Insurance Agents, please chime in... (Career Option)

Fellow Enthusiasts:

I'll be retiring form the Air Force in the next few months and have been attending a few Job Fairs to get a feel of what's out there. Right now, I have a few resume's sent out to a few Government Contractors and 2 Corporate Offices. At a Job Fair in Atl. in June, my wife and I were approached by a Senior Recruiter of "The Farm". She was really nice and we all hit it off. She asked me a few questions and was really eager to meet with us at a later time to explain to us the possibilities of becoming an Agent. She liked that we are bi-lingual, military, approachable, etc.. We spoke about our career, and interests in helping people, etc.. She took our resume's and the following day invited us to attend a phonecall to see if we like the options.. She talked about their wonderful "Military to Agent" option that they are leading, it seemed a nice option if my other leads dont pan out in time..

For the last few weeks, we've been getting e-mails for workshops at local Hotels, but because I'n not available until January to really dedicate my time for the Job Search and attend conferences, we are holding tight. Last week, she emailed us, we asked if there was an option to meet while I am down in Atl. on one of these upcomming Friday's.

She arranged a meeting with the Agency Field Executive, her and us in the next few weeks. I guess we are going to discuss the options of becoming an Agent..

I've read a lot about the stipulations that are placed on the Agents, especially the commissions, etc... I know that the more I sell, the more money for the Agency and then it trickles down to me..

The internetz has a lof of chatter about the agreement, etc.. but some seem to overcome the first obstacles..

Thoughts: Pros-Cons..

Thanks in advance..

For the majority of people that give insurance a try, they work pretty hard at it for 6 months to a year and then go do something else because they weren't seeing a payback... It takes a 2-3 years of hard work, hustle and staying power/getting established, then things get quite a bit easier. The vast majority won't go past the first year. For at least life and health, the bigger money is at general agent or above - think pyramid deal. The money is in recruiting other people to sell for you and you get a small piece of a lot of action vs. big piece of a little action. Lots of commissions are structured heavy for first year, 65-85% of first year premiums, then something like 15% for subsequent years (with a 4-5 year cutoff). Property/casualty stuff is a bit different in specifics, but same layout - high burnout, takes a while for the payback.

As far as liking it - how are you at pushing a product that you know may not be the best on the market or be costing your client more than a competitor (at any given moment, someone else will have a better deal)?

edit/disclosure - I'm not an agent, years ago I worked at a life/health corporate office - I designed/wrote insurance policies to meet corporate strategy/objectives.