We've all seen it or have been reminded of it often enough.
There's Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate, unsure of what he wants to do after college, being taken aside by a stereotypical businessman.
"I just want to say one word to you -- just one word -- 'plastics,'" the executive advises.
That same scene probably played out at lots of parties during the early days of the housing boom, except it was two words -- real estate.
That wasn't the first time, either. In the mid-1980s, and under the same circumstances, a lot of people found a home in real estate after their own careers had not played out as they had hoped.

When the market at the end of the 1980s skidded into a wall, the resulting crash shook out a lot of agents and brokers who had no experience working in a market in which houses didn't sell themselves.

A few learned some new lessons, weathered the storm and found a permanent home. These were the agents and brokers who developed niches in the condo or second home markets, came up with terms such as "farming," developed co-op relationships with new-home builders and contributed to the professionalization of an industry that had been more part-time than full.

They were also the ones who latched on to technology, who began putting phones in their cars, doing more and more business by email, building websites, learning about 360-degree on-line tours.

Most couldn't cope, however, and headed off to the next career.

I put my first home on the market in 1987, just at the tail end of boom, and hired one, and then another, of these neophytes to sell my house.

Both opened their "How to sell real estate" pamphlets, made sure there was soft music playing in the living room and the fragrance of cinnamon sticks or baking bread filling the house, and sat eagerly at the front door at their first open houses.

In the end, the 70-year-old, 50-year veteran (now in her 90s and still selling, although someone drives her to appointments these days) took the listing and got me an agreement of sale and my price in a few days.

I'd given the other two three months each, and neither ever brought me a solid offer.

Most of the people I quote regularly are veterans, although I'm always adding smart newcomers, especially those with sales backgrounds that brokers consider a hot commodity when looking for agents.

The mix gives me a solid perspective on the market -- the newer agents come up with new ideas about how to handle slower sales; the older ones providing the, "I've been through something like this before, and this is what you do."

The presence of so many new agents and brokers, however, means as the pie gets smaller, the pieces get thinner. A recent survey by the National Association of Realtors puts members' median income at $47,700 in 2006, down from $49,300 in 2004.

Members licensed as brokers earned a median of $73,700 last year, while sales agents earned $34,600. During the last two years, NAR membership increased 23.2 percent.

Realtors in the business for two years or less earned a median of $15,300, while those with three to five years of experience earned $44,200. For six to 15 years, the median was $64,600, while members in the business for 16 years or more earned $76,200.

I don't know how anyone can make it these days on $15,300, or even $44,200. I'm assuming that if a lot of people are making so little, they are having second thoughts about staying the business much longer.

I was on a panel recently in which the moderator suggested that the market wouldn't reach bottom until next year, and while I'm not into making predictions, just reporting them, from what I've been seeing even in more prosperous areas, I'm going to have to agree that recovery will be later than sooner.

So where will these folks be going next? Two words: life insurance.

According to an email I received a couple of days ago, "Successful Realtors have the qualities necessary for success in the life insurance business, and New York Life offers a potentially lucrative career in a strong and stable industry, with a company that provides tremendous benefits and a lifetime of learning and professional development."

The company is launching new advertising directed at real estate agents, which premiered in the May issue of Realtor magazine.

It seems that there is a pressing need for people to help boomers set up their own sources of retirement income, and New York Life thinks real estate agents have that expertise.

Two words: Who knew?