Maryland has several tourist attractions like the National Aquarium, Harbor place, Sherwood Gardens, the Baltimore Museum of Art and much more. When traveling to Maryland, any travel agent should be able to tell you about these attractions. Beside this they should also be able to give details about the climate, accommodations, air fare and rental cars. If you want to know how to become a travel agent in Maryland this page might be of help to you. You will find information regarding the travel agent requirements, benefits, duties, salary and much more. http://www.planetware.com/top-tourist-attractions-/baltimore-us-md-ba.htm

Travel websites like Kayak.com, Expedia.com and Travelocity.com give people the opportunity to basically become their own travel agent. They can go online 24/7 and book flights, accommodations and rental cars with the click of a button. As a travel agent you will have to become an expert on various travel destinations. People need to have a reason to come and see you. You should be able to provide information that they cannot find elsewhere themselves. It might help to tell them that you often have access to many discounts and promotions that the general public cannot access.

The top cities for a career as a travel agent are Chicago, New York, Seattle, Houston, Atlanta and Boston. This doesn't mean that if you live outside of these, you cannot be successful. A travel agent in Maryland can do very well, it just depends on your own efforts. http://career.qandas.com/jobs/what-are-the-top-cities-for-travel-agent-careers.html

TRAINING AND EDUCATION: As with any occupation, travel agents need to have a certain education and training. If you want to become a travel agent in Maryland, you will at the very least need a high school diploma or the equivalent. An employer might be hesitant to hire anyone with no experience or training geared towards their chosen profession. Therefore vocational school might benefit you. You can even go on to college and get a masters of bachelor's degree in tourism and travel. Look around your neighborhood to find courses and/or classes. Research online schools, community colleges and public adult education programs. Courses in world history, geography, computer science and foreign languages will help when searching for a job. Some schools in Maryland that provide courses/classes that might benefit future travel agents include Allegany College of Maryland, Penn Foster Career School, Stratford Career Institute, and Strayer University Online http://www.citytowninfo.com/employment/travel-agents/maryland http://careerplanning.about.com/od/occupations/p/travel_agent.htm http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos124.htm

Besides education and training, you also need to possess certain other qualities. Travel agents need to be well organized, accurate, professional, courteous and they also need to have good communication skills. Because travel agents work a lot with computers, good knowledge of computers is another requirement.

EMPLOYMENT: When you have completed your education and have participated in various training courses, you can start looking for a job. A lot of aspiring travel agents start out as receptionists or reservation clerks at local travel agencies. This is a good way to learn about the daily travel agent tasks and also to get a foot in the door. Over time more responsibilities might come your way and eventually you might end up as a travel agent.

SALARY: Keep in mind that when you become a travel agent, it might take a while to build a client base. You might not make commissions right away. However, the 2010 base annual salary for Maryland travel agents is estimated at $30,319.00. If you decide to start your own business, you might make a more money. It all depends on how much you put into your job. http://swz.salary.com/salarywizard/layoutscripts/swzl_salaryresults.asp?op=salswz_psr&jobfamilycode=23&txtKeyword=travel+agent&hdOmniNarrowDesc=Materials+Management&hdZipCode=21202&hdOmniTotalJobsFound=20&pagefrom=selectjob&hdJobCategory=AR02&hdGeoLocation=Baltimore%2C+MD+21202&countertype=1&totaljoblistnum=2&joblevelcode=&hdCurrentPage=1&hdNarrowDesc=Hotel%2C+Gaming%2C+Leisure%2C+and+Travel&hdLocationOption=1&hdViewAllRecords=0&hdJobTitle=Travel+Clerk&hdSearchByOption=0&hdKeyword=travel+agent&rdbSearchByOption=0&hdStateMetro=13&jobcounter=8&hdSortBy=0&hdJobCode=OF13000058&hdJSBoolDisplayAdvertisement=&hdAjaxKeyword=travel+agent&hdAjaxKeywordWithOR=%23travel%23+OR+%23agent%23&hdAjaxDisplaySection1=0&hdAjaxDisplaySection2=1

BENEFITS: Some people think that becoming a travel agent will allow them to travel the world for close to nothing. If this is the only reason why you want to become a travel agent you might want to reconsider, since a travel agent has many duties as you will see below. As for traveling, a travel agent will be allowed to travel at discounts or sometimes even free, after at least six months of successfully having sold travel. In order to do this it is required that you obtain a Travel Agent ID card from IATAN. Usually your employer will assist in this. http://www.travelagenttrainingcenter.com/Travel%20Industry%20Benefits.htm

DUTIES: Knowing how to become a travel agent in Maryland also include knowing what the job entails. Following you will find a list of duties and tasks that might be expected from you. This way you will be able to see whether this job is suitable for you or whether you need additional training.

• ■ A travel agent has to assist, communicate with, and inform customers about their desired travel destinations. You need to be able to inform them about air fares, accommodations, rental cars, climate/weather, points of interest, required vaccinations, travel documents and customs regulations.
• ■ If you work for a tour operator your job duties might include promoting, developing, arranging and selling the company's own travel services and package tours through direct mail, presentations and the Internet.
• ■ Another responsible is booking hotel reservations and transportation either by using their telephone or terminal.
• ■ You will also need to be able to calculating costs of the fares, hotel stay, transportation and quoting various travel package prices.
• ■ Providing customer with brochures and publications about their destination is another task at hand.
• ■ Further tasks include printing tickets and answering any question that customers might have along the way.

DO YOU NEED A LICENSE: To become a travel agent in Maryland and most other states, there is no special test to take. Anyone can become a travel agent. It's not like real estate where the agent has to take a state administered test to get a license. Some cities, counties and towns might have licensing provisions for people selling travel from their home. You may have to join the "Travel Seller's" registration program that many states carry. This is usually done by paying a financial contribution. Not registering and just print business cards saying that you are a travel agent, will make it so the suppliers won't recognize you as a legit entity. http://www.homebasedtravelagent.com/FAQ.htm http://hometravelagency.com/travel-agent-articles/travel-agent-license/

WATCH OUT FOR SCAMS: So you want to be a travel agent and now you are looking for a job. Be careful because there are many companies out there that are scams. They are only after your money. Many of these companies operate on the internet. They make offers that are too good to be true and hope you will fall for them. They usually focus solely on the benefits you will get and not on the work involved. Here are some sign to recognize when you are dealing with a scam company.

• If the company advertises by offering free or discounted travel, it's usually a scam. (Everyone would join if this was the case)
• If the company offers a you a commission to recruit other people to join the company, it's probably a scam. (You want to sell travel, not recruit affiliates)
• If the Company brags about its success, they are probably not successful at all.
• If you have to pay a large amount of money to become an affiliate, walk the other way. http://www.homebasedtravelagent.com/scams.htm