College Education and Early Career

[Noah Norton]

Hello. To put my question in simplest terms, would it be possible to not attend college, but to instead find the same textbooks that would be used in a specific college class, and study them, hence learning everything I would learn if I was in that class, without actually taking the class?

This would save me loads of time, which would allow me to work more hours, and save up more money for future real estate investments. I don't want to drop the college education altogether, because having a solid understanding of things such as micro and macro economics in business would help me have a better understanding of the real estate market as a whole, and understand what influences the market, and etc.

One more question unrelated to college: My ultimate goal is to make passive income off buy and hold real estate investments, but that isn't a day job I can start out with. My plan is to get a part time job unrelated to real estate when I am 17, then get my real estate license as soon as I turn 18, and work as a real estate agent. As a real estate agent, I would prefer to eventually work with investors and/or commercial property, instead of selling to regular home buyers(how would I go about doing this?). After I am making decent income as an agent, I would quit my original part time job and live off the income I made from real estate. After I have relationships with lots of investors and an understanding of the real estate market, I will move to wholesaling/flipping/buy and hold.

My question; is this all a realistic idea? Is getting a real estate license and becoming an agent the best way to "break in" to the real estate field? Would there be too much competition as a real estate agent to make decent money? This ties into the college questions, because if becoming a real estate agent is not possible, my next best choice is to get a degree and work a regular job, until I have the money to start investing in real estate.

Sorry for so many questions,

-Noah Norton

[Ross Kalmbach]

Hey Norton,

Here are my opinions: 

Would it be possible to not attend college, but to instead find the same textbooks that would be used in a specific college class, and study them, hence learning everything I would learn if I was in that class, without actually taking the class?

A) Yes, but it's not the same as actually having a degree from a college and would not satisfy the requirement for jobs that require a four year degree.  Since you want to go into real estate as a agent/broker - this might not be an issue.  However, I would strongly recommend getting a degree from an accredited university.  There are plenty of online cheap options that won't put you into debt and you can take your time.

This would save me loads of time, which would allow me to work more hours, and save up more money for future real estate investments. I don't want to drop the college education altogether, because having a solid understanding of things such as micro and macro economics in business would help me have a better understanding of the real estate market as a whole, and understand what influences the market, and etc.

B) If you decide to go the non-accredited route there are a lot of books that explain business in a simple and easy to understand ways; this might be better than the college textbooks.  Unless you really want to do complex models or really want to learn about M1 and M2 money supplies you can probably get away with some really good books by experts in the field (non-academia).

One more question unrelated to college: My ultimate goal is to make passive income off buy and hold real estate investments, but that isn't a day job I can start out with. My plan is to get a part time job unrelated to real estate when I am 17, then get my real estate license as soon as I turn 18, and work as a real estate agent. As a real estate agent, I would prefer to eventually work with investors and/or commercial property, instead of selling to regular home buyers(how would I go about doing this?). After I am making decent income as an agent, I would quit my original part time job and live off the income I made from real estate. After I have relationships with lots of investors and an understanding of the real estate market, I will move to wholesaling/flipping/buy and hold.

C) Good plan - I'm working on my license now and plan to do commercial real estate as well (also studying for the LSAT but need a backup).

My question; is this all a realistic idea? Is getting a real estate license and becoming an agent the best way to "break in" to the real estate field? Would there be too much competition as a real estate agent to make decent money? This ties into the college questions, because if becoming a real estate agent is not possible, my next best choice is to get a degree and work a regular job, until I have the money to start investing in real estate.

D) I can tell you out of the real estate agents I've dealt with very few are worth a damn.  If you work your *** off you will have no problem with a job or $$$.  You could also do the degree route and make 60+/year and do real estate on the side (weekends or house hacks).  It's up to you and only you can decide.

Sorry for so many questions,

E) Good luck!