Benefits of a BBA in Real Estate

[Napoleon Georgatos]

To the member of the BiggerPockets community, thank you for taking the time to read this post!

I am 26 years old and I am looking to dive into the world of Real Estate head on. My ultimate goal is to become an investor in both residential and commercial properties. I recently sold my pizzeria for a decent amount of money and I am at a crossroads. Prior to taking on the family business I was a licensed Real Estate Salesperson in New York State. I still have my license just to maintain the opportunity to jump back in if I desire.

I am going back to school for a BBA in Real Estate. The main objective is to learn higher level Real Estate terms, financing strategies, aspects of development, valuation, and surround myself with people who are interested in the business as much as I am. I know a lot of these things I can learn on Google or here on BiggerPockets, but I feel the institional education and organized structure will help me see things more clearly. With this , I plan to get an internship with a Real Estate company, whether it be as an analyst, or JR Property Manager. I have not fine tuned what type of work I'm looking to pursue, so input would be greatly appreciated.

I also have the option to jump back into sales and pursue my Brokers license. The reason for this is the organic relationships you build with other industry members and the luxury have a great network of people to speak to or consult when making deals happen. I was told by someone I know to pursue a "Front Office" job, where I am the "deal guy" and having a brokers license would only benefit me here in terms of initially being hired and having a leg up on other applicants as well as just knowing the right people when the time comes to make these deals happen.

All the while, if I'm not overextending myself (which I will identify when the time comes) I would like to purchase my first investment property and start the road to being an investor.

Please, give me questions to think about, insights you may have, objections to my career path, etc. I want to be a successful Real Estate Investor. I want to be knowledgable and confident in what I do. Am I doing the right thing?

For clarification, I am in New York City, and my Real Estate career will likely be focused on the New York City markets, but my personal investments will be out of this expensive market until I can actually afford to invest here.