This piqued my curiosity about a job that often operates invisibly behind the scenes in the most high-end segment of the market. Superachievers in the real estate world, where workaholism is an industry standard, probably work longer hours than lawyers and high-tech professionals. And generally, real estate agents do not hire assistants until they become victims of their own success: working seven days a week, yet still getting more work than they can handle. (One National Association of Realtors bulletin advises that you need one assistant for every 50 clients.) Is being an assistant a way to earn a decent living in real estate without the pressures of going out on your own? Or is the job a road to long hours, low pay and possibly dealing with agents who look down on you?According to a 2005 survey by the Realtors' association, 1 in 5 agents has at least one personal assistant. Fifteen percent report having one personal assistant, and 4 percent report having two or more assistants. The association breaks the assistant category into three jobs: personal assistants who are licensed as real estate agents, personal assistants without licenses, and virtual assistants (who do paperwork from home as contract workers). The survey found that most personal assistants process new listings and enter them into the MLS, photograph listings, send out mailings, manage escrow paperwork and schedule appointments.
As one might have guessed, no two real estate assistants I interviewed defined their jobs the same way. (I found none that included pipe-loading among their duties, and all expressed convincing affection and gratitude for their bosses.)