What is a Broker?

A broker is a finance professional who manages business transactions. As a broker, you carry out investments such as insurance or real estate deals, liaising between banks and clients. Essentially, your job is to build relationships with customers and negotiate arrangements.

Being a broker is a kind of sales position often considered as a stepping stone toward a supervisor sales role. Brokers work for different industries and are expected to be knowledgeable about the products and services of the company they work for, in order to provide top-notch customer services.

Actually, customer service is the biggest part of the job. Brokers continuously work on relationships with clients, assessing their needs and offering solutions to their problems. The ultimate task, however, is to close deals by aligning the interests of buyers and sellers.

What Does a Broker Do

There are certain skills that many brokers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed business skills, problem-solving skills and interpersonal skills.

Learn more about what a Broker does

How To Become a Broker

If you're interested in becoming a broker, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 65.9% of brokers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.7% of brokers have master's degrees. Even though most brokers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Learn More About How To Become a Broker

Top Broker Jobs Near You

Career Path For a Broker

In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of account executive you might progress to a role such as manager eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title regional property manager.

Broker

Average Salary for a Broker

Brokers in America make an average salary of $124,861 per year or $60 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $227,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $68,000 per year.

Average Broker Salary

$124,861 Yearly

$60.03 hourly

$68,00010%

$124,000Median

$227,00090%

See More Salary Information

What Am I Worth?

Roles and Types of Broker

The role of a broker includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general broker responsibilities:

Develop and maintain business relationships with financial advisor professionals in the sales territory maintain a high level understanding of db’s wide range of investment products
Communicates extensively with customers for inventory needs leverages
Market new and renewal business, handling all aspects of the placements from initial market selection through policy delivery to client. Ensure that placements are handled correctly

There are several types of broker, including:

Marketing Representative

Role:

Gone are the days of traditional billboards and newsletters. Although these marketing mediums are still present, marketing gurus such as Gary Vaynerchuk and Seth Godin have proven the convergence of social media, influencers, and digital ads in driving today's business growth. Thus, a marketing representative employed today wears many different hats in promoting a business.

Daily, a marketing representative is involved in developing pricing strategies, developing market forecasts, and creating new sales leads. Besides that, they also manage marketing budgets, facilitate promotional campaigns, and produce an annual report for senior management. They assist in marketing training as well as representing the organization's brand at events and trade shows.

Employers require marketing representatives to have a bachelor's degree relating to business with at least one year of relevant work experience. This role earns, on average, $21 per hour and offers opportunities into becoming a marketing director over time.

Average Salary: $47,376
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Real Estate Broker

Role:

The job of a real estate broker involves property management and marketing. He/She works with clients to buy, sell and rent real estate properties. He/She also finds clients by promoting the brand, networking, advertising, and offering services to prospective parties. The broker serves as an intermediary between buyers and sellers during negotiations over property prices and settlement details. A real estate broker works for a commercial real estate firm or operates a real estate office. As a result, you must have a minimum of an associate's degree in real estate, business, or a related field with at least three years of work experience.

Real estate brokers often need a state-issued real estate broker license to practice. Apart from this, you must possess selling abilities, communication and networking skills, and attention to detail. You must also be conversant with relevant computer software and be self-motivated. A real estate broker earns about $78,102 per year. This varies between $39,000 and $158,000.

Average Salary: $80,250
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

Licensed Agent

Role:

The title 'licensed agent' can refer to many job positions, such as real estate agents, insurance agents, and financial agents. But in general, a licensed agent is someone who has the authorization to act on behalf of a private individual or organization in selling a property, product, or service.

The duties of a licensed agent vary depending on the industry they work in. For example, a licensed real estate agent is responsible for helping sellers sell their properties and buyers find their dream homes. Insurance agents, on the other hand, provide various insurance products to their clients and help them select the right one depending on their needs and objectives.

