Career Planning Research

Project Alexandra Tammaro

Top Three Careers:

Real Estate Agent

Buyer

Personal Financial Manager

Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agent: Tasks

Set prices for homes Handle negotiations between the buyer

and seller Find suitable homes for your clients

based on their personal taste Coordinate open houses to try to get

good prices for the homes of your clients

Real Estate Agent: Knowledge

marketing: a good real estate agent is able to effectively market the homes, and set the prices for the homes that they are representing

Communication: should be able to effectively communicate with their client to find out their needs, and should be able to communicate well with specific buyers of the home so they can get a good price for the house

Real Estate Agent: Skills

negotiation: a good real estate agent is able to negotiate well in order to buy or sell a house at the price the client is happy with

Time management:  having good time management skills and balancing the time spend on each client (many times a real estate agent has more than one client at a time)

Related Occupations

Advertising Sales Agent

Insurance Sales Agent

Sales Representative

Other Topics for Research

Wages:  nationally the wages are approximately $40,100.

Outlook:  supposed to increase approximately 5% from 2008-2018( faster than average)

Education: 36% of real estate agents have some college, and no degree. A formal college education is not required for this job although it is likely very helpful to attend college. Many real estate agents do however go through on the site training and job shadowing.

Real Estate Agent: Occupational Outlook Handbook

Licensing:  A Real Estate Agent is required to have a license in every state in the United States. In addition to taking a test, A Real Estate agent is required to have approximately 30-60 hours of on the job training. Additionally, the license is typically renewed every 1-2 years.

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Employment: Many Real Estate Agents are self employed. This is for many reasons. For example, many Real Estate Agents choose work part time as a Real Estate Agent when they are not working a separate job. However, there are Real Estate firms but they are typically very small.

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Nature of Work: This type of job is approximately five days a week. Many people work from home. Real Estate Agents are out the majority of the time, whether it be meeting with clients or viewing houses.

Buyer

Buyer: Tasks

Negotiate terms and buy the best merchandise at the lowest prices.

Organize and Keep track of merchandise. Select and order the most favorable

products for the company. Understand your target market in order

to purchase the most desirable products. Coordinate meetings with your business

to introduce new merchandise.

Buyer: Knowledge

Customer and personal service: understand the needs of the customer so that you are able to purchase products that would satisfy them the most.

Sales and marketing: be able to set fair prices and market the products which you are buying.

Clerical: Knowledge of managing files, organizing, and information systems.

Buyer: Skills

Negotiation: Being able to negotiate prices of the products you are buying. Persuasion: Having the ability to convince sellers to sell a product at your price, and convincing a customer to purchase your product.

Active Listening: Comprehending what you are supposed to buy for your customer, also listening to what the company tells you. For example a company telling you to spend a certain amount of money.

Buyer: Related Occupations

Market Research Analyst

Public Relations Specialist

Sales Agents

Buyer: Other Topics for Research

Wages: $48,650 annual Outlook: There is supposed to be little

or no growth in this field between 2008 -2018. While in 2008 there was approximately 140,000 Buyers there is expected to be about 27,000 openings by 2018.

Education: the majority of buyers need a masters degree to advance as well as a few years of training.

Occupational Outlook Handbook

Nature of Work: They buy products for the companies that they work for, These people try to get the best prices and the best products. Generally, this work in not primarily done in an office. these people are out negotiating and viewing products.

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Job Outlook: This job will grow approximately 7% into 2018 but the number of career opportunities will differ with the type of buyer.

Other Qualifications: A Buyer should have knowledge of computers and know how to work different types of computer programs.

Personal Financial Manager

Personal Financial Manager: Tasks

Sell Financial Products such as stocks and bonds

Analyze Financial Information to figure out how to meet the clients objectives

Create financial plans that coincide with what people are looking for

Research and Investigate investment opportunities

Personal Financial Manager: Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Must have good people skills so that they can listen to the clients and figure out how to meet all of their needs

Economics and Accounting: Must have knowledge of analyzing and and interpreting financial data

Sales and Marketing: Must be able to sell a product such as a stock or bond to the customer

Personal Financial Manager: Skills

Persuasion: Must be able to convince people to buy what you are attempting to sell by changing their mind and/or behavior

Critical Thinking: Must be able to analyze information and create multiple solutions for a problem

Judgment and Decision Making: Having the ability to weigh the opportunity costs of a situation and come to a reasonable conclusion from the information given

Personal Financial Manager: Related Occupations

Cost Estimators

Tax Preparers

Purchasing Agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products.

Other Topics for Research

Wages: $68,200 annual Outlook: There are currently 208,000

employed in the United States and there is expected to be 83,300 job openings between 2008-2018. This growth is must faster than average

Education: 45% of people with this job have a bachelors degree. This is because most of these types of jobs require this degree. However,18% have an associates degree and 16% only have a high school education or equivalent

Occupational Outlook Handbook

Licensing: many of these jobs do not require licenses, especially if you do not work for a company. However The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the main licensing organization for the securities industry

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Employment: Many are self employed, however there are companies that will hire these people to work in their company and dispatch them to people who need their services

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Nature of Work: many financial managers meet with companies and let them know what they can do to improve the finances within their company. Also, they predict what will happen financially in a company for the future.