, but few are chosen
The attrition rate of California real estate professionals is very high. It’s often said that 80% of agents are out of business within five years of getting their license. It turns out that there’s quite a bit more to this business than at first meets the eye. It could be – could be! – that those juicy commission dollars are in most cases quite hard earned.
But I’m not so concerned with commission dollars. If I do my job right, the commission dollars will come. The way I see it, my job is simply this: to help people come to the best decisions for them about their real estate needs, and then to help them carry out their decisions if they need it. That’s it!
I talk to a lot of people about real estate, and much of the time, it’s not within the context of any particular real estate transaction. I’m here to help, with a servant’s heart. Please contact me if you think there’s any way I can help you make and execute the right decisions for your real estate needs.
Time to talk to a REALTOR?
