Deciding Between a Degree or Starting to Invest

[Madelyn L.]

Hi All,

For a little background on my situation:

I'm heading into my sophomore year of college as a finance major this fall. I took a gap year in between high school and college to work at an intensive finance internship at a fortune 500 company that I have continued to work at through college. I've made myself an essential part of the team over the two years that I have been there, and I'm basically guaranteed a well paying job once I graduate college, according to my boss. 

My dilemma is that I absolutely hate the work. I can't stand the over-complicated, bureaucratic ******** that seems to come with corporate finance, but I'm passionate about entreprenuership. Nonetheless, I have stuck it out through college because it pays well and there can be a lot of flexibility with my schedule, if necessary. Now let me tie this to real estate investing: I'd really like to invest in a duplex to house hack and rent out one side as an AirBnB unit to accelerate my savings. In order to save the rest of the money for a down payment, I'd really need to continue working full time and continue serving tables on the weekends. I have little debt from my first year of college, but it will continue to grow, which will slow down my investing potential.

To sum it up: Should I postpone my degree in order to begin my investment journey? Education is high priority of mine but I'd like to cut out the student loan portion and possibly go part time at a community college until I start generating additional income. My end goal is financial freedom by 30 but if I can accelerate that, I'm going to do whatever I can. My job currently offers great flexibility to help with this - I can essentially make my own schedule.

I appreciate any feedback and advice - thank you!

[JD Martin]

No. As someone who has a doctorate, let me tell you that you will never regret getting a college degree. Investing in yourself is one of the best investments you will ever make. 

Every job has things about it that suck. Also, you should be cautious posting about hating your job on a public forum :)  . Or else use a pseudonym. Unless you are using one already.

Getting any kind of loan will be virtually impossible without a W2. And if you really work it to the bone you should be able to clamp down on any further college debt.