How to become an estate agent
You can get into this job through:
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- training offered by a professional body
University
You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree in:
- business studies
- civil and structural engineering
- estate management
- property development or management
- surveying
- urban and land studies
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 1 or 2 A levels, or equivalent, for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
- 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree
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Apprenticeship
Some estate agents offer an intermediate apprenticeship as a junior estate agent.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
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Work
You may be able to start as a trainee sales negotiator and learn on the job.
You could also start as an administrator in estate agency or lettings company and work your way up.
Local knowledge of the area where you'll be working would be an advantage.
Other Routes
You could start by taking qualifications offered by an industry body like NAEA Propertymark.
You do not need to be already working in property in order to take the introductory qualifications. There are also courses aimed at people in the industry who want to develop their career.
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Career tips
Estate agents often work on commission which means that you have a basic salary and also earn a percentage of the sale or rental price of any property you sell or rent. You might start on a guaranteed salary for a few months and then move to a commission based salary.
You may also have the chance to add to your earnings through bonuses linked to meeting individual or company sales targets.
Further information
You can find our more about working as an estate agent from NAEA Propertymark.