I think this field is following the trajectory of the mortgage business- before and after the real estate crash. Every stockbroker who lost his license and thousands of people with no sales ability and big dreams rushed to sell mortgages. Brokers were bringing on anyone with a pulse. Most people made a little money from clueless buyers.

Once the market corrected itself most of these people-both the owners of poorly run broker shops and the useless sales people took their greed, dishonesty and lack of ability or common sense and went on to dream of huge commissions in other fields (including this one)

But the smart, honorable, skilled brokers and sales people survived, changed with the times, adjusted to a buyers market, used hard work, innovative thinking, new technology to whatever degree they could afford to, and thrived. If they decided to get out they leveraged their experience and are doing well at something else-some in this business.

People can buy a house or get a cash advance or a loan without a broker and more people will-technology definitely makes it easier, but still not as easy as finding a knowledgeable broker who understands what you want, what you qualify for, helps you to make a realistic and educated decision and coaches you on what you need to do to qualify for what you want down the road if you aren't eligible now. I think the broker shops who can do this, hire carefully and train their staff to do this quickly and efficiently will probably survive.