Is college worth it ?
Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 17 votes
I'm a 17 year old kid just now beginning my investment journey in Real Estate, Stocks and Bonds. I'm currently undecided on whether or not to go to college. Should I get a job, join the service and use VA benefits to my advantage, or should I go to college and take finance, marketing or business classes?
I understand there are a lot of ways to go about my future but my goal is to make money fast, a lot of money might I add. I’m willing to work for every penny but I’d like to have much more passive income then active by the time I am 30.
Self-improvement through college isn't a bad thing, but I wouldn't go into debt to go to school. Invest while you're going to school... it is possible to do both at the same time.
I was able to obtain a college degree by using my military benefits, but the only real advantage was it allowed me to accelerate my real estate investing by providing a good income. Basically it was a vehicle for getting more real estate.
Looks like you're in Ohio so you might check out the Ohio National Guard and see if they have a 100% tuition program. The Guard typically has good tuition programs at state universities. You could also look into the military academies such as West Point or join ROTC at a university such as Dayton, Kent State, OSU. Those programs provide 100% tuition. The military would teach a lot of transferrable job skills such as leading teams, building/utilizing systems, process improvement, supply/inventory, etc. I would look more at the officer side instead of enlisted... I've been enlisted and officer and are very different.
Don't be fooled though you don't necessarily need college or the military to be successful in real estate. Hustle, dedication, and self-development can go a really long way in this business. The resources are readily available.
Whatever you do stay engaged in real estate. After 21 years of service in the Reserve my monthly retirement check will equal about what I would cashflow from six or seven single family properties. Of course I wouldn't have earned the money to buy the single family homes without the military and my degree.
If you go to college get a degree in something that pays money, not under water fire prevention or some useless degree.
@Nathan Smith
It’s needed to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer. Due to a requirement for their respected schools. If you could still get the knowledge and training in form of certification, I would urge you to skip college entirely. IT and cyber security rely heavily on job experience and certifications.
However a college degree does not expire and you need one for Masters and PhD. It can also help you negotiate a higher pay.
Here's something to keep in mind. Learning at the university level is not always about obtaining information or hard skills, per se. As one's schooling progresses, there is often a focus on the tangibles, but certainly not at first. For example, I have a doctorate in physical therapy, and I had to take general chemistry during my first year of college to get into graduate school four years later. I never used general chemistry to get my professional license or to treat patients. Naturally, I "used" the specific skills I learned in PT school. But, chemistry, along with philosophy, literature, etc., helped me and countless others professionally because they can be vehicles to success in ANY field, including REI, regardless of the strict utilization of concepts on the undergraduate syllabus. For example, we're all subject to various cognitive biases, or the systematic errors of our thinking process, such as confirmation bias, and learning for learning's sake is a great way to promote meta-cognition and think about our thinking. And we can always improve our vocabulary and writing skills. These things could be the difference between minor and major success, or any success at all, in REI or anything we do. One may see "Intro to Music History" and "Philosophical Ethics" as a waste of time- "when will I EVER use this? This is BS." And that is understandable, because it's true, somewhat. But it's not the whole story. If one honestly, truly puts in the effort to learn how to learn and recognize strengths and weaknesses and improving one's thought processes, the benefits will manifest itself in one's personal and professional life. There is absolutely no debate over this- so long as there is openminded-ness. Note that I'm not saying: "Without this life path, you are doomed for failure." I'm saying that there is no doubt as to the benefits of this path, AKA chances of success are increased, though absolutely not guaranteed.
It comes down to this: we don't know what we don't know. It's the "unknown unknown", as it were. The more we are exposed to foreign concepts, the more we avoid the hubris issue. We're less likely to make emotional decisions- which is ESSENTIAL in REI. At a foreclosure auction, it's probably pretty easy to over-bid when you're essentially in a "competition" with someone, for example. Higher education will not, unfortunately, bestow immunity to the deficiencies of the human brain. But even two years at a junior college could be the difference in your business- and, most likely, you'll never even recognize the myriad ways in which this is true.
Having said all that, college these days is mostly a rip-off, in terms of tuition, etc. It's sort of criminal, actually: I did go to a private college, which was insanely expensive, and I know my education didn't justify the cost. I then went to a large, public, in-state university for PT school, and I later worked with folks to went to Columbia, which represented itself as producing therapists that were somehow "superior" to other schools. We all passed the same exam. We had the same salaries. They have enormous debt. I do not. If someone with an Ivy League degree is a better clinician, it's probably not a result of their education- most likely, it's because they were intelligent enough to be admitted in the first place.
