Should I finish my college degree?

Donalds, SC · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote

9y

I have a degree in Industrial Engineering and it's benefitted me greatly however I also walked away with tons of student debt. I'd take a year off: -Get your real estate license -Get involved in that industry -If you're worried about money enroll in a software bootcamp to become a developer or a data scientist so you can bring in money during those hard times. If all else fails finish your degree, you're young and you can afford to fail!

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Robert Lee Miller III

Donalds, SC · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote

9y

I have a degree in Industrial Engineering and it's benefitted me greatly however I also walked away with tons of student debt. I'd take a year off: -Get your real estate license -Get involved in that industry -If you're worried about money enroll in a software bootcamp to become a developer or a data scientist so you can bring in money during those hard times. If all else fails finish your degree, you're young and you can afford to fail!

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Mindy JensenPro Member

BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes

9y

@Grant Hamlin , I have 3 college degrees in unbelievably stupid, completely worthless majors. Fashion Design, Art.

If you were studying Egyptian Basketweaving, I would agree that continuing to add to your debt may not be the best life choice.

A Business degree can provide a wide variety of opportunities, not the least of which is the networking that has been mentioned before.

Real estate is awesome, and there is nothing that says you can't start now, while you're in school. College is typically a 4-year degree, but there's no shame in doing it in 5 - especially if you're lowering your class load in order to start investing in real estate.

Where do you live now? Can you purchase a property and rent out rooms to friends?

[email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #261

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Michael Bertsch

Bossier City, LA · Member since 2015 · 122 posts · 50 votes

9y

If you are gonna be a buy and hold investor, it would benefit you greatly. This is because having a higher paying W2 makes it much easier to scale. You can accumulate money faster and leverage with bank financing. Banks love to see a good W2. Go to an affordable school and grind it out for a few years. The degree is something you can be proud of the rest of your life. It's still possible without a degree. You are just more likely to have a lower paying W2. You will just to sacrifice in some areas.

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Samuel Pascal

New to Real Estate · New York, NY · Member since 2017 · 40 posts · 12 votes

9y

Hello Grant,

I just graduated college in 2015 and right now, if i could do it all over again, I would have never gone. If I knew what I know now I would have just learned on my own and saved up all the money I could've saved by not going to college. I graduated with Economics which is not doing much for me but opening doors. I would rather work at a Mc Donalds and save up with no stress of having that tuition debt. But since you are 2 years in, it would be a sunk cost. I say finish it as fast as you can by taking extra classes, and look for chances to lower your debt. Really sucks having your paycheck cut by 2/3rds so it can go to tuition when it could have gone to investments. Hope my opinion helps.

I end with this quote by Frank Zappa "if you want to get laid, go to college. If you want an education, go to the library"

Apologies if this offends anyone.

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Cary O.

Rental Property Investor · Dallas/Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2017 · 64 posts · 59 votes

9y

Hi Grant,

Only you know what is best for you and what you want to do. Personally, I am glad that I pursued higher education with multiple college degrees. I was fortunate to have employers that helped pay for some of my college education as well. I searched and found a University job, which means that I was a University employee, and thus eligible for employee benefits including tuition discounts. That saved a significant portion of my tuition costs at the time. You may even be able to find employers that are willing to help pay for some of your student loans as part of your total compensation/benefits package per each year worked with a signed commitment agreement.

The higher education is an investment in yourself. In my experience, those that finished college and obtained their degree often show a higher level of critical thinking/analysis, discipline, and professionalism. Not always, but more often than not.

If you have the means to jump into real estate investing now, go for it! The earlier you start, the better off you'll be in the long run. Best of luck to you!

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Justin S.

Investor · Kingwood, TX · Member since 2013 · 28 posts · 7 votes

9y

To put it simple no. It's tough if you don't but it will also force you to learn to sell yourself and improve all around to gain an edge.

I would say go travel some and then look for someone you can work for even if it's for pennies. Hustle and learn and if you have the drive you'll be successful.

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Carlos Gonzalez

Investor · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2015 · 346 posts · 170 votes

9y

Quit college while you can. Educate yourself in what you want to do, do not let the university choose for you. Get loans to buy properties and not college courses you won't have a use for it.

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Ray Lai

Investor / Vendor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 949 votes

9y

@Grant Hamlin

I've seen a ton of responses to your excellent questions but a lot of them miss the boat. They don't bother asking you important questions that change the advice. I will give you some facts that many others have missed.

Did you know lenders love W-2s? It is huge, and helps you get kickass loans unless you're made of money. However, if you are lucky enough to have family and friends that have deep pockets and believe in you, then the value of the W-2 diminishes greatly. Having access to capital is HUGE.

However! When it comes to real estate you HAVE to bring one of 3 things, ideally more.

1) CAPITAL - $$$$

2) Experience with that area of real estate

3) DEALS

College can help you earn a paycheck and get access to loans, but experience and deals you gotta learn outside of school although some schools do have real estate classes. Even then, it's silly to spend that much to learn real estate in college.

