Save for real estate or pay off college debt first?

[Nicholas Grieco]

Hello, i'm 22 years old and I live in Parsippany, New Jersey. I'm really interested in real estate but I don't have any experience yet. I'll be graduating from Rutgers University in May 2018 with a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering. I have been actively reading books, watching videos/webinars and taking online courses to learn as much as I can about REI. My goal is to be financially independent with real estate and use the money I make from engineering to continue to invest in more properties and grow my company. I have 2 questions I would like some input on.

1) This summer I'll be making a decent amount of money at my internship. Should I start saving this money for my first deal or use it to start paying off my college debt?

2) What's the best way to pick a niche (wholesale, buy and hold, flip)? How much does it depend on the area you live in? What other factors should I look at before diving deep into one niche?

Thanks, guys!