Dang cj, tell us how you really feel...
Can you imagine even for an instant what it is like working in and around todays customer base in any sort of retail environment? Seriously, look in the mirror and picture having maybe 500 to 1000 of those mugs to work with...! My database had 6000 names at its peak, my team lead had 22,000. Managing and assisting RE transactions is a 7 day, 80hr/week pain in the butt job, loads of driving, negotiating, problem solving and far too much hand holding and counseling. Yes, there was a load of part timers, who were not very good but sometimes scored a check. They are on the path to extinction as brokers pass costs back to agents, forcing non producers out of the field.
When I started they said it took 243 contacts to make a sale, 243 different people you had to have a conversation with for the cash register to ring. Average sales were under 250k at that point, so at 3% for the side commission was 7500 before splits and office charges. My net as a nubie was under 50% but let's say I did get that so 3750 divided by 243 equals a whopping 15 bucks per contact, showing, listing presentation. The average agent, across all the mls's closes 6.3 deals a year(2021 data, they no longer reveal results), so that got them a whopping 24k for a year but you had to make 1500 contacts or roughly 4 per day to get that...
So where do you draw the line? You have little concern as it takes little to get into RE, what about bagging groceries do you have little concern for those folks? People who work in gas stations? Night watchman? School bus drivers? House cleaners? Construction workers? Sign people on road crews? Day care workers?
So dear cj, just what is legitimate employment from your perspective...... and don't ever call me a Karen again!