Begin my real estate investing career or go to school first

[Account Closed]

A brief summary of me and my situation;

I’m a 21 year old kid from Michigan, currently netting $32,000/yr from two different jobs, plus an additional $3,000-7,000/yr from side hustles. (I’m a chef, and I help maintain an 80,000 sq.ft. office building. I do property maintenance.) I’m able to save at least 65% of my total income a year. My desire is to be a landlord and to invest in real estate. I have a mentor that I work with everyday who has the connections and experience in real estate investing. He’s no Grant Cardone, but he has flipped 6 condos in the past year and currently owns two rental properties. His gig is flipping. God willing, mine will be renting. I do not own any properties yet; but currently, my credit score is 710, I only have $10,000 for reserves, and my knowledge of this industry is broad. So, I have a couple more years before I’ll be ready to purchase my first investment property.

However, my advisers believe I should finish college, so I’ll have an education and a better chance at an entry-level job in the years to come. They believe I can then use that job to fund my ambition, plus have a degree to my name. While I understand their point of view and agree to an extent, I also think it’s a waste of time. I know it’ll cost me about $6,000 cash, $8,000 in opportunity cost, and two years to finish my degree in Applied Science with a concentration in Business Management. I’m big on listening to and following sound advice, but I don’t know if going is the right decision. I don’t want to be the guy that fails because he didn’t listen, but I feel why wait to pursue my dream. Why spend my time in school studying when I can be working. I don’t know if I should go back to school next semester or just work, but I am leaning towards work. I’m leaning towards the continuation of establishing my credit and work history, building my capital, and increasing my knowledge instead.

So, I know this isn’t really a question about real estate, but if someone experienced could spare advice or an opinion, I would appreciate it.

[JD Martin]

Question: how do you know you can save 65% annually? If you are making about $38k per year (your numbers) right now, and you can save 65% annually, you should have almost $25k saved after 1 year, but you say you have $10k. That means one of several things:

1. You haven't been saving long enough to know if the 65% is sustainable, since you're only up to $10k.

2. You can't really save 65%.

3. You don't make as much money as you think that you make. 

4. You have a constant crop of emergencies come up that eats away all savings.

5. ETC.

From reading your post it seems like you've already done 2 years of school? If so, why would you not finish, especially when the cost is so low? There's no investment like an investment in yourself. If you think education is a waste of time you're bound to fail as a real estate investor because being a successful investor in anything is a non-stop accumulation of education. 

Beyond that, I don't see why you couldn't do both. Buy a duplex and rent out one side while you're going to school.