How Many RE Investors are Engineers?

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How Many RE Investors are Engineers?

Adam Zach
Rental Property Investor · Fargo, ND · Member since 2016 · 136 posts · 112 votes

Is it just me or are about 25% of all real estate investors, also engineers? As an Engineer myself I could be biased but curious if anyone has insight. I know folks usually have professional background like IT, accounting, dr but would be going out on a limb to say engineers cover the majority of all real estate investors?

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Pat L.
Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y

I did the eng gig until REI proved to be way more profitable. It's paid off in so many ways allowing me to do 'permitted' electrical (took that minor in elect.), opening & replacing walls with LVL beams, HVAC installs, on-demand HW (elect & NG) etc etc. It's a discipline that opened so many cost saving opportunities & you don't get snowed by contractors, home or building inspectors. Biggest job 'permitted' by my town was the complete design, install & wiring/flow rate monitoring of complete fire sprinkler system for a 6 unit. They allowed me 6 months & did it all myself.

But then again I remember our final exams forbade the use of calculators, slide rules were the only device allowed as were card punched software solutions in our lab finals.

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  • Tyler Mizelle
    Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    Structural Engineer in the Hamptons Roads area of Virginia. I have a small inspection and design company that caters to residential real estate. Starting to pivot into the investment side. Any advice would be well received. Tyler. 

    1Reply
  • Aldrin Colorado
    New to Real Estate · Las Vegas · Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 3 votes
    6y

    Infrastructure Systems Engineer

    1Reply
  • Jennifer Hathcock
    Member since 2019 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    6y
    So what are the leading professions turned RE investors?

    Originally posted by @Mark Shaver:

    @Adam Zach, real estate investment is definitely not rocket science:

    Image Source: Pexels.com

    RE investors come from different professions. Engineers as a percentage of all occupations are 1.25%. 

    I believe about 1.25% of real estate investors are engineers.

    0Reply
  • Mark Shaver
    Specialist · Boston, MA · Member since 2020 · 125 posts · 40 votes
    6y

    @Jennifer Hathcock, there are several professions that have a certain advantage when investing in RE:

    • IT-specialists
    • Brokers
    • Agents
    • Builders
    • Marketers
    • Sellers
    • ...

    The disclaimer

    I can't say that these professions are leading. 

    For example, modern RE investments intensively use information technologies. IT specialists, in my opinion, have an advantage even over brokers and agents. But:

    • IT specialists are young
    • They make a great living
    • Dream of quick startups
    • Have no idea about RE investments (most investors prefer to solve their IT problems themselves, as communication with IT specialists is expensive and often difficult).

    As a result, there are not many IT specialists among RE investors.

    1Reply
  • Mark Oliver
    Member since 2020 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    I'm a Mechanical Engineer just getting started in RE investing.  

    1Reply
  • Joe Freeman
    Real Estate Consultant · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2020 · 12 posts · 10 votes
    6y

    @Adam Zach I have an engineering background as well. Seems like it could be a natural transition for engineers being analytical people by nature. I work with many investors, some of whom are engineers but no one occupation stands out to me. I will have this in the back of my mind now however. 

    1Reply
  • Jesse Haworth
    New to Real Estate · Chicago - Northwest Suburbs · Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    I am a Medical Device R&D Engineer just getting start in real estate investing! Hoping to make my first purchase soon.

    1Reply
  • Rebecca P.
    Rental Property Investor · Huntsville AL Ardmore AL/TN · Member since 2017 · 27 posts · 24 votes
    6y

    Married to one ❤️

    2Reply
  • Austin G.
    Investor · DFW/LAX/PHX · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 28 votes
    6y

    I'm an Applications/Process Engineer.  Just now getting seriously started in learning about Real Estate Investing since moving to a more affordable market.  Learning everything I can.  A big thank you to the books, mentors and biggerpockets network for the wealth of knowledge.  Hoping for the right opportunity to apply it soon!   

    1Reply
  • Julian Maso
    Waco, TX · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 7 votes
    6y

    I am a Mechanical Engineer who just graduated and was fortunate enough to find a job and start my career apart of the work force. Although I am "good at math" and find the content very interesting, shortly after starting, i realized that i would prefer to not work a 9-5 until I'm 65, so that's when i turned to wealth building strategies. At the moment i am learning as much as I can while saving money to be able to invest properly and efficiently. Luckily, my family is into the commercial real estate space so I have been slightly exposed to this kind of stuff throughout my life. This also helped me realize that all those times that i was asking my father about the business, I was genuinely interested in the content that he was dumping into my brain, it just took me a while to realize it.

