How hard is it to become a representative?

Becoming a representative is difficult as it involves meeting eligibility requirements, gaining relevant experience and knowledge, and winning an election. There are several steps involved to becoming a representative. First, you must meet the eligibility requirements laid out in the U.S. Constitution. This includes being at least 25 years old, having been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and living in the state you wish to represent at the time of election.

How long does it take to become a Representative?

It takes 3 years of professional experience to become a representative. That is the time it takes to learn specific representative skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

How much does a representative make a year?

A representative makes an average of $59,930 a year. The range in pay can start as low as $42,070 a year to as high as $85,730 a year. Factors such as years of experience working as a representative and location can impact earning potential.

What is a representative and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Frederik Beuk,

John Cicala Ph.D.

A representative is a person who serves as a designated person to speak or act on behalf of a group, organization, or individual. Representatives may work in various industries, such as politics, business, or law. They communicate with stakeholders, attend meetings, negotiate deals, and make decisions that align with their constituents' goals. A successful representative should have excellent communication skills, critical thinking abilities, and strong leadership qualities to ensure that they effectively represent their constituents' interests.

What general advice would you give to a representative?

Frederik Beuk

Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Akron

The key consideration is whether you really want to maximize your initial salary. For instance, envision two job opportunities: one offering a salary of $50,000 per year, where you'd be the most junior team member, and the other providing $75,000 per year, with the caveat that you would be the sole sales representative for the firm. The optimal choice is to prioritize learning opportunities. In this context, being the lone salesperson for a company that compensates its highest-earning sales professional $75,000 might not be your superior option. Instead, seek a position that offers the greatest potential for learning. Subsequently, demonstrate your negotiating prowess, a critical sales skill, by securing a slightly higher salary. However, it's essential not to fixate on maximizing your starting salary. Your career requires a long-term strategy, and you have several decades ahead of you to maximize income.

ScoreRepresentativeUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $36,023

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.9

Growth rate -4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.74%

Asian 7.48%

Black or African American 11.02%

Hispanic or Latino 20.92%

Unknown 5.43%

White 54.42%

Gender

female 58.21%

male 41.79%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

5.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.6

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.5

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a representative?

Pros

Chance to work in a variety of industries
Potential for high earnings
Flexibility in work schedule and location
Possibility for travel and networking
Potential for job security, as sales roles are always in demand

Cons

High pressure environment with demanding sales targets
Can be challenging to balance multiple accounts
Can require significant time away from home, if travel is involved
Can be competitive, with coworkers vying for the same clients or deals
Requires constant adaptation to changing market conditions and client needs

Key steps to become a representative

Explore representative education requirements

Most common representative degrees

Bachelor's

52.5 %

Associate

16.3 %

High School Diploma

15.8 %

Start to develop specific representative skills

Skills	Percentages
Cleanliness	19.69%
Patients	11.46%
Customer Issues	9.86%
Customer Service	9.61%
Data Entry	5.73%

Complete relevant representative training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New representatives learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a representative based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real representative resumes.

Research representative duties and responsibilities

Manage fitting rooms and recover the department, while providing exceptional customer service and offering rewards and POS options.
Manage physical portfolio with necessary derivatives to mitigate risk within company guidelines.
Conduct telephone sales and interviews, compile and enter information into database, manage documents and insure customer satisfaction.
Review EOB denials, appeals and/or rebilling as appropriate.

Prepare your representative resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your representative resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a representative resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable representative resume templates

Build a professional representative resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your representative resume.

Apply for representative jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a representative job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do representatives rate their job?

5/5

Based on 1 ratings

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Representative reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2024

Pros

remote job, more schedule flexibility

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2022

Pros

Getting to know the people and the you work.with

Cons

Being required to answer a minimum number of calls a day. This pushes the idea that the caller is a number and as such, it is more difficult to personalize the call the the person calling in

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2020

Pros

Communicating and helping my clients.

Cons

The travel was extensive. Sometimes. It took more than month to close a deaĺ.

What is a representative and how to become one

What general advice would you give to a representative?

What are the pros and cons of being a representative?

Representative career paths

Key steps to become a representative

Explore representative education requirements

Most common representative degrees

Start to develop specific representative skills

Complete relevant representative training and internships

Research representative duties and responsibilities

Prepare your representative resume

Choose from 10+ customizable representative resume templates

Apply for representative jobs

How did you land your first representative job

Average representative salary

How do representatives rate their job?

Representative reviews

Representative FAQs

How hard is it to become a representative?

How long does it take to become a Representative?

How much does a representative make a year?

Search for representative jobs

Representative jobs by state