I hate to be a contrarian.

But given the state of the real estate market and mortgage market nationally, now is a good time to become a mortgage broker. Downtimes are the best time to enter any market. (It's the buy low part of the buy low/sell high). Many mortgage brokers have been forced from the market and quite frankly the marginal players have been eliminated. The California Mortgage Exam is one of the tougher exams national. Compucram offers a downloadable free trial of their California Mortgage Lending CompuCram® Exam Prep Software. This software prepares you for the California mortgage broker exam. It's downloadable and more importantly offers a guarantee to help you pass your mortgage exam.