I'm an agent but have had a very different experience due to some different career decisions that I have really enjoyed. I have been a licensed agent since February of 2011 and have sold around 300 homes. When I first got into real estate the market was slow, I had a completely different career that I hated, a master's degree in technology and was making about $25K/year. I had always wanted to go into real estate but was a bit afraid of it and not making any money. At the time I was young and single and there was no way to pay the bills if I didn't get paid (no husband with an income). My plan was to get my feet wet and work part time, sell a few homes and then jump in full time when the market picked up (it was still down but starting to show some signs of improvement).
Then, nothing happened. I signed on with a local brokerage, worked my butt off and literally, nothing. I worked for about 6 months trying hard and barely picked up 2 clients who weren't real serious and never bought. Felt like I had no clue what I was doing.
In August of 2011 I ended up taking on a job with a local builder working as a site agent. This is what changed everything for me. They gave me a base salary plus bonuses and full benefits, I was an employee not an independent contractor. I worked for them for about 2.5 years years and then switched to a larger national builder where I could make more money. It was a bit difficult as a site agent, much more like a regular job, I worked 10am-6pm 5 days/week with not much flexibility. I had to work weekends and all smaller holidays. I enjoyed what I did, sold a ton of homes and made good money. However, it eventually wore me down not being able to take weekends off hardly at all, I felt like I missed out on a lot of events with friends/family.
Then I heard about a brokerage that employs agents as employees, paying a small base salary, benefits and commissions. I started talking to them and pretty much fell in love. It's very different and not for everyone. However, I feel like now I get the best of both worlds. I have a higher level of security at my company, we work in teams, and they pay for EVERYTHING. The commissions are lower to compensate for this, but for me it's well worth it. I am probably never going to make as much as top producing agents in the area, but that doesn't bother me. I sell plenty of homes thanks to the company providing me with all my leads and I make a little more than the average agent in my area. It's a very different business model, some hate it, some love it. I have really loved it and it's worked well for me.
The upsides: I have a flexible schedule, I work with an incredible team and if I need a day off I can take a REAL day off, I make enough money that I don't worry, the company pays for literally EVERY expense, tons of training, I'm never on my own.
The downside: I am an employee and expected to do a certain level of business and work a certain number of hours, I have a set number of paid leave I can take but since my days off each week are my choice I can still take weekends and small holidays off if I choose, I am limited in my earning potential and probably won't make as much as top producing agents in the area. - Note, none of these thing bother me. I still have enough flexibility and enough earnings that the upsides outweigh the downsides for me.
If you're looking for something different in real estate, or you're struggling, there are different options out there than the traditional agent. If I had known about it sooner I would have made the jump so much earlier and not stayed in my previous career nearly as long.