Post: #1

Really curious, saw a fast-track course at a community college in Canada and I'm just wondering if there is anyone here who is or knows a friend who is in the industry. What do you think of the job?

Post: #2

(Note, below is more for brokers / sales, I'm not familiar with adjusters - that sounds like it'd come with a base salary and could be a bit more promising)

Brutal if your cold calling / sales skills aren't top notch and you have a network.

I know a couple people who've worked as part time insurance salesmen. Most positions have no base salary, just desks / cubes and phones. You'll make around 5% of what you sell to a new customer, and get a ~2% commission each year that they stay on. If you have slave labor interns or get promoted to where you can have your own staff, you'll get another few % off their profit. The guys who were assigned a regional office with its own territory by corporate make bank by virtue of the multi-level sales pyramid, but it's a hard road to the top.

"Build up your own book of business! Work for yourself! Work when you want, for as little as you want! We're your partners, not your managers!"

Some of these places will even charge YOU to sit in their cubes and use up their phone minutes. Usually, it's a dog-eat-dog environment - no coordination between the salespeople, who will reuse each others' calling lists. People on the other side of the phone will bitch that they've been pitched three times last week and they're still not interested and please take us off your calling list, only they'll have to call corporate themselves and wait forty minutes for Abishek in Bangalore to answer their phone call and find them in the system.

Most people who enter the biz get their insurance producer certifications (your company will probably charge you for their training materials), sell to their friends, family and buy some for themselves, then find themselves unable to sell to anyone more than 1 handshake away. In and out of the office in 6-12 months, but the company will keep the clients they brought in, thanks. Until you prove that you can support yourself and are making sales, don't expect the older guys to know your name, much less offer advice or support.

If you manage to claw your way into the role, you'll get flexible hours and a passive-ish income. If you want to leave into another field, I believe you can sell your book of clients to someone who worked for your company.

My personal take on sales - if you're not given even a small base salary, don't bother. If you're going to have to study for certifications, look for study info online or price it out at your employer of choice - rather than pay for it by the credit hour.

If you go to an interview and they're selling you on why you should work for them - instead of asking why you're good enough for them - think twice.