    In my opinion, and I am just generalizing here, more difficult academic paths in college teach more than just content. These courses teach discipline, time management, and teach-ability. These are great qualities to have in any career path that you are pursuing. However, with any piece of education material, i strongly believe that you have to be truly interested in the content to absorb the majority of it. The realization that i came to in life is that the majority of people don't really get jobs pertaining specifically to their college degrees, although like i said above, it teaches certain qualities that can be applicable and beneficial in other areas of work.

    Have a wonderful day!

    -Julian 

    1Reply
  • Wyatt Reed
    Investor · Pulaski, TN (38478) · Member since 2018 · 10 posts · 8 votes
    6y

    I am a Manufacturing Engineer!

    1Reply
  • Brandon Miller
    Weatherford TX · Member since 2020 · 11 posts · 20 votes
    6y

    I am a Mechanical Engineer by school working in a Leadership Development Program for an Aerospace company! There are so many of us out here good to be connected.

    1Reply
  • Rajesh Kamal
    Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    I am a Mechanical Engineer.......

    1Reply
  • Adam Cole
    New to Real Estate · Rochester, MI · Member since 2018 · 50 posts · 17 votes
    6y

    Mechanical engineer working at one of the big 3 in transmission development! 

    One of my largest motivators for getting into real estate is the potential for freedom. During school, I was taught everything and anything analytically related. Loved working in labs and loved to get my hands dirty. But, working in a large corporation has made me realize that in order to gain any sense of financial freedom, you have to give up an ever-increasing percentage of your time. The catch is that there is minimal correlation between time invested and money earned. Time invested can go to the moon....yet you continue to earn the same salary (unless you get a promotion, then that income ceiling bumps a bit). 

    I always found that to be a very hard pill to swallow. For my analytically driven mind.... I wanted to get the biggest ROI for my time invested. May that be a monetary ROI or a happiness ROI. I didn't see this happening in a corporate environment. This realization ultimately led to my interest in real estate. The opportunity to gain freedom and live a life that most of the herd think is impossible.

    3Reply
  • Richard Clark
    Investor · PA, OH · Member since 2019 · 9 posts · 5 votes
    6y

    I'm a Networking & Communications engineer.

    0Reply
  • Tina Garbe
    Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    6y

    My husband is a former Civil Engineer, now working as a IT systems Analyst.  We currently only have 1 occupied rental,  and recently finished a rehab which was supposed to be a rental, however we decided to flip it. It closes in a few weeks.

    1Reply
  • David Lee
    Rental Property Investor · Pensacola, FL · Member since 2016 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    I fell short of my Mechanical Engineer goal.  My Engineering Technology degree got me into project management.  I manage projects for my local school district that includes two new schools.  My job is satisfying without draining all my time, but not a huge salary.

    Investing in rental properties is perfect for me.  I purchased two in the last year and am looking for my third.  

    1Reply
  • Shawn M.
    Investor · Metro Detroit · Member since 2020 · 20 posts · 11 votes
    6y

    Degreed Electrical Engineer here, started moving into the real estate world when I already maxed out my career salary as an engineer.  Seeing as most career workers do not get paid enough these days, real estate is more of a future survival method and a way out of perpetual financial hardships by being a career engineer.

    1Reply
  • Craig Joseph
    Member since 2020 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    6y

    I am a geologist surrounded by people who try to cram everything into neat, tidy boxes. I mean engineers... :) 

    1Reply
  • Vasily R.
    New to Real Estate · Denver, CO · Member since 2019 · 19 posts · 9 votes
    6y

    I'm a Software Engineer at a Big Tech and the numbers/optimization aspect of REI is what got me really interested in it.

    1Reply
  • Nicholas Shane Watson
    Rental Property Investor · Mobile, AL · Member since 2019 · 5 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    @Adam Zach ME here. Working on MBA in finance. My friends and I are all engineers.

    1Reply
  • Joshua Wolfe
    Investor · Nashville, TN · Member since 2020 · 2 posts · 3 votes
    6y

    I am a Mechanical Engineer of 5 years. I found the investing in real estate can take you so much further financially than the day job.. why wouldn’t you take the path to financial freedom if you had the choice? Engineering minds are the best I have completed one whole sale and and working on my first flip. Looking for partners of future deals, engineering minds for the win! Let’s go!

    3Reply
  • Chad Zdenek
    Member since 2019 · 1 post · 3 votes
    6y

    Civil engineer undergrad and structural engineer grad here. Worked for Boeing for 7 years and then owned and sold my own business. Now syndicating MF deals in SoCal...

    3Reply
  • Eric Segal
    Member since 2020 · 1 post · 1 vote
    6y

    Great topic. I think it's true in my limited experience. I'm a Mechanical Engr, with a focus on water, living in the Boston area. 

    1Reply
  • LaRhonda M
    Real Estate Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2011 · 49 posts · 14 votes
    6y

    Clemson University- Electrical Engineer

    4Reply
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