To MBA or Not to MBA

[Timothy Howdeshell]

Hi BP,

I have been an avid consumer of real estate books and podcasts produced by BP. Therefore, I really value the type of thinking common among our community members. This post is asking for general advice and strategy planning as it relates to getting started in real estate investing. 

I currently have one property which I am house hacking in the Denver area (see my previous post). And I am currently setting up a flipping deal with local Denver partners, as well as evaluating some out of state BRRRR out-of-state investing in Kansas City. So I'm not a complete newbie to real estate investing (REI). My plan is to acquire a small portfolio (~10 due to mortgage limitations) of SFR and then 1031 into multi-family to scale up from there. My dream is to be a full time real estate investor and leave the corporate 9-5 behind (in 11 years at the latest). In order to do this, I want to maximize my income from the 9-5 while I build the portfolio; for ease of getting loans (DTI), to scale faster, and have an income cushion for liquidity in case of emergency.

In my current career as a scientist, I am making ~70k per year, and could like get that to 85k with a job change (I'm overdue anyway). I have applied to Cornell (top 15 school) for a 1 year MBA program, and there is a strong potential that I will be accepted as I have been invited to interview. The cost of the program is ~ 130k all in, and starting salaries are around 130k going up to 220k base after 5 years or so. It would likely pay off financially in the long run (5-10+ years), and I really enjoy learning about and running a business. This would be similar to buying a property with leverage to achieve a higher cash flow. At the end of the day my main goal is to be a self-employed real estate investor as soon as possible, rather than grind out time in corporate. 

So my question for the community is, does it make sense to pursue an MBA, get a much higher paying job, and invest the spread to build the portfolio quicker? Or does this seem like an unduly large burden of time (1 year) and money (student loans)? Do you have an MBA, and what would you recommend?

Thank you for reading and for your inputs!!!

Have a great day!

[Frank Jiang]

You're going to get a bunch of people saying you don't need an MBA, but let's seriously consider this scenario.

As someone who made a similar and successful transition from science to finance with an MBA, I think you're being a little optimistic with your starting salary expectations. But that being said, let's say you do manage to find a starting salary of $130K, that's only a 2.5 year payback period (+55K per year salary difference). If you plan on being in the workforce for 30 more years, the IRR on that investment is pretty substantial, assuming of course that you successfully make the transition and land that high paying job.

In my experience, people who complete those 1 year programs really weren't all that much stronger than regular workers.  I wouldn't hire someone at $130K+ for a resume with X years as a scientist and just 1 year of MBA as relevant work experience.  The MBA just doesn't command the weight it once did to instantly get that pay bump.  I've seen much more realistically to maybe get a bump from $85K to $95K - $110K, which makes the $130K cost much more burdensome and in that case, the MBA would likely not be worth it.  Just my two cents.