Major for college?

Question

My son is a senior in high school. His post high school plans the last couple of years was to get his real estate agent license, with the ultimate goal of investing. Those two things remain the same. Now he is in a position where he could potentially go to college for little to no money on scholarships for gaming. I'm not a he must go to college type of parent. However, as a young adult it is great life experience, so if he can go for cheap, why not?

Question is, which majors would be most useful? I understand it isn't required and could vary depending on which type of investing he gets into.

*I joined this forum for myself, as I'm in the learning phase of my plan to use my divorce settlement to start real estate investing. Yet, here I am in typical parent fashion, making my first BP post about my child instead of myself.

Chris Seveney · Answer

99% of real estate investors do not do it full time, so I would say go to college for what he can earn an income off of and wants to do. If he goes for gaming and gets a job, he can still be an agent on the weekends or just invest in real estate from the money he makes from gaming. you do not need to be an agent to invest in real estate.

Randy Buff · Answer

There are several large colleges that offer a Masters of Real Estate Science.   My son went to one of the top programs at University of Florida at the Warrington College of Business.   It was a smaller program (less than 40 students).   It helped land him a 6 figure job out of college working for a large family office that builds 200 to 500 unit apartment complexes in the SE US.   The exposure he got from this program is way more than he got from his experience working with me as an investor and Realtor.    At 24 he sees deals and works with financing that would take a lifetime to see if they started at the bottom and worked their way up.   It is definitely a big jump start to a promising career.

Michelle Fenn · Answer

I went to college in the 70's for social work.   My parents always use to lament what a poor choice of majors it was.   I ended up in sales and the computer industry.   In my 50's a transitioned to Real Estate.    What I find is landlord and social worker are the same job.     Make sure you take some accounting courses also.

Clayton Silva · Answer

Hey Lindsay, great to have you here at the BP forums!  Obviously, your son's preferences play a huge role in what he will enjoy/be drawn to study.  For real estate/investing, I have found that an understanding of finance and accounting can be the biggest benefit (if he can take extracurricular courses on sales too that would be helpful).  I personally did a double major in accounting and finance and while I do not practice accounting as a CPA or bookkeeper or anything it has helped me tremendously to navigate real estate and understand the tax code or where to find answers to tax questions.  Hope this helps!

Isaac Brice · Answer

Hey Lindsay

Personally I would recommend your son getting the degree he wants to pursue. If he is interested in working with his hands I would recommend construction Management. It pays well and allows you to build connections in the real estate world (if you are working privately and not for the government).

Currently this is what I am studying and love it. They have great pay opportunities and connections which will help in investments in real estate. Good contractors are always in short supply.

There is quite a bit of great knowledge here and he could make money and be successful in multiple areas. I personally would recommend college as a backup and as credentials to future investments

Sandra Morrison · Answer

My son was recruited for esports gaming in 2020 and just graduated from college. He got great experience playing Esports for his college and help managing each game’s team and the 140 players. The ability to go to college on an Esports scholarship is a great opportunity, Congratulations to you and your son!

My daughter started as an interior architecture major and then added communications and then got her real estate license. She worked for a residential broker for a year but in transactions not as an agent. She now works for a large multinational commercial broker and invests on the side.

I can see where she understands budgeting but doesn’t have exposure to more of the finance and accounting side. There are schools with commercial real estate majors and with majors in Sales. I do think any business major will get some exposure to understanding financial statements. Understanding cap rates, net profit and economy (supply/demand housing, interest rates lowering increases demand, the real estate cycle, investing for cash flow vs appreciation) will all set him up for success. Also joining the local Real Estate association  and local meetups to network. An entry level job in property management while in school would be helpful but it will be hard with his Esports schedule.

Please feel free to DM me. I co-host a women’s online investing group for REIA and enjoy talking to people starting out. I am so excited for you both!

Ray Hage · Answer

If your son absolutely will go to college, I'd agree with @Clayton Silva Accounting and/or Finance majors would be solid. Afterall, RE is just one investment vehicle. Some sort of management courses would also be useful RE is not only managing a physical property but tenants, handymen, skilled tradesmen, etc. If your son wants to manage the properties on his own in the beginning, he will need all those skills to be a successful landlord.

Regarding gaming as a major, does that mean designing/producing games? That is both cool and money can be great as well. He could use that as his main income to invest into RE.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

College is a terrible investment except for a few specific fields.

If he wants to invest in real estate, he'll need money, credit, and knowledge. He can get all three by working in the property management industry. There are entry-level positions, and a competent person can work up quickly. Most states require PMs to be licensed, so he can do sales on the side. I make good money with my PM business, and my sales commissions go towards investments.

Lindsay Heller · Answer

I also think moving out for college provides great life experience especially for independence. Currently, his plan is to stay local and live at home.

Rick Albert · Answer

This is a great question.

If your son's goal is investing, he doesn't have to be a real estate agent. I have successful clients who don't work as an agent. I just wanted to throw that out there.

Generally, what people have said is right, knowing your numbers is important. But if he has passions, he should pursue them. I have investor clients who work in tech. It is their passion, make very good money, which allows them to easily qualify for loans going forward.

I will say that networking in college is extremely important. For example, I joined a nationwide fraternity and did student government. Through that fraternity network, I have been able to not only meet amazing people, but clients in the process. My business partner on the investing side I met in college. There is also opportunities to develop additional skillsets. When I volunteered as a mentor after I graduated, the treasurer of the local chapter manages an over $700,000 budget. Not too many people out of college can say that. Some even have housing and someone has to maintain the property, review leases, etc.

Major for college?

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