How Many RE Investors are Engineers?

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How Many RE Investors are Engineers?

Adam Zach
Rental Property Investor 路 Fargo, ND 路 Member since 2016 路 136 posts 路 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 路 Upstate, NY 路 Member since 2012 路 3k+ posts 路 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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  • Adam Zach
    OP
    Rental Property Investor 路 Fargo, ND 路 Member since 2016 路 136 posts 路 112 votes
    6y

    @Patrick Owens interesting take on personality test and DISC profile. 

    0Reply
  • John E Graham
    Member since 2020 路 4 posts 路 2 votes
    6y

    I am New York Home Inspector for the last 20 years.. Working on getting my Florida Home Inspector License and My Real Estate sales License for my move in January...For some reason the state Licenses have no Reciprocity... I guess they want the money

    0Reply
  • Samuel Pavlovcik
    Architect 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2020 路 214 posts 路 236 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Jason H.:

    The funny ironic thing about this conversation (for me) is that the group of people who should know the most about real estate (note I didn't say real estate 'investing') are architects!  But in the end, it's really a testament to the income of architect versus engineers (and the rest of the professions)!  As an architect, I am so glad to have found finally found real estate investing, but often wonder why the light bulb didn't go off earlier...when I was helping all my clients design apartment buildings, I was there just taking a paycheck...Still, never too late.

    +1 for Jason's Response! I am also a Licensed Architect and have my Master's in Construction Engineering and Management. It took me years for it to really click that REI is a great opportunity for me and to start jumping in. My only current Investment is the Condo which I live in; however, i'm happy to see it building equity for each year we have stayed. Looking to gain as much info as possible from this forum before purchasing my first investment property, saving cash now to have something to put down...

    1Reply
  • Christopher B.
    Investor 路 Southeast, MI 路 Member since 2016 路 425 posts 路 184 votes
    6y

    I'm a Network Engineer (I.T.), and started in REI 3+ years ago so I could free up my time for other things like philanthropy, family, and predictable financial stability that's not dependent on someone or some place (company) else.

    0Reply
  • Cam Wright
    Member since 2019 路 3 posts 路 0 votes
    6y

    Adam, great point.  I am a civil engineer, but wanted to be a carpenter growing up.  Right before the 2008 crash when I started college, I switched to engineering. But the RE bug has never left me. But it does seem there are many engineers, especially on podcasts.  As far as who I run into though, I would say it may be 20% or so. But I have had poor partners that are not engineers and some not so great that are engineers as all.  But I tend to like the engineering mindset and anyone with a good drive.

    0Reply
  • Hema Dasarathy
    Real Estate Broker 路 Apex, NC 路 Member since 2017 路 22 posts 路 18 votes
    6y

    Closing on our 15th home in June, I would say Engineering background is good to have but it is really not the books/education which are going to propel you. You can get stuck analyzing - analysis paralysis can be seen in action. :) Leveraging the good jobs for good rates is a definite plus. 
    I majored in Physics and got into RE when searching for our primary home 20 years back. Mesmerized by design, neighborhood and city planning, floor plans- dived right in 17 years back and got my Real Estate license. No turning back professionally! After a personal Duh moment, bought our first investment home in 2014. Husband is an engineer who supported whole heartedly (i think)  once he saw the numbers plus a great job with an IT company helped get us great rates.
    A personality of caution but not stuck helps. As a couple risk taker me & a cautious husband, neither on the end of the spectrum of being foolish or stuck. 
    Am surrounded by Engineering and Medical professional friends circle. They seem to love the "idea" of RE investment but call to action is at glacial speed. Too much of analysing and straight jacketing IMO.

    0Reply
  • Patrick Johnson
    Investor 路 Atlanta, GA 路 Member since 2019 路 40 posts 路 20 votes
    6y

    Electrical engineer here in the south, just getting started

    0Reply
  • Jason Halpin
    Rental Property Investor 路 DE 路 Member since 2015 路 38 posts 路 9 votes
    6y

    I'm a civil engineer in my day job. So very gald I made the leap into REI - I can see a path ahead where I will have the freedom to change careers into fulltime REI.

    0Reply
  • Matt Rogers
    Brookfield, WI 路 Member since 2018 路 7 posts 路 2 votes
    6y

    Biomechanical Engineer myself.  I think the mechanical and electrical understanding that most engineers posses, is beneficial in real estate.  Plus many are do-it-themselfers which allows many to get into RE with less money initially. 

