Necessary prerequisites for Real Estate Investing?

[Isaac Bartels]

Hello everyone!

I am a senior in college, looking to get a job in civil engineering and then gradually transition to RE full time, although I'm not sure what that will look like. As a student with some student debt, should I completely pay this off before I start investing in RE? Also, Should I have a solid amount of money invested into the stock market via a 401k/Roth IRA/Brokerage account before I dive into RE investing?

[Nathan Gesner]

Quote from @Isaac Bartels:

I disagree with most people on this topic. You should invest from a foundation of strong financial discipline. Follow advice from guys like Dave Ramsey to get your debt paid off, your emergency fund established, and everything 100% under control, then you'll be in a strong position to invest and weather any problems that come your way. Dave's "opinion" is nothing new and the kind of discipline used for thousands of years to get personal finances in order. 

For those that poo-poo Dave Ramsey, his advice is for personal finances and not all of it applies to investing.