The trick is do figure out how to get the most out of your money, and to understand that it's about personal growth- it's not worth it to just "go through the motions." It's just like any other investment, but in this case, you're simply investing in yourself.
@Nathan Smith
What an exciting/unsettling/overwhelming/fun time in your life, Nathan! The world is at your fingertips.
Over the years I’ve become a bigger fan of waiting a few years before going to college, if one decides to go to college at all. Get out in the real world and do actual work that is in line with what you think you may want to do in the long run. Get in proximity of people who are where you may want to end up doing the things you might want to do. A lot of young adults start going right into college in pursuit of a degree for a job they know nothing about only to graduate with a degree they don’t want to use. College is not going to disappear in the next few years, so if you decide a degree would be beneficial/required for you then you can get a degree once you have discovered you need it.
If real estate investing is what you want to do, there isn't a degree for that. I don't think that's where you learn that business. If you look at college like an investment (as you should with every purchase), what is the ROI on a degree? Does it make sense to take a $60k note for the degree?
There are lots of ways to go to school for cheap or free that change the conversation of “is it worth it” quite a bit.
I only went to community college for a few years part time and decided I didn’t want to go any further with school. I do not regret it at all but I also had desires of building a construction company and getting into real estate investing so a degree isn’t a requirement for what I need. I do have a lot of older friends who are ahead of me in the journey I’m on that I can work with and ask questions from and that is quite valuable.
Good luck man! Whatever you chose don’t look back. There is no correct path for everyone. Do t get caught up on comparing yourself with others.
Back in the day, when my plan was to work in the corporate world, you pretty much had to have a degree to even interview for certain management jobs. I worked full time and went to college full time at night ...did that for my undergraduate degree and my grad work. Honestly, nothing I learned from college taught me anything useful. It gave me the opportunity to check the box that said I had a degree. I convinced my son while he was in high school to find a technical path...he chose electrical. His company sent him and paid for his electrical training at a community college. That was worth it in that case. My husbands daughter went to a 4 year...bunch of money. Now is an artist. Great artist...don't think college helped with that. His son got a degree that helped him in his current job in the medical/robotics arena...his education vocationally was worth it. If you don't need it to check the box or for a vocational reason, I am seeing less and less need for it. If you really want some kind of degree just to have it you can do the online degrees...I know a few people who did that.
@Nathan Smith
Won’t a quick online search and some research of the high income zip codes in America vs low income zip codes give you the answer. Clearly college educated population is overwhelmingly higher in high income neighborhoods and the lack of college education is overwhelmingly high in low income neighborhoods.
In my neighborhood (one of the most expensive ones in SF Bay Area) Id venture to say 80 - 90% or more people are college educated. A portion of them are first generation immigrants and I doubt they’d be living up American dream (multi million dollar homes and high 7 - 8 figure net-worth) without their college degree.
Of course YouTube “investment” gurus will tell you not to go to college because it helps expand their target market to sell courses and seminars and books.
@Nathan Smith
Keep in mind, ruling things out is equally as valuable as ruling them in wrt to your future.
@Nathan Smith if your goal is to make money in investing, I wouldn’t go spend money on college since it won’t help you really and will waste unnecessary spending. What you need to focus on now is building money making skills and income. The more you have the more you can invest. I would try to live at home with my parents for a while but work my *** off to build up cash to go buy my first house hack. This means buy a Duplex or Triplex, live in one of the units, and rent the others out to where the other tenants rent covers the payment or most of it so you have very little living expenses. Then build the next step and so on.
Read books like Rich Dad Poor Dad, all BP books, consume podcasts on investing stories like BP, go to meat ups and get involved in people near you that are investors. Maybe work for them and learn or get a job like Loan Officer or Real Estate license to make an income that also gets you in the field so you can make money towards investments and build your own business. The possibilities are endless.
I wouldn't recommend joining the military if your reason is just to use the benefits for college or VA loan. You risk your life and mental health when you join. If that's what you want to do because you have a passion to serve your country and you're willing to die for it then by all means you've got my respect but do it for more than saving money on some things when you can use strategies now without that to accomplish your goals. I come from a military family and I am in a paramilitary Law Enforcement agency, it's not exactly what you might think.