    0Reply
  • J ScottPro Member
    Moderator
    Investor 路 Sarasota, FL 路 Member since 2008 路 18k+ posts 路 17k+ votes
    6y
    Electrical engineer here...
    Podcast Guest on Show The Truth About Real Estate Investing in 2024 (What Investors NEED to Know)
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  • Matthew PorcaroBusiness Member
    Lender 路 Long Island, NY 路 Member since 2016 路 456 posts 路 336 votes
    6y

    BS in Electrical Engineering here. Worked in design and electrical construction for 10 years, now I manage Disney鈥檚 electrical infrastructure for their corporate real estate in Manhattan (in addition to being a full time flipper!)

    The 203k Way
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Darina Pogodina
    Realtor 路 Fall River, MA 路 Member since 2015 路 82 posts 路 16 votes
    6y

    Engineers are my best investor buyers. They are focused, rational and straight forward. When we connect with engineers and they trust us, most of the time we run marketing campaign, work with wholesalers to cold call, send letters' and when the right property shows up, engineers buy! 

    0Reply
  • Vaibhav Puranik
    Investor 路 Los Angeles, CA 路 Member since 2016 路 43 posts 路 20 votes
    6y

    Industrial Engineering bachelors degree and computer science masters! One more engineer here!

    0Reply
  • Bob Prisco
    Specialist 路 Cleveland, OH 路 Member since 2018 路 1k+ posts 路 666 votes
    6y

    @Adam Zach I have dozens of clients that are engineers from Silicon valley, , 

    0Reply
  • Jill Sciarappo
    Member since 2019 路 1 post 路 0 votes
    6y

    @Adam Zach. I do. Electrical engineering

    0Reply
  • Matthew Irish-JonesBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent 路 Buffalo, NY 路 Member since 2017 路 2k+ posts 路 2k+ votes
    6y

    @Adam Zach - philosophy major

    Here. Seems to put me in the minority in every major business category

    Irish Jones Realty4.947 Reviews
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  • Monish Lillaney
    Rental Property Investor 路 Medford, MA 路 Member since 2016 路 37 posts 路 7 votes
    6y

    I'm an RF engineer and i suspect it likely has to do with our salary, as cash for down payments are a major roadblock to getting into the industry. I know people who have a hard time getting 20% together to put down, never mind doing it multiple times!

    0Reply
  • Chris Thomas
    Rental Property Investor 路 Central Kentucky 路 Member since 2019 路 67 posts 路 43 votes
    6y

    Honestly I鈥檇 love to get together with a group of other Architects and engineers and invest away. Throw in a finance guy or two for giggles. This may actually be a wonderful idea 馃

    1Reply
  • Souleymane Hanne
    New to Real Estate 路 Warner Robins, GA 路 Member since 2019 路 30 posts 路 8 votes
    6y

    I鈥檓 an Aerospace Engineer and new to Rea Estate. I believe you might be right about that.

    0Reply
  • Lloyaal Thomas
    Rental Property Investor 路 Atlanta, GA 路 Member since 2014 路 10 posts 路 0 votes
    6y

    I'm an electrical engineer as well, I believe this is what led me to becoming an REI!

    0Reply
  • Josh Guardado
    Member since 2018 路 5 posts 路 1 vote
    6y

    @Pat L.

    Great response. I鈥檓 an HVAC Engineer but lack the install skills. Gonna look into getting some experience

    0Reply
  • Josh Guardado
    Member since 2018 路 5 posts 路 1 vote
    6y

    @Andre Taylor master in EE. My respect to you. Brother has BSEE it was rough. I personally have a BSME. Engineering in general is pretty rough but way cool at the same time

    0Reply
  • Andre TaylorPro Member
    Rental Property Investor 路 Chicago, IL 路 Member since 2017 路 221 posts 路 181 votes
    6y

    @Josh Guardado thank you and much respect to you brother.. you are right engineering as a whole is so rigorous.  Man so glad we made it to the finish line... seen alot of people switch majors during my undergrad years

    1Reply
  • Patrick Johnson
    Investor 路 Atlanta, GA 路 Member since 2019 路 40 posts 路 20 votes
    6y

    I'm only 2 yrs into my engineering career and about a year into my REI journey and the parallels of both have been very interesting. I haven't yet reached a placed to be able to outright invest heavily into REI so I've started out with Wholesaling as my primary path but plan to move into rentals by the year's end.

    0Reply
  • Adam Blachnio
    Rental Property Investor 路 North East US 路 Member since 2019 路 114 posts 路 31 votes
    6y

    Trust me, I'm an engineer too :)

    That's why I am able to ascertain if property is worth attention in a short glance.

    0Reply
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