Do I need an agent?

I have been researching this on the web for a while. Do I need an agent to get published? Will that help me to get published? And if I do want to find an agent - where do I look and how do I attract one?

I have read blog after blog and website after website on this and I have come to a few conclusions:

• An agent is great if you want to ensure you get a good deal and have exposure to a wide range of publishers.
• If an agent represents your work and recommends it to publishers, you are more likely to have your work read and taken seriously by the publishers.
• It could be almost as hard to find an agent as it is to find a publisher. In both cases you have to find someone who likes your work
• When we have gone through the pain and suffering of producing our first novel, do we really feel strong enough to face the scores of rejections that seem to be par for the course - and have them from both publishers and agents?
• The easiest way to find a good agent is to have credibility as an author (ie, to have either published something already (with good sales if self-published), or to have been offered a contract by a publishing company).

 Conclusion: this whole thing seems to be a Catch 22. It all sounds rather daunting.