Until you provide more information, I can't give you the advice you seek. I refuse to give bad advice, aka advice not tailored to you. Situations are highly dependent on your background, network, and your strengths/weaknesses. Depending on your strengths and weaknesses, there are many different areas of real estate and they require different skill sets. For example, are you great are managing projects on a schedule (business school operations management), maybe rehab is something that would be a good fit. Are you great at talking with people and solving problems? Maybe wholesaling would be a good fit.

Hope my post was informative and helpful. Remember, your situation is unique to you, and don't expect good advice from people who use THEIR experiences and project it onto you.

Do you have a big network with money?

What are you good at?

What do you enjoy?

What are you bad at?

These are all important questions that should lead you to thinking about the goals you have and what the BEST WAY to achieve them are. There is no one path to success... but it all involves hard work and educating yourself. Plenty of people who didn't go to college who are very educated. I personally have a lot of education (top business school in country, and masters in systems engineering) but you don't hear me preaching how school is always the best... each situation is different.

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Bart H.

Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 745 votes

9y

Originally posted by @Grant Hamlin:

Here's my situation,

My name is Grant Hamlin and I am 21 years old. Right now I am attending college in Oregon and am pursuing a Business Degree. I am 2 years in and am now applying for Oregon State Universities Business Pro School. Anything business related fascinates me and I love learning more about money and starting a business. Although I only have 2 years left, for the past few years I have struggled with the fact that college education is a hot topic and many believe it is not worth it. Growing up I was fortunate to have mentors in my life who are real estate investors and are very successful. They have motivated me and created my passion for real estate. The past few years I have been listening to podcasts on BP and reading various different books. I am so anxious to get started and make my first deal and start as soon as I can. I created this forum because I need some advice. For the past year or so, I have contemplated whether or not I should finish my bachelors degree because of a few different reasons. First off, the college courses I am taking are not satisfying me for the amount of money I am paying. The next two years I will have to take out student loans if I want to continue. And lastly, I know I want to be a real estate investor in the future, which I believe you do not need a college degree. I have spent countless hours in my head debating this situation and I would love to hear what the Bigger Pockets community has to say about it. Here's a few questions for discussion.

Is college education worth the student debt?

Thoughts on becoming a agent without a degree?

Seems like most people have normal jobs and start investing on the side... anyone start out a full time real estate investor?

I would get your degree, it gives you options. Especially early on, you will be glad you have the ability to earn W2 income, which will help you get loans to buy your first properties. Its all a snowball, early on its tough to get enough capital to get in on the best deals.

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Phillip LirettePro Member

Real Estate Professional · New Orleans, LA · Member since 2017 · 17 posts · 23 votes

9y

@Grant Hamlin take a break from school. You don't have to finish in 4 years. Explore working in real estate and investing in real estate. You can always go back to school, never go back to school, or continue working while completing your degree online or part time.

These days a college degree is only worth it if it leads to a good job right out of college. Engineering and accounting are good examples in my area. Some of my closest friends make twice as much as me at their current jobs but can't afford more expensive investments because of the large amount of student debt they accumulated. Their debt to income ratio is out of control.

College isn't what it used to be. The world is a lot smaller. You can find higher education through the internet, social networks like biggerppockets, apps, etc. Don't let the idea of getting a college degree hold you back. Go make some money, then be that business expert guest speaker at your university's business 101 class.

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Jennifer English

Real Estate Investor · Crooks, SD · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 1 vote

9y

Grant, I can feel that you are earnestly seeking direction in your life - which tells me you will be a great success one day. If I were in your shoes, and I have been! ... I would pray that God would make a clear path. Pray that God would open and close doors. I've discovered that if I am still and really listen - God will make his plan known - but in His timing. Best of luck to you in your endeavors. I really believe you'll be a great success - and that if you live your passion the money will follow! P.S. Are you anywhere near Talent, Oregon by chance?

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Anthony Vann

Investor · Hampton, VA · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 86 votes

9y

It seems like the biggest thing people are bringing up is debt. Because your college schedule is so flexible I don't see why you can't start out as an agent or do some type of paid (hopefully) internship with an REI firm part time, do school full time, and work to minimize the debt load. I went to a public college so it was far cheaper than any private university. And it's never kept me from getting anywhere I wanted to go in my career outside of real estate. I know a couple students who worked their butt off to make sure most of their education was paid for and they didn't accumulate a lot of debt. It honestly can be done. That way you get the best of both worlds. I definitely wouldn't limit my options at 21. Who know where you'll be and what you'll love doing at 41?

