Pay off student loans versus invest in real estate?

[Mohammad Haidarasl]

I'm back on BP after a long break. I have a lot of federal student loans (sigh) that is currently sitting around 200 grand. I do want to invest in real estate but with such debt, I'm unsure if it's smarter to get started or just aggressively pay off debt and think about real estate in the future. Any guidance/insight would be appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: Just realized I had asked this question years ago. Still would love further insight to see whether or not the advice still stands or if anybody has any further input. Thanks!