Eight questions, honest answers. Not a quiz that says yes to everyone, because the job suits some people and not others, and the two years it takes to find out are expensive.
Written by A.I.M.I. Collective Mortgage Group, Brokerage editorial team
Published September 2026 · Last reviewed 11 September 2026
Bankers, realtors, financial advisors and people from nowhere near lending all ask the same thing: would I be good at this, and would I like it? The course cannot tell you. The eight questions below can, if you answer them the way you would to a friend rather than to a recruiter.
Brokers set their hours and pay for every empty one. If a quiet Tuesday makes you anxious rather than productive, the first year will be hard.
Not pitching. Calling twenty people a week, remembering their kids' names, following up for the fourth time without resentment. Referrals and repeat clients are the whole business.
The first funded file commonly lands two to four months after the licence, and every file after that pays 30 to 90 days late. If you have no runway, build one before you start.
The best brokers are the ones who were frustrated by the box. If a decline you disagreed with has ever kept you up, that is the job.
Self employed income, rental offsets, DSCR on a fiveplex. Not every file needs it, but the profitable ones do.
Your name on the file, your reputation on Google, your phone that rings on Sunday. Some people find that exhilarating and some find it exhausting. Neither is wrong.
Document chasing, conditions, compliance notes, the renewal call at 120 days. A brokerage that processes for you removes most of it, but never all.
A community, a profession, a network, a niche. The brokers who make year one work rarely start from zero; they start from somewhere.
Six or more yes: you are the person this job was built for, and the only question left is which brokerage. Four or five: it can work, and the brokerage you choose decides most of it, because the support fills the gaps. Three or fewer: think hard, and if you go, go with a runway and a mentor.
Answer four quick questions and we will email you the three guides that fit where you are today.
Coming from a bank or a lending role: read from banker to broker, where your experience counts for more than you think. Starting from another industry: read how the courses work and what the job actually is. Already licensed and deciding whether to stay in: read a day in the life and how the income works.
We onboard licensed brokers only, so the licence is yours to earn before we can help with anything else. After that you get weekly lender training, a team chat where new and experienced brokers answer around the clock, and senior brokers who will work your first files alongside you. There is no scripted programme with a guaranteed timeline. There is a room full of people who pick up.
Comparing provinces? See how to become a mortgage broker in Canada: the licence, course and cost in Ontario, BC and Alberta on one page.
Upgrade from Level 1 to Level 2 in Ontario: 12 months licensed, the Private Mortgages Course, no FSRA fee, and what Level 2 lets you do.
Step by step: the course, exam and sponsoring brokerage you need to become a mortgage broker in Ontario, BC or Alberta, plus the cost and timeline.
What mortgage agent and broker jobs in Canada actually are: commission not salary, licensed through a brokerage, and what to compare before you join one.
REMIC, Mortgage Professionals Canada, CMBA Ontario, Humber, UBC Sauder, AMBA and Alberta Real Estate School compared on price, format and exam rules.
Book a discovery call. We will tell you honestly whether the timing and the plan make sense, and what your first ninety days would look like here.