College is only worth it if you have a passion to be in the STEM fields like Engineering and want to be a W2 employee working for someone else. I suggest you read Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki.
Good luck! You’re very young and if you get started now and stick to it you’ll be very successful. You have time on your side.
@Nathan Smith the answer you're most likely to see here is it depends. Seeing as how you talked about military benefits, I can tell you they are a great way to get started. I did college courses while I was in and am now complete with a Masters Degree having cost me about 500 for all of it (the rest paid through the military). The VA homeloan is also an amzing tool that allowed me to buy a home, live in it, is now a rental, and I'm refinancing to pull $ out to buy a new rental (it's a gift that keeps on giving). All I can tell you is that regardless of the path you choose plan accordingly.
@Nathan Smith I'm currently about half way through getting my civil engineering degree and from what I have heard from other Civil Engineers, it is worth it. Now I'm not sure if this is the case for all other majors. But having a good paying job definitely will help your investment portfolio, that's why I am going to college so I can have a good paying job to help me start my portfolio, on top of that I am a reservist and I have no loans and will get the va loan. You can do both. Go to college, without debt, and get an VA loan.
Trying to make fast money is not a good strategy. (STAY AWAY FROM STOCKS.) Going to college just to get a degree is not a good strategy either, but that is what most kids do. Before trying to invest in "real estate" you should first get experience and learn the industry. If you can find a mentor, that would be a great start. If not, I would suggest getting your real estate license. What you have to learn to become an agent would be a good foundation of knowledge.
Should you go to college? That really depends what you want to be when you grow up. Many careers require a college degree, likewise many do not.
If you want to be purely an investor, then that takes a lot of capital to get started with. If you don't inherit a ton of money or hit the lotto, then you are going to need to earn the money you will use to invest. If are 100% sure you want to be involved in the real estate industry and ultimately an investor, then start by finding a job in the industry which will allow you to learn and make money. For example, work for a contractor and learn the trade of building. Or work for a real estate company as an agent etc...
I would advise my son to do both, go to college and if nothing else get a degree in business / finance AND work as a real estate agent or with a builder, which ever you are more interested in. You education is just as important of an investment as the financial investment you will be making some day. College is not the only place where you can learn. Good luck.
@Nathan Smith As a college dropout myself who's already retired from Real Estate. I can firmly say HELLLLLL NO~! Take what I say with a grain of salt because I am extremely biased AGAINST college. I understand there is a time and a place for it. BUT if you don't know what you want to do and you are on a forum asking strangers for advice on whether to go to college it's safe to say you SHOULDN'T go to college.
I'm 25 and I wish I had started working in the Trades earlier and making 6 figures within 4 years of doing an apprenticeship. AND owning a bunch of real estate. Right now I can take as much time off as I want to travel because of my union, and I return back to work with little to no push back. And I can do it financially because of my real estate.
This may not be what you want to get out of real estate, but with a little creativity and a personal touch to your situation I know you can achieve your goals without college!
Edit: Made quite a few typos, but that's a testament to how a dummy like me can be financially free from real estate!
You mentioned that you’re retired and then you mention you’re with the union and can go back to work anytime you want to after taking a vacation and such. Feel free to expound on that.
@Nathan Smith As a college dropout myself who's already retired from Real Estate. I can firmly say HELLLLLL NO~! Take what I say with a grain of salt because I am extremely biased AGAINST college. I understand there is a time and a place for it. BUT if you don't know what you want to do and you are on a forum asking strangers for advice on whether to go to college it's safe to say you SHOULDN'T go to college.
I'm 25 and I wish I had started working in the Trades earlier and making 6 figures within 4 years of doing an apprenticeship. AND owning a bunch of real estate. Right now I can take as much time off as I want to travel because of my union, and I return back to work with little to no push back. And I can do it financially because of my real estate.
This may not be what you want to get out of real estate, but with a little creativity and a personal touch to your situation I know you can achieve your goals without college!
Edit: Made quite a few typos, but that's a testament to how a dummy like me can be financially free from real estate!
You mentioned that you’re retired and then you mention you’re with the union and can go back to work anytime you want to after taking a vacation and such. Feel free to expound on that.
I spoke with my employer a couple of months ago that I'd be taking time off for personal reasons, they did not have a big problem especially since everything happening with COVID. Since then I've been really working on building out a real estate investing course and enjoying some time off while all the crazy stuff in the world is happening.
