I plead the 5th ... but will say the challenges are many ... mostly the untrained agents and those willing to harm others for profit and gain ... ah, the dark side of real estate is alive and well. 

It was the life I chose and it worked out OK for me!

Learn everything about your local market and your contracts.

Build you network of contacts every day and ask for referrals.

You have wonderful career and business opportunities if you have the ability to take advantage of them.

I liked it enough to continue with it every day for 40 years....

the greatest challenge is learning to market through each changing market...

learn to market....do not rely on your broker/owner....do not hire for leads....

I love being an agent. I love helping. I love making dreams come true. The hardest part is the parts i can not control such as appraisals, inspections and other agents.  There are things i can do to minimize issues with those, but it can always happen without notice. 

I enjoy it, but more of my time and energy is spent coaching and promoting my team than my own listings.

   It's an honor to be a Real Estate Broker.  

   Challenges?  Most transactions are complicated.  In addition to the buyer and seller, there are multiple third parties involved.  Any one of those people can be a "show stopper".   You must know how to work with people.

   Advice?  See my post for New Agents.

    Other Advice:   A quantum shift is underway in the real estate industry.  NAR, MLS, local Boards of Realtors, and other traditional ways of selling real estate are going to be obliterated by the juggernaut of Zillow, Purplebricks, Ribbon, Redfin, and other internet-based business models.  Get familiar with those business models and corporations.  There will always be a place for good real estate agents; but you will need to work in concert with those entities.

Ashton,

We loved it.  And on occasion we may be involved in a transaction.  A

I like being an agent --- there are some days that are better than others. Life can be challenging if that is your approach/outlook.   My recommendation is to study hard and take lots of practice tests prior to taking your state exam. Good luck.

Learn how to navigate through the different personalities. 

Making it work takes more than a license

Ashton, I love what I do, but if I were to go back in time I'd start sooner, create a better data base of my early clients and focus more in my early days on marketing. 

I like it or wouldn't have stuck with it for 37 years. My advice is to work hard, save some for a rainy day and never give up no matter how discouraged you may get.

Interview w/ KW !!!!

I like it.  My advice is that you will need to work hard.

I like it fine. I don't worry about challenges... I just put one foot in front of the other and do what needs doing and somehow things always work out fine.

Life is a challenge - you got to like what you do!

This is my second career and I value the opportunity to do what I currently do: work hard and be forthright and honest in business.

I love it and there are challenges each and every day - too many to list! The more you work in this business, the more challenges you will have.

Learning to overcome those challenges is what sets you apart from the rest.

Good luck!

The challenges are what keeps me in this business. You have to love it or it can easily consume you. Like snowflakes, no two transactions or accompanying challenges are ever exactly the same. There are lots of snowflakes out there no matter what season it is. 

I like being an agent because of the indepencence.  The biggest challenge is keeping the pipelin full.  One piece of advice would be prospect every day.

Good luck.

I have always enjoyed it except when dealing with a difficult agent or client.  I would suggest you speak with agents that you know and trust about the working conditions in their office. Also make sure you know about any hidden costs that will come out of your commission. Finally and maybe most important, make sure that you will be pared up with a mentor.

Question was answered with great answers.

Great answers, I agree.

Not having someone by your side to help you every single step of the way.

It's all in the Blueman manual

I could not imagine doing anything else.   The challenges are working with humans and a variety of personalities. 

It pays the bills