Beneficial Day Jobs for R.E. Investor?

Question

Hello BP Community, I'm a newer Pittsburgh investor who currently owns a duplex and is looking to grow my buy-and-hold portfolio. I am very well studied, but now need to focus on improving my hands-on experience, skill set, network, and team. Right now I'm looking for a R.E.-related job that could provide not only income, but potential networking and learning opportunities to become a better, more confident investor.
My goals for the job:
-Allow me to leverage at least one of my main strengths: Analysis, Personal Interaction, Strategic Planning
-Accelerate mastery of a R.E.-related skill or put me around people that could grow my network and team
-If full time, if it could provide income that could at the least replace my current 45k per year, and ideally be able to improve my chances on paper at getting future refinance loans. Also open to part-time options.
-I have a 4 year college degree, if that would matter for a particular suggestion.

So far, I've had suggestions like becoming an agent, an appraiser, and a property manager. Feedback on those paths, and suggestions beyond those would be much appreciated. I'm sure others have considered the same and would benefit from this thread. Thanks in advance.

Michael Noto · Answer

@Robert Zazac I agree with what Stan Hill says. Property inspection is the best return on your time in the industry and in my market there is a huge shortage of them.

Dennis M. · Answer

Garbage man .. you’ll spend a good deal of your time picking up other people’s crap if you do this long enough

Michael Noto · Answer

@Jalen Johnson All of the requirements are listed on the state website. I would start there. The hardest part from what I hear is getting an already licensed inspector to mentor you because I believe you have to observe/assist in 100 inspections before you can go out on your own among other license requirements.

Stan Hill · Answer

Property inspector.

Account Closed · Answer

Hi Robert, Congrats on the new journey - REI is a fun endeavor to take on. I would recommend any type of loan originator position whether it be in the conventional or private space. You learn a lot about real estate, make a lot of great connections, and can use your personal strengths in this role. I love my job and I get to be surrounded in everything RE.

Scott Mac · Answer

@Robert Zazac

Hi Robert,

Set your sights higher--Cash is king--find something where you earn $150,000 year (vs $45,000) and learn what you need online and via attending networking events and talking to people.

Good Luck!

Axel Ragnarsson · Answer

@Robert Zazac

Honestly, any job where you have the freedom to step out of the office and make a couple of phone calls. Better yet, one where you can take off for an hour everyone in a while during the day (closings, inspections, etc).

If it’s real estate related, that’s just a bonus.

Adrian Tuazon · Answer

I find being a commercial real estate underwriter for a bank provides the skill set to quickly analyze a deal, perform proper due diligence, and have a better interaction with appraisers and attorneys. I find the only negative about this (which isn't the worst thing) is that it gives me too conservative of a mindset.

Aimee Wander · Answer

@Robert Zazac great dialogue as I am digging into this as well and trying to figure out the best place to start. Thinking of getting my real estate license. Curious if most people in REI find this necessary/beneficial?

Robert Zazac · Answer

After just a day, I just want to say THANK YOU to anyone who has offered up a suggestion. I know many post threads on here never get any attention, so I appreciate all those so far! I will be going through each response one-by-one and looking further into the possibilities. Once I settle on something, I will also continue to update this thread and my profile.

Almost everyone, at least when starting out in REI, needs a main source of income, so I think this is a conversation that could benefit anyone who is looking to fully leverage their time and effort, so let's keep it going. Looking forward to any further input.

Beneficial Day Jobs for R.E. Investor?

Beneficial Day Jobs for R.E. Investor?

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