College Degree Advice

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College Degree Advice

Aaron Millis
Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2016 · 179 posts · 188 votes

Hi BP community,

I am not really new to BP I have been involved for over a year now, listened to basically every podcast (many more than once), read a handful of the books, and actually purchased my first investment property earlier this year. Over the past few years it has become more apparent to me than I have a passion for entrepreneurship and more specifically for real estate investing. 

All of that being said I recently got out of the military and am looking forward to the next chapter of my life. I have started going back to college with the plan of getting a business degree, really just because in my mind that makes the most sense. I do not think that a degree is extremely necessary for me to obtain with goals of being a full time real estate investor one day, however because of my situation with the military I have the GI bill available - which basically means I can get to go to school for free. So not going seems like it would be a waste since I know that the cost is the reason most people might not go to college. -- Also the govt pays me money for living along the way, so all the more reason to go to school

My main question is if there is anyone that can relate to my situation what type of degree would you propose that I pursue?? Im currently going to Auburn University and the have business degrees such as finance and entrepreneurship... but I do not know which one makes the most sense with my goals in mind. Also not to get too into the military benefits but I have a lottt of free schooling available, like roughly 8 years worth.. not that I intend to go to school that long.

I understand that it takes time to become a full time investor and that I will need income to bankroll my investments, and to receive loans etc. I do not know what type of actual job I will want in the real world I just know I want it to be related to Real Estate. I could go more in depth but this is already longer than I wanted it to be. Thank you to anyone who puts in their 2 cents.

-Aaron

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Alexander FelicePro Member
Guy with Great Hair · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 4k+ votes
8y

I was a veteran who went and got his degree and I'm quite happy I did.

I do underwriting for the SBA now (which includes lots of commercial RE)  and I buy real estate on the side which is growing nicely, I'm happy with both.

If you can go to school for free I say do it. People say it's not worth it, but that doesn't apply if it's paid for.

[email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #301
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  • Aaron Millis
    OP
    Rental Property Investor · Montgomery, AL · Member since 2016 · 179 posts · 188 votes
    8y

    @Julie Marquez That is not actually something the crossed my mind, and I don't actually think that I have ever heard of that degree plan! Is it an undergraduate degree, and is that the route you chose in college? Or has your experience in RE just lead you to believe that it is an advantageous choice? Thank you for your input!

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  • Gregory B.
    Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2017 · 68 posts · 28 votes
    8y
    If you really want to get into RE, there are many ways, but an advanced degree will put you ahead of a lot of people. A lot of people will argue that you don’t learn anything from school. I partially agree with this unless you go to a competitive school... any law school will be competitive.. or high end MBA. But the best reason to do that is the connection you will make. At anyone of the top MBA programs you will have access to resources most people don’t have. So my vote is finance to MBA and Work in real estate before jumping in if that is really what you want to do. Plus if it turns out you hate real estate, since it is romanticized, there are other options.
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  • Shawn Q.
    Rental Property Investor · Champaign, IL · Member since 2015 · 146 posts · 80 votes
    8y

    @Aaron Millis, I definitely agree with @Julie Marquez that a construction management degree can be very, very useful, but it also depends on what your long-term goals are. I would strongly recommend reading @Scott Trench's book and focusing down on what your degree will be doing for you. If you're living/working in your target investing market, what are the highest reward jobs (and the associated degrees) you can get to create synergy with your investing future. If you're planning on commercial the construction management degree might be helpful. If you're hoping to build large syndications, the business/finance route might be helpful for networking. If you just need to maximize your income, maybe it's an associates degree in programming or web design that allows you to enter the workforce sooner and begin building your war chest. 

    Your long-term goals will help dictate your degree. Speaking as an English Literature major (ugh!) it's helpful to be mindful when planning your degree. 

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  • Bill F.
    Investor · Boston, MA · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    @Aaron Millis Congrats on EASing and starting at Auburn. 

    I'll echo what @Thomas S. : have a general idea of what you want to do in REI. Do you want to be a Realtor, property Manager, work for an institutional investor, a development company...

    In terms of what degree you should get, look at it from the perspective of what degrees from Auburn have the best reputation and do any of those intersect with your interests. For example, if you 100% knew you want to do robotics, you'd go to Carnegie Mellon or Georgia Tech over Harvard for undergrad, because CM and GT dominate the robotics realm.

    Lastly remember not to lose sight of college's purpose. Its to teach you how to think. Get a degree in something that you have an interest in so you'll be 100% engaged and not a passive participant being spoon feed info because you think it will help do something in the future. Learning how to learn about a topic, analyze the pertinent  information, come to conclusions, and communicate those is why you go to college, not for the facts and figures. It is education, not training.

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  • Corbin Wafford
    Property Manager · Louisville, KY · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 24 votes
    8y

    Going to try and think outside the box here. 

    When making your decision, potentially take into account that most information today can be self-taught via online courses/books/resources. So to my point, you could try and choose something that you would find to be potentially difficult to teach yourself alone and where you could really benefit from having a professor walk you through the process via homework, test, papers, office hours, etc.

    For example, I was an Economics major, business/communications minor but I have an interest in Computer Science. Computer Science, to me, seems a lot harder to follow via the online resources. So I personally would have preferred to have had a professor walking me through the process in a physical classroom rather than attempting to teach myself online.

    Long story short, consider choosing something you may dread teaching yourself later in life where you could benefit having a professor walk you through (e.g. Finance/Accounting/Comp Science). 

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