Dazed and Confused Student!

[Adam Eckerman]

Hello everyone!

A first-time poster on BP here, and it's a bit of a heavy one! I'm in my mid-20s and recently had a career dilemma. I've always been very interested in real estate but didn't know exactly what to do. I love technology and design, so I figured I would get my Masters in Architecture, and eventually be an architect-developer.  

I moved to Boston almost 2 years ago to pursue my master's degree. When I moved here I renovated a condo. I absolutely loved the process (even living in the condo while the reno was going on). The more I study real estate, the more I feel that my architecture degree isn't helping me much, I'm not being taught to sell, negotiate, read/understand contracts, understand clients or anything much beyond the actual design of architecture. I'm also currently getting my real estate license, and I will have a job with a broker once I get the license. As of now my career path includes flipping some places, possibly have a multi-family unit, and then eventually get into development. 

Would it be worth leaving the architecture school to pursue another type of degree like a Master of Science in Real Estate which will be more beneficial to real estate, or even an MBA perhaps? 

Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!  

[Charlie MacPherson]

@Adam Eckerman Take this coming from a 61 year old guy who sincerely wishes he had jumped into REI 35 years ago.

I wasted decades of my life chasing a career in medical sales.  I started off by knocking on the doors of doctor's offices selling diagnostic equipment.

I worked my way up through the ranks from regional sales manager to national to director of sales - I had finally made it.  Then the company was sold and I was, as they say, redundant.  I was told by the CEO that I was to go back to Boston and be a street-level salesman again.

BOOM.  Dawn finally broke on Marblehead.

I had spent the last 20+ years working for people and companies who didn't give a rat's flea-infested behind about my hopes and dreams - much less my grand career plans.

I finally latched on to real estate in 2014 - something that I'd always been interested in and I FINALLY found my calling.

In the last year, I have made more than any year in the supposedly lucrative field of medical sales - and I've been home every night.  No more airport>hospital>hotel>repeat.

I can spend time with family, friends and church.  I have my life back.

So in my opinion, you should think seriously about whether investing another couple of years in schooling that's not going to help you is a smart investment.  

Not only are you going to accumulate school loan debt, but you're also going to sacrifice the earning capacity of the years you spend in school.

If I had it to do over, I'd have skipped college altogether.