Because of the structure of how Union work is done, I can fully quit and not work for as long as I want, and then go back to the hiring hall and literally pick from a list of jobs. I know that may be hard to comprehend it took me a while to get used to.
Example: If you look up IBEW 48 Dispatch - you'll get a google search result of of the Dispatchers page (I don't think BiggerPockets likes posting links), and you can see a literally list of jobs I could choose from.
@Matthew McClanahan thank you so much for taking time out of your day to give me some great advice! I've actually always wanted to be a Navy Seal. It's been a dream of mine because there's a lot of things that could go wrong in this world, and there are people I want to protect. I want to make sure the people I love are safe. Being able to do that and be rewarded VA loans because of it is just a cherry on top I suppose.
@Nathan Smith As a college dropout myself who's already retired from Real Estate. I can firmly say HELLLLLL NO~! Take what I say with a grain of salt because I am extremely biased AGAINST college. I understand there is a time and a place for it. BUT if you don't know what you want to do and you are on a forum asking strangers for advice on whether to go to college it's safe to say you SHOULDN'T go to college.
I'm 25 and I wish I had started working in the Trades earlier and making 6 figures within 4 years of doing an apprenticeship. AND owning a bunch of real estate. Right now I can take as much time off as I want to travel because of my union, and I return back to work with little to no push back. And I can do it financially because of my real estate.
This may not be what you want to get out of real estate, but with a little creativity and a personal touch to your situation I know you can achieve your goals without college!
Edit: Made quite a few typos, but that's a testament to how a dummy like me can be financially free from real estate!
You mentioned that you’re retired and then you mention you’re with the union and can go back to work anytime you want to after taking a vacation and such. Feel free to expound on that.
I spoke with my employer a couple of months ago that I'd be taking time off for personal reasons, they did not have a big problem especially since everything happening with COVID. Since then I've been really working on building out a real estate investing course and enjoying some time off while all the crazy stuff in the world is happening.
Because of the structure of how Union work is done, I can fully quit and not work for as long as I want, and then go back to the hiring hall and literally pick from a list of jobs. I know that may be hard to comprehend it took me a while to get used to.
Example: If you look up IBEW 48 Dispatch - you'll get a google search result of of the Dispatchers page (I don't think BiggerPockets likes posting links), and you can see a literally list of jobs I could choose from.
Is that a Nationwide Union? My eldest son it’s not far from the college-age and I’m trying to give him several options. Also what is your specialty skill?
@Nathan Smith I think it's a really great post that you brought up this topic. I did not have time to read the entire post I'm just sitting in my car on my cell phone with a flat tire on the side of the road lol.
So sorry if I'm repeating the same thing that others have said already but my 17 year old and I have been having this exact discussion so I think it's really relevant to me.
To be a great realestate investor does not take a college degree whatsoever but what it does take is drive if you do not have drive you will not be successful.
But there are some things that do require a college degree if that's what you want for a career nurse engineer teacher ect.
I also found this really great video. The video just proves a point it does not mean to become a plumber electrician ect. But what it does prove is that there are so many other opportunities that do not require a college degree, good luck Nathan.
https://youtu.be/CVEuPmVAb8o
@Nathan Smith You should go and major in finance and economics. This will teach you about liabilities and supply and demand
@Nathan Smith You should go and major in finance and economics. This will teach you about liabilities and supply and demand
You don't need college to accomplish the same thing. You could buy a textbook and self study or just run your own business.
@Nathan Smith As a college dropout myself who's already retired from Real Estate. I can firmly say HELLLLLL NO~! Take what I say with a grain of salt because I am extremely biased AGAINST college. I understand there is a time and a place for it. BUT if you don't know what you want to do and you are on a forum asking strangers for advice on whether to go to college it's safe to say you SHOULDN'T go to college.
I'm 25 and I wish I had started working in the Trades earlier and making 6 figures within 4 years of doing an apprenticeship. AND owning a bunch of real estate. Right now I can take as much time off as I want to travel because of my union, and I return back to work with little to no push back. And I can do it financially because of my real estate.
This may not be what you want to get out of real estate, but with a little creativity and a personal touch to your situation I know you can achieve your goals without college!
Edit: Made quite a few typos, but that's a testament to how a dummy like me can be financially free from real estate!