Most jobs that require one to be a licensed agent also require at least an associate's or bachelor's degree. In terms of work experience, however, employer requirements vary widely between industries. For instance, real estate agents may need to have prior work experience to qualify for a job position, while insurance agents may start fresh from graduation. The salary of a licensed agent is also different for each industry. But generally, a licensed agent earns a base salary and makes additional income from commissions.

Average Salary: $42,315
Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Overview How To Become Job Description Jobs

States With The Most Broker Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active broker jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where brokers earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Broker Jobs By State

Rank	State	Number of Jobs	Average Salary
1	California	122	$104,287
2	Texas	102	$118,053
3	New York	90	$154,924
4	Florida	75	$71,518
5	Illinois	58	$66,734
6	Pennsylvania	43	$114,022
7	Arizona	41	$137,645
8	Ohio	39	$109,285
9	Georgia	37	$92,004
10	New Jersey	34	$122,194
11	North Carolina	32	$131,867
12	Virginia	31	$140,118
13	Colorado	29	$102,163
14	Kentucky	25	$116,149
15	Tennessee	24	$104,327
16	Missouri	23	$64,868
17	Minnesota	21	$111,140
18	Indiana	20	$116,220
19	Massachusetts	20	$111,454
20	Connecticut	16	$127,083
21	Washington	16	$123,961
22	Michigan	13	$113,730
23	Nevada	12	$121,308
24	Utah	11	$110,473
25	Wisconsin	9	$116,671
26	Maryland	9	$125,717
27	Louisiana	9	$113,386
28	Alabama	9	$108,306
29	Arkansas	8	$108,798
30	Maine	7	$120,451
31	Oregon	7	$89,989
32	Oklahoma	6	$89,436
33	Kansas	6	$79,918
34	South Carolina	5	$111,074
35	Nebraska	5	$100,023
36	Iowa	5	$83,457
37	Rhode Island	4	$126,566
38	Hawaii	3	$94,995
39	Delaware	2	$127,633
40	New Hampshire	2	$121,645
41	New Mexico	2	$116,843
42	Idaho	2	$110,712
43	West Virginia	1	$124,316
44	Mississippi	1	$108,124
45	Vermont	0	$120,466
46	North Dakota	0	$106,397
47	South Dakota	0	$101,234
48	Montana	0	$96,923
49	Alaska	0	$96,773
50	Wyoming	0	$71,796

Broker Education

Broker Majors

Business

31.2 %

Finance

9.8 %

Marketing

6.0 %

Broker Degrees

Bachelors

65.9 %

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.7% of brokers listed brokerage on their resume, but soft skills such as business skills and problem-solving skills are important as well.

Brokerage, 16.7%

Financial Services, 9.1%

Insurance Products, 6.9%

Risk Management, 6.1%

Client Relationships, 5.9%

Other Skills, 55.3%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Broker Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Broker templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Broker resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

Broker diversity

Broker Gender Distribution

Male

64%

Female

36%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

Among brokers, 36.2% of them are women, while 63.8% are men.

The most common race/ethnicity among brokers is White, which makes up 70.1% of all brokers.

The most common foreign language among brokers is Spanish at 56.7%.

Online Courses For Broker That You May Like

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Best States For a Broker

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a broker. The best states for people in this position are New York, Virginia, Arizona, and North Carolina. Brokers make the most in New York with an average salary of $154,924. Whereas in Virginia and Arizona, they would average $140,118 and $137,645, respectively. While brokers would only make an average of $131,867 in North Carolina, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. New York

Total Broker Jobs: 90

Highest 10% Earn:

$249,000

Location Quotient:

1.93

$154,924

Avg. Salary

View 90 Broker Jobs In NY

2. Arizona

Total Broker Jobs: 41

Highest 10% Earn:

$227,000

Location Quotient:

1.92

$137,645

Avg. Salary

View 41 Broker Jobs In AZ

3. North Carolina

Total Broker Jobs: 32

Highest 10% Earn:

$227,000

Location Quotient:

0.91

$131,867

Avg. Salary

View 32 Broker Jobs In NC

Full List Of Best States For Brokers

How Do Brokers Rate Their Jobs?

