Getting Licensed: Broker, Agent, Realtor? HELP!

[Brian Erickson]

My wife and I have always been interested in real estate and while we educate ourselves about investing we thought it would be a good idea for one of us to get licensed.  Since I work a 9 to 5 and she stays at home with the kids (a harder job than mine, mind you) we thought that she would be best suited to go down this road first.

Can someone tell me the differences between the three titles [ Agent, Broker, Realtor ] and what training and work practices differ?

We're basically wanting to learn the ropes to serve ourselves when purchasing properties but would also like to be qualified enough to help friends out if they too are in need of purchasing property.

Our big concern is that getting licensed will require my wife to have to work in an office setting for a certain period of time, which currently with the children is not an option.  

HELP!  Would love to hear some informative personal experiences of getting licensed, what it entails and what are the pros/cons of doing so.

Thanks in advance BP!

[Russell Brazil]

Realtor is a member of professional association made up of agents, brokers, sometimes ancillary members including lenders, lawyers. Most agents and brokers are Realtor members, but not all. Its like a plumber...some are part of the plumbers union, but you dont need to be a union member to be a plumber.

An agent, or sales person is licensed to sell real estate. They must work under the supervision of a broker.

A broker is the head honcho. Usually you need to be a salesperson for a certain amount of years before you can move from being a salesperson to a broker.