Job analysis survey

The California Department of Real Estate (DRE) is asking their 312,000+ active real estate agents and brokers to share their knowledge and expertise in a job analysis survey.

The DRE survey seeks to collect confidential answers from licensees to help inform the DRE on the most relevant types of questions to ask in the state exams for salesperson licensing and broker licensing. The end objective is to produce a better educated population of licensees entering the industry — via training by schools. Good for real estate practitioners, and good for the members of the public consuming their services and advice.

To incentivize and thank those licensees who respond, the DRE will give three hours of continuing education (CE) consumer service credit to licensees who complete the survey by November 8, 2023. Credit is provided whether or not you are actively practicing so long as the contact information page is completed.

The survey, recently announced on September 12th, 2023, will take between one and two hours to complete. For licensees who are not practicing, the survey is highly abridged. The survey may be taken on a desktop or laptop computer, a tablet, or a smartphone. The survey doesn’t need to be completed in a single session but needs to be completed on the same device it was started on.

To receive the CE credit, licensees need to provide their name, DRE license number and email address at the end of the survey. Licensees may expect the credits to be issued within 4-6 weeks. The CE credit information will be mailed to you in a physical letter containing the CE number for use on the next renewal of your license.

To take the survey and earn your free 3 hours of CE, visit the DRE’s website.

Wanted: subject matter experts

The DRE is constantly monitoring and revising the state exam. Every five to seven years, the DRE overhauls their salesperson and broker exams to keep them topically current — relevant. The DRE’s latest revision of the exams is now underway, done in the good-faith effort to bring the contents of the exam up-to-date with actual practice as experienced by active real estate practitioners — you.

The DRE is taking a democratic approach to their formation of the two state exams, wanting to hear from practicing agents and brokers themselves so the content of the state exams better reflect industry practices today. The survey is a critical component of this objective, and a uniquely proactive way of ensuring the state exam content, and thus education, remains steeped in current practice.

But there is another way licensees can lend their voices and earn CE.

The DRE is recruiting active real estate licensees throughout the state as Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to participate in virtual workshops and meetings which will also help to inform the content of the state exam. The DRE will focus on a diverse pool of experts who focus on all areas of real estate practice and who are affiliated with a variety of professional trade groups and associations operating in all corners of the dynamic California real estate industry.

SMEs may participate as much or as little as they choose. In return for their participation, SMEs will be provided with CE hours and compensation.

To learn more or sign up to become an SME, email ExamAdmin_DevUnit@dre.ca.gov. Include “Exam SME” in the subject line.

Exam prep

firsttuesday is a leading provider of:

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Order with a printed copy of the Prep Book for $119.50 or go all digital for $109.50 on our Sales Agent State Exam Training page or Broker State Exam Training page.