Top Broker Employers

Most Common Employers For Broker

Rank	Company	Average Salary	Hourly Rate	Job Openings
1	Enlace Chicago	$184,889	$88.89	15
2	Tullett Prebon	$165,201	$79.42	92
3	BGC Partners	$159,882	$76.87	19
4	Citi	$157,662	$75.80	10
5	Traditions of America	$154,577	$74.32	22
6	Aon	$151,492	$72.83	14
7	Landstar System	$139,598	$67.11	11
8	Century 21 Stores	$132,124	$63.52	11
9	Merrill Lynch	$131,407	$63.18	15
10	Guardian Life	$128,629	$61.84	11

Broker Videos

Day Trader Documentary - A day in the life of a multimillionaire forex trader | FX Viper Part 1

Career Advice on becoming an Insurance Broker by Samantha B (Full Version)

Becoming a Broker FAQs

Broker Vs. Salesperson

A broker is a person who represents the parties in a transaction and is licensed to own a firm, while a salesperson is a professional who is licensed to sell products while representing a brokerage firm.

Fiduciary Vs. Broker

A fiduciary is a person that acts in the best interest of their clients, avoids conflicts of interest, and can only buy or sell investments that are in the best interest of their clients. While a broker can recommend investments that they reasonably believe are suitable.

Investment Advisor Vs. Broker Dealer

An investment advisor dispenses investment advice catered towards individual clients' needs and investment accounts, while a broker dealer is in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers.

Broker Associate Vs Broker

A broker associate is an individual licensed as a real estate broker, but who works as a salesperson under a broker or corporation, while a broker is an individual or firm that acts as an intermediary between an investor and a securities exchange.

Broker Vs. Dealer

A broker is an individual or a financial service company that provides the service of enabling the trading of securities for other individuals, while a dealer is an individual or a financial service company that enables the trading of securities for themselves.

Freight Forwarder Vs. Broker

A freight forwarder arranges the shipping of freight for customers, while a broker or freight broker coordinates the connection between shippers and carriers but does not handle freight directly.

Insurance Agent Vs. Broker

An insurance agent is an insurance professional who sells insurance plans to buyers, while a broker is an independent insurance specialist who legally represents buyers.

An insurance agent works for an insurance company and sells that company's insurance products to customers. Insurance agents provide information about available policies from the insurance company to insurance buyers. They have contractual agreements with their company specifying policies they can sell and the compensation the agent receives.

Loan Officer Vs. Broker

A loan officer works for a bank, credit union, or financial institution and will offer programs or rates that are available from that institution only, while a broker works on the borrower's behalf to find the best rate and loan options from multiple institutions.

Have more questions? See all answers to common sales questions.

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Updated April 6, 2023

What is a Broker?

What Does a Broker Do

How To Become a Broker

Career Path For a Broker

Roles and Types of Broker

Marketing Representative

Role:

Real Estate Broker

Role:

Licensed Agent

Role:

States With The Most Broker Jobs

Number Of Broker Jobs By State

Broker Education

Broker Majors

Broker Degrees

Top Colleges for Brokers

1. University of Southern California

2. University of Pennsylvania

3. Northwestern University

4. Villanova University

5. San Diego State University

6. Stanford University

7. Bentley University

8. New York University

9. Arizona State University

10. Harvard University

Top Skills For a Broker

Choose From 10+ Customizable Broker Resume templates

Broker diversity

Broker Gender Distribution

Online Courses For Broker That You May Like

Best States For a Broker

How Do Brokers Rate Their Jobs?

Top Broker Employers

Most Common Employers For Broker

Broker Videos

Becoming a Broker FAQs

Search For Broker Jobs

Broker Related Careers

Broker Related Jobs

What Similar Roles Do

Resume For Related Jobs