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Ben Winchester

Troutdale, OR · Member since 2016 · 47 posts · 15 votes

9y

This post has gotten quite the response, great question to pose. It's also really interesting all the different types of responses you are getting. I'm going to preface my response with, what I'm about to say is just my opinion and my experiences and every other response on here is the same, someone else's opinion. The fact you are 21 and questioning this is excellent and you should take all the responses into consideration, but remember, it's your life and you seem very capable of making a sound decision. One of my biggest regrets is going to college, just to go to college. And what I mean by that is I went to college out of high school because neither of my parents did, and that's what I was told to do. High school was a breeze for me easily achieving a 3.75 GPA with little effort and college was similar, or at least that's how I approached it. Do as little work as I can just so I can get done and get that piece of paper. I graduated from Eastern Oregon University with a business degree and got a good paying job right after, but not in business. I've only been out of college for 4 years and can't remember a single skill I learned. Sure I remember general business concepts, but actual business skills?? Not a single one. The point of all this is to say, if I could do it all over again, I wouldn't go to college, just to go to college. If I could go back, I would specifically learn a business related skill such as finance, or small business, or entrepreneurship, or start up, or a number of things. I would dive deep into one of those and then practice it daily to keep that skill fresh. And that's just what I would do if I chose to go back to school. I think you can learn all that in the world with the right mindset and skip the debt from college. I hate to rain on other people's parades but going to school for the "networking" or the "experience" or to "have fun" is just a giant waste of time. You can network, get experiences, and have fun for so much less than $50k-$100k. I hope all my rambling ended up making some sense to you and I wish you the best of luck in your future!

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Mark Brazier

Bracebridge, Ontario · Member since 2015 · 22 posts · 5 votes

9y

I'm a business school dropout myself. And I now own 5 units and have done a flip. And own a successful service business. I only started 2 and a half years ago. I don't want to say you should dropout but school honestly scares the hell out of me. I come from a family of business and I quickly realized that school wasn't the route I'd like to take to learn entrepreneurship.

1 Reply

Bettina F.

Investor · Post Falls, ID · Member since 2016 · 606 posts · 699 votes

9y

This is NOT an either/or choice. Take a year or two off, work in RE to focus your goals, then decide either to return to college part or full time, or not at all. Your education will be much more meaningful to you. Look into the apprenticeship program Praxis. Tom Woods talks about on his podcasts (Google Tom Woods Praxis) This might be a good option for you.

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Sonia Vanegas

Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 1 vote

9y

Business majors have a lot of job opportunities. I would suggest to finish your education and then start investing. That way you have a cushion to fall back on if real estate doesn't work out.

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Dave P.Pro Member

Rental Property Investor · MA · Member since 2016 · 58 posts · 14 votes

9y

Hi Grant,

One way to help with this type of decision is to think about how you want to look back on this point in your life. Let's pretend that you are 50 and sitting on your porch. When you look back do you want to say you finished your degree? I believe you can be a successful real estate investor and have your college degree. It is not either or. Having a degree will help you get the job which in turn will provide security and capital needed for you delve into real estate investing. Hope that helps.

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Cary F.

Investor · Lakewood, OH · Member since 2016 · 203 posts · 191 votes

9y

@Grant Hamlin

If you cannot figure out if college debt is worth it or not, then how will you ever become an investor? Is college education not an investment? Do you not require debt to be a real estate investor?

The obvious answer is yes, you need to finish your degree. The average ROI for business school is usually > 20% if you study accounting, finance or economics.

The language of ROI for real estate is spoken in accounting terms. Value creation for real estate is calculated using an income statement. Equilibrium rent analysis is used by considering macro economic trends. Additional returns in REI are rooted in the practice of finance...

Here's another warning... People on Bigger Pockets are usually biased against college education. But the data suggests that people with college degrees earn far more than people without college degrees most of the time. That earning power will improve your real estate investing!

So.. If a degree will increase your earning power, and if your education will enhance your investing game, then why would you not finish the degree?

The only thing that doesn't make sense is you investing 2 years of time and money into a degree that you don't finish. Now that is a true waste of resources.

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Marcus Lawson

Roselle, NJ · Member since 2017 · 139 posts · 71 votes

9y

I think a degree is very important but it has to lead to a good job. You can't put yourself >100k in debt for a 40k per year job. Or even worse, in a field with no opportunity.

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Marianne C.

Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2012 · 29 posts · 9 votes

9y

Great conversation! One other benefit of a college education that hasn't been mentioned is the critical thinking, analysis and thought processes that can be developed. Think of the differences between a liberal arts education and a vocational education. Skill building vs. thinking.

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Bryan Pham

Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2016 · 602 posts · 250 votes

9y

My parents came to America as refugees escaping with Vietnam War with nothing but the cloth on their backs. Money has always an extremely sensitive subject matter throughout my childhood years since we didn't have much of it. My mom stressed the importance of education as a means to get me to where I want in life.

Education has not only helped me become an engineer and helped me get to a good spot where I could think about potentially investing into real estate. Without education, I would never have the privilege of thinking about entering into this game. I feel like it is important because it forms the basis for a lifelong world of continuously self education. If given a choice, without a doubt, I would finish my degree before moving onto bigger and better things.

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Should I finish my college degree?

Should I finish my college degree?

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