You mentioned that you’re retired and then you mention you’re with the union and can go back to work anytime you want to after taking a vacation and such. Feel free to expound on that.
I spoke with my employer a couple of months ago that I'd be taking time off for personal reasons, they did not have a big problem especially since everything happening with COVID. Since then I've been really working on building out a real estate investing course and enjoying some time off while all the crazy stuff in the world is happening.
Because of the structure of how Union work is done, I can fully quit and not work for as long as I want, and then go back to the hiring hall and literally pick from a list of jobs. I know that may be hard to comprehend it took me a while to get used to.
Example: If you look up IBEW 48 Dispatch - you'll get a google search result of of the Dispatchers page (I don't think BiggerPockets likes posting links), and you can see a literally list of jobs I could choose from.
Is that a Nationwide Union? My eldest son it’s not far from the college-age and I’m trying to give him several options. Also what is your specialty skill?
IBEW yes, it's nationwide. I'm an electrician.
@Nathan Smith
Hi man,I'm in a really similar situation.
When i was your age or a little older i decided to not go to college nor any university and just go travel. Ended up in China. And here i found BiggerPockets,the investing,the books,the forums. And i know the next thing I'm gonna do is get my real estate license,do some agent buisness by networking with investors back in my hometown. So just really think about it man. Take some time off and figure out what do you really want to be in 5 years. People here cannot give you the answer to what do you want to do. Only one person can. You know who it is.
@Justin Carmack this advice is on point! Gaurd or reserves if you choose the military. I did it the hard way did 2 semesters of college before the military and just wasn’t into or ready maturity wise for college. I joined Active duty and did 13 years and got my degree for free. I discovered Realestate 5 years in. The stable income and zero debit made it very easy to expand. After 13 years in the Air Force I switched to the reserves to do full time Realestate. If I had to do it over I would go straight into the reserves in a flying squadron that has enlisted aviators (excellent ability to go from enlisted to officer after your degree) As soon as you a fully trained in your job get after the degree and in you free time learn Realestate. The quality of people you will be surrounded by in a reserve flying squadron is typically very high lots officers and who also own business or are high level in their chosen profession. This is just one possible path based on my personal experience.
A young man in the US asks “is college worth it” meanwhile thousands of his counterparts in China and India are working day and night to try and get admission into a US college.
No wonder their GDPs are growing as fast and the CEOs of many top US companies are from India or China.
I'm a 17 year old kid just now beginning my investment journey in Real Estate, Stocks and Bonds. I'm currently undecided on whether or not to go to college. Should I get a job, join the service and use VA benefits to my advantage, or should I go to college and take finance, marketing or business classes?
I understand there are a lot of ways to go about my future but my goal is to make money fast, a lot of money might I add. I’m willing to work for every penny but I’d like to have much more passive income then active by the time I am 30.
Hi, Nathan,
It's great that you're thinking this way. Best to go forth with a strong sense of direction and purpose.
I know a couple of brothers who were in their 20's when I met them. One was a veteran, the other dropped out of college 6 credit hours short of his degree. While they have the best REI education available - Renatus - they were still "kids" in their 20's: a bit too much attitude and some over confidence. Yes, they built a strong portfolio initially. However, their lack of experience led them to make choices which could have been better.
So, they're in rebuilding mode now as they're both approaching age 30. Like many investors, they're learning to not depend on current market / industry trends to continue in order to support them and their plans. They're learning to adapt to changing, even unpredictable conditions.
Finance and especially marketing would be some great classes to take. If you need the sheepskin on the wall, also, the gen. ed.'s for those curricula will certainly be helpful. Based on what we're seeing right now, I'm not sure the business classes would be especially helpful. Entrepreneurs succeed primarily by solving problems, and that's not being taught in the business world right now by all indications. Some schools do have entrepreneurship curricula. That would be more helpful. Remember to focus on filling a need - the profits will follow. Profit is always a by-product, never a direct result. When companies forget that, bankruptcy and failure soon follow.
My $0.02 ...
@Nathan Smith I went to a state university and majored in accounting. I was able to work days and attend at nights, still only took 4 years and graduated with no debt. If you want to get into investing, a solid basis in accounting may be helpful.
@Nathan Smith I just read what you wrote and that’s awesome I just turned 17 and kinda feel like I’m in the same situation as you I’m not totally sure if I wanna go to college or not and would much rather try to make money through real estate.