I've been sinking my head into this REI world for the past 3 months trying to find ways to earn more money on the side. Not sure if this happens to all newbies and/or of this is just a typical reaction to something new, but I am HOOKED! I'm so hooked that my productivity at my full-time job has taken a nose-dive; I shouldn't even be on BP right now. The Creative Finance aspects and obviously being in charge of your own destiny is what intrigues me about real estate.

I'm so sunk in that I'm actually exploring the thought of changing careers/jobs to something where I can leverage my experience and also learn more about any and all aspects of REI. So my questions to the community is, what kind of jobs are out there for what I'm seeking based on the below information about me.

Me (current):

10+ years in corporate finance & accounting; The most recent 2 have been in project management (hybrid between finance & IT) in the healthcare field
Bachelor in Finance, Graduate Certificate in Accounting, and Master in MIS (Management Information Systems)
My strengths are working with people, numbers, Excel, and automating systems and processes
Between working more than 40 hours, a 3 year-old and a 8 month-old, I barely have any time to dedicate to REI. And when I do, I feel guilty either taking time away from work or my family. (I actually do stay up in the wee hours but it's not enough) Hence, the reason I want to change careers

Where I want to be:

Like most newbies, I jumped right in to wholesaling. I haven't closed a deal yet but have gotten two under contract in the 2 months I've been doing this and the little time I have (spent one month just soaking in material) . By taking action, I learned a ton including that:
- I have to improve my selection of comps for ARV estimates as well as getter a better feel for the local repair costs, from low-end to high-end.
- Location also affects demand and the acceptable return
I eventually want to rehab once I get some experience in knowing and finding the good deals. So my plan is to partner with someone experienced in rehabbing on a deal I find where I can pitch in half of the funds and learn on the job.
I'm not happy where I am now because I feel imprisoned. It also seems that no matter how hard I work, I'm pretty much capped without playing corporate politics or switching jobs every 2-3 years. I'm also a big-picture guy so the bigger the company (mine is huge) the less I feel what I do matters. The idea of providing solutions to troubled sellers and buyers with creative strategies is awesome!

So for anyone who is where I want to be and/or is coming from where I am now, what suggestions might you have? What area in real estate are the skills mentioned above best transferable to?

I know this sounds more like I may just need a career coach but a typical career coach wouldn't understand real estate investing ;)

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