Bachelors or masters degree in Real Estate? Unnecessary, useful?

Question

I currently started my real estate education at Mt. SAC. When im done at Mt.SAC I plan to finish up a bachelors degree at USC. Has anyone taken a similar route in their RE journey?

Mark H. Porter · Answer

Hmmmm...neither. Most valuable part is knowing how to work numbers. $$ for rehab, $$ for expenses, $$ for, well, everything. I have an MBA with a concentration in Finance and that, and years of experience running the properties, has helped me more in dealing with banks, realtors, sellers, etc.

And this is only part of it. What to do with the net income across broad investment strategies means not only do you make money but you keep it.

And this is only part of it.  What to do with the net income across broad investment strategies means not only do you make money but you keep it.

Zac Boelkow · Answer

I dropped out of college to help run a friends business and set it up. I started researching "how to" invest, online, and through books. Found real estate and index funds. If you are intelligent, have common sense, and are business oriented you really do not need school. Investing is really simple with simple math. I know I would be more focused if I went to a school for real estate and any schooling/knowledge is worth having. If it moves/motivates you then its a go. My motivation came from being broke and wanting to retire. to each their own. Good Luck!!

Eric James · Answer

What the degrees are likely good for is working in corporate RE. Large development company, etc.

Sean McCluskey · Answer

@Romeo Sison I work in Commercial real estate development. USC is very well known in California and the entire west coast for their MRED real estate masters degree. Can you take a bachelor's concentration with some of those professors? Highly recommended. Get your education and you can make 6 figures for a real estate company, learn a ton, and then get big yourself on the side.

AJ Shepard · Answer

@Romeo Sison

Education is always great.  The funny thing is that most knowledge these days is free, it’s experience that costs a lot.  A lot of people don’t take advantage of the knowledge out there because it’s hard to determine what path to take and how to apply it.  College will certainly lay out a path for you and give you a piece of paper that says you made it through.

I would certainly try to find a company that you could intern with while going to college and try to get your foot in the door with some real experience.

Jon Kelly · Answer

@Romeo Sison

Depends on what you want to do. I agree w/ @Eric James, the degrees would look good for a corporate job. If you're interesting in starting your own REI journey, you can likely get more information and network on Bigger Pockets than any undergrad program can offer

Steve Morris · Answer

Depends on what you want to do.

If analyzing properties for a syndicator is your goal, I guess it would help.  However, you're going to be doing the same low-level stuff (running XLS galore) you would if you walked in and begged to be an intern.  In addition, you'd learn more practical stuff than you would in 4 years at a college.

If you want to buy/sell/rehab, the quickest best way is to do deals.  They don't teach ground-level stuff in college like how/where/who to spend your time and the basic sales skills you need with clients.  That is something you get a RE license for and apprentice to some guy that knows what he's doing.

I'm not slamming colleges, but I think they serve a better role to supplement skills as opposed to giving you the basic skills which you can get thru practice.

Sam Lewis · Answer

I personally see a ton of value in simply making offers on deals and joining a circle of active investors in your area more so than a traditional education.

That being said, a bachelor's degree can really help with baseline income to fund deals. In addition, any bachelor's is a great thing to have under your belt - allows you to join the "club" of a college education - ideally a degree with a fair amount of math, finance and/or analysis of data.

Assuming you are looking to become a real estate investor, I don't think a degree in real estate is a requirement but it could definitely boost your confidence in jumping in real estate.

Bachelors or masters degree in Real Estate? Unnecessary, useful?

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