First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers vs Real Estate Brokers: $49K vs $73K Median Pay

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers vs Real Estate Brokers: what changes?

Consider First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers if you want to directly supervise and coordinate activities of retail sales workers in an establishment or department. Consider Real Estate Brokers if you would rather operate real estate office, or work for commercial real estate firm, overseeing real estate transactions. Both list high school diploma or equivalent; compare training and prior experience separately. Prior experience in a related occupation is typically needed for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers (less than 5 years) and Real Estate Brokers (less than 5 years).

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers and Real Estate Brokers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

National median pay (2025): $48,520
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 113,500

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers brief

Real Estate Brokers

National median pay (2025): $73,220
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
Prior related experience: Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Sell, for a fee, real estate owned by others.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 7,800

Know before you choose

BLS lists less than 5 years of related experience. This is normally reached through feeder roles, not directly from school.

See the full Real Estate Brokers brief

How the national numbers differ

Real Estate Brokers has the edge on median pay

Real Estate Brokers is at $73,220, compared with $48,520 for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers.

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers has the edge on annual openings

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers is at 113,500 annual openings, compared with 7,800 annual openings for Real Estate Brokers.

Typical preparation differs.

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years Real Estate Brokers: High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Real Estate Brokers has the edge on projected growth

Real Estate Brokers is at 0.8% projected growth, compared with -3.7% projected growth for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers.

52.8/ 100

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

49.2/ 100

Real Estate Brokers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers vs Real Estate Brokers

Dimension	First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers	Real Estate Brokers
Median pay (2025)	$48,520	$73,220
Pay percentile	28.2 percentile	62.9 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	-3.7%	0.8%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	113,500	7,800
2025 employment	1,419,800	103,500
How you qualify	High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years	High school diploma or equivalent; Prior related experience: less than 5 years
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 4
Related work experience	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.	Prior related experience: less than 5 years.
On-the-job training	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.	BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers brief Read Real Estate Brokers brief

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers vs Real Estate Brokers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

Real Estate Brokers

How the national numbers differ

Real Estate Brokers has the edge on median pay

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers has the edge on annual openings

Typical preparation differs.

Real Estate Brokers has the edge on projected growth

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers vs Real Estate Brokers

Try another comparison

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers vs First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers

Real Estate Brokers vs First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers

Real Estate Brokers vs Real Estate Agent