Which major should I get for a Real Estate Investing career?

Question

Hello everybody!

I am a sophomore at Purdue University, and I am looking to switch my major from Education to something business related for the sake of my real estate investing career since I fell in love with this over the summer. I have a full ride, so I don't want to forego such an awesome blessing despite the lack of necessity for college education in this field.

The catalog and information for the majors is here:
https://krannert.purdue.edu/undergraduate/current-students/majors.php#toggleContent

I am not sure which of Accounting, Economics, Finance, General Management, Management, I should pursue as a major that is pertinent to what I am trying to do, while at the same time not being too strenuous that I cannot start owning properties in college (the former criterion being more important than the latter).

I should also note that I am in the process of getting my Realtors license and likely working with the office of Carpenter realty while in college.

Thank you to anybody who takes the time to respond and help out a rookie like me! I would love to discuss with you!

Don Alder-LaRue · Answer

@Sean DeRue  Personally I would recommend Business Administration with a concentration on Finance.  The two biggest parts of real estate investing are locating deals and financing them most favorably in your favor.  Also, with a degree in finance you have the world at your feet, and job opportunities everywhere you go.  Hard to go wrong.

On a side note, there is no such thing as a Realtor's license.  One can have a real estate license, but a Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors.  One does not have to be a Realtor to sell real estate (most commercial agents are not).

Mathew Owens · Answer

@Sean DeRue you need to understand accounting, economics, law, marketing, sales, etc all of the different parts of running a business. You don’t need college for that. You can learn all of these things on your own with way less of a cost. The only reason you go to college is if you want to work for someone else. Otherwise it’s pointless because you can learn everything you learn in college plus way more with self education and actually doing the business.

Michael Vu · Answer

I'm just going to throw this one out there and since you already go to Purdue, an engineering degree! Engineers are taught to view and analyze problems differently than most other fields. I have found this to come handy in many facets of my life. Also, many engineering companies having great work-life balance that provides you enough time to balance both work and real estate. The pay is pretty decent as well, which is good to save up to finance properties. Lastly, it's one of the few fields where you can legitimately work on the most incredible technology and innovations that help the world operate and advance as a civilization every day!

Michael Noto · Answer

@Sean DeRue Get a degree in something related to finance and take any classes or read any books you can that involve selling.

Ray Johnson · Answer

@Sean DeRue I got my Bachelor in Accounting and Master in Finance. I ended up working at a commercial REIT my last year in Grad school, 3 years after that I moved to a Private Equity firm crunching IRR templates for deal analysis. I had a lot of options when I finished school.

You're going to get some crossover with those two degrees, I took both Micro and Macro Econ, business management classes, and I even took Business Law, and Contract Law courses while obtaining these two degrees.

In regards to owing properties while in college, I bought a 1 bedroom condo as my first property while in college through one of those low income first time buyers programs where you get down payment assistance and closing cost. I still have that condo in my portfolio.

I never had any intention of becoming a Real Estate Agent or Broker as I had other goals. I think my path may be a little overkill if your goal is an agent or broker. If your goal is to end up on the commercial side of the fence it will help you be better suited for that area of RE.

Sean DeRue · Answer

@Don Alder-LaRue Thank you very much for the recommendation! That sounds like a great plan, and I am eager to look into it!

Thank you for correcting me on my mistake! It's a bit embarrassing, but with so much saturation of new info, the correct vernacular of mine suffers.

Thank you again!

Jacob Sampson · Answer

Yep.  Just get general business knowledge and then attend the school of hard knocks.  An accounting degree would also be useful.

Which major should I get for a Real Estate Investing career?

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