Hello BiggerPockets Community!

[Jay Hawlader]

Hello everyone!

I wanted to take the time to introduce myself to this wonderful community. 

My name is Jay and I am currently finishing up my undergrad career in New York City at CUNY Queens College. I was en route to Law School as recently as 2 weeks ago but varying circumstances has led me to decline that option as I believed it would ultimately slow down my true goal, which was investing into real estate rental properties as soon as possible. 

I've been on this website quite a few times and have started reading the introductory book by Brandon Turner, "The Book on Rental Property Investing". 

If there's anything you guys would like to suggest to me to help me move forward as a beginner, please feel free to!

*Side note for those who are willing to read beyond an introduction (also wasn't sure where to post this...is there a section for careers/schools?), while I'm introducing myself I figured I would ask a quick question. The reason I side tracked on law school was because I did not want to incur a large amount of debt, spend 3 years in school effectively allowing me to miss out on investment opportunities while not generating any income during that time period. This has led me to business school where I plan on taking a 1 year Masters in Finance which will only set me back 10k with a potential starting salary of 60k. This would be much more beneficial to my real estate endeavors. Having a solid 9-5 with minimal debt WHILE building my side hustle is exactly what I wanted to do. 

The question arises here: while I can do a masters of finance, would any of you recommend a masters in real estate from the same business school, with same tuition? The classes that are offered for that program look like they would be extremely beneficial to my goals. This includes courses such as real estate entrepreneurship, real estate valuation and market analysis, real estate investment analysis and etc. While those courses are wonderful I understand a masters in finance is much more versatile and overall more useful. I guess my question is, do you think the lack of versatility is worth the knowledge and connections I would make when you consider my big picture goals? 

Thank you so much to anyone that replies and I'm looking forward to working with and learning from each and every one of you in the upcoming decades!

Best,

Jay

[Abel Curiel]

Good morning @Jay Hawlader,

Welcome to the BP forum! Its always good to see someone in NY getting started in REI.

I think your plan sounds super practical. @Raul R. hit it right on the money... obtaining the degree that will give you the best opportunity to earn and save is the way to go. 

That being said, many of the courses from the MA in RE degree you outlined are offered online and in person in NY. Much of the foundational RE education is offered in the 75-hour NY State licensure course. Some of the courses you outlined are also available online and in person through continuing education courses for people with licenses. These courses are also available to people without licenses and are way less expensive than a degree. To sum it up, I think the best route is to go for the MA in finance and get your RE education on the side with books, courses, mentorship, experience, etc.

I'll be shooting you a private message to connect... I'm in Queens myself so if you need a resource for info or would like to connect, feel free to reach out!